Arlington Offers Some Plans For $95K In Climate Resiliency Funding

ARLINGTON, MA — The Town of Arlington has announced a few details about how it will spend the $95,000 in state funding it received to help residents —especially those from priority populations — deal with the effects of climate change.

Last month, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey announced that Arlington was one of 30 recipients of $31.5 million in funding through the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) 2.0 Program.

The pilot program is designed to support communities in updating their climate resiliency plans in a way that centers on environmental justice and in helping priority populations most impacted by climate change, like the elderly, low-income individuals and people with disabilities.

"The climate crisis is one of our greatest challenges, but there is enormous opportunity in our response," Healey said when introducing the MVP 2.0 pilot program this past spring. "We have the science, data, tools and commitment to help communities understand how climate change impacts them and take action to advance resiliency and preparedness."

Healey added: "With the next phase of the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program, we will harness the incredible resources at our disposal and bring people together to protect our environment, grow our economy and build a more resilient future."

As part of the MVP 2.0 program, Arlington officials said the town will work with a consultant and a team of community members to identify and address the root causes of social vulnerability among priority populations. The town also will focus on streamlining and prioritizing actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions while improving resilience to climate change impacts.

"Weather events in the region this summer have made it clearer than ever that we are already experiencing the impacts of climate change locally," said Jim Feeney, Arlington's town manager. "The town is committed to supporting all residents to prepare for these impacts into the future."

Additionally, as part of the pilot program, Arlington town officials said they will work with town boards and committees, local community-based organizations and individual residents to identify climate change-resilience needs within Arlington, and eventually to address the identified needs of priority populations.

"We have a particular responsibility to our elderly, low-income and other priority populations, who may have a harder time adapting to the changes we're seeing," said David Morgan, an environmental planner for the Town of Arlington. "We are excited to have been chosen to pilot this new program and share important lessons with other communities in the Commonwealth."

More information about Arlington's climate change resilience efforts is available online.