IWBI X NLC Sit Down with Local Leaders: U.S. Mayors Q&A with the City of Madison, Wisconsin Mayor, Satya Rhodes-Conway

Satya Rhodes-Conway entered office in 2019 as the 58th Mayor of Madison, Wis. Her administration has outlined affordable housing, rapid transit, climate change and racial equity as its main priorities, releasing three climate-driven platforms to envision the City of Madison’s strategic action: Housing Forward, Metro Forward and Climate Forward.

The National League of Cities’ (NLC) Health and Resilience Program Manager, Abygail Mangar, who supports our multi-year partnership, sat down with the Mayor to discuss her vision and goals for Madison.

What was your vision for climate resiliency for the City of Madison when you went into office? How has it evolved?
My educational background is in ecology and biology, so I’ve been worried about climate change for decades. Part of the reason I ran for mayor was that I didn’t think the city government was doing enough on climate, either by decreasing our emissions or building resilience. Coming into office, I was very focused on how we can reduce emissions from city operations, and I’m proud to say that we’ve made progress on that and are on track to meet our 2030 net-zero goal. But there’s much more to do to get our community-wide emissions down. That’s more challenging because so many pieces are out of our control – in part because of state preemption of local control. Nonetheless, we’re working on ways to support individuals, households, and businesses to make climate positive decisions.

I think the next thing to work on really is resilience and figuring out how to deal with the impacts of climate change. We know there are impacts on human health, infrastructure, our food systems, the environment… you name it, and it’s probably impacted by climate change. So we have to be ready for that and help our community be ready for that.

Your office recently laid out two sector-specific climate-driven agendas: Housing Forward and Metro Forward, focused on transportation. Why did you specifically call out these two items?
Climate, housing and transportation are inextricably linked. If cities are to thrive in a changing climate, it is essential to ramp up efforts to provide residents with abundant, affordable, quality housing as well as convenient, accessible low- to no-carbon transportation options. Progress on housing and transportation can reduce emissions, improve affordability, and advance equity.

Cities across the nation are facing an affordable housing crisis. The decisions we make today on how we build new and invest in our existing affordable housing stock will impact resilience for years to come. On average, existing affordable housing consumes more energy than market-rate housing, because it is generally older, not upgraded, or has deferred maintenance, resulting in a higher energy burden for residents. We are turning this around in Madison by investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy upgrades for affordable housing. These investments lower utility bills for residents, help keep housing affordable and make housing more resilient to changes in climate.

Similarly, a climate-friendly transportation system also provides multiple benefits. Our goal in Madison is to create a multi-modal transportation network where residents have low- to no-carbon transportation options for both local and regional travel. We’re building a new, all-electric bus rapid transit system that will begin operating in 2024 and redesigning our full Metro bus system to optimize routes of regular buses with bus rapid transit (BRT). We’re continuing to grow the city’s already extensive bike path network, and we’re actively pursuing the expansion of intercity bus and rail options. All of these efforts enable residents to get from point A to point B without the expense of owning a personal vehicle.

It is great to have mayoral leadership with a climate-related background who can offer insight into the science and solutions. What climate challenges do Madison residents face now and in the coming years?
We are already feeling the impacts of climate change in Madison, especially heat and flooding. The number of days over 90 degrees has been increasing since the 1950s. And, the number of these extreme heat events is expected to triple by the middle of this century. The city is currently collaborating with researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison on an initiative to map urban heat islands in the city and develop strategies to cool the city and keep residents safe during extreme heat.

Like much of the Upper Midwest, Madison has also seen more intense rainfall and storms and, as a result, flooding. In 2018, Madison experienced widespread flooding across the city, which resulted in millions of dollars in damages. But, it could have been much worse. Since then, we’ve been working hard to prepare and improve our resilience to flooding. We updated our stormwater ordinance, embarked on detailed watershed studies, and are upgrading our stormwater infrastructure to better handle large rain events.
In many ways though, Madison will remain a climate haven, safe from sea level rise, wildfires, and more extreme changes in weather. And as a result, we expect Madison to continue to be an attractive city for those relocating for any number of reasons, including climate change. We are working hard to make sure current and future residents have a climate-resilient Madison to call home.

Targeting efforts is important to ensure we’re putting our efforts where can have the biggest impact. It’s great to hear your office is doing that with the type of projects it’s pursuing, and you also touched upon some equity considerations of it, too. Your administration identified racial equity as one of your main priorities. How is the climate work you’re doing fostering racial equity and changing the lives of Madison residents?
We are ramping up our efforts on climate resilience with a focus on prioritizing resilience benefits for communities at the forefront of climate change, including BIPOC communities. Our watershed study program is working to create equitable, sustainable solutions to urban flooding by using both green and gray infrastructure. And we are partnering with researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and others to map the urban heat island effect in Madison and use an equity-centered approach for creating solutions to reduce urban heat island and its negative impacts on health and wellbeing, which are often disproportionately experienced by BIPOC communities, low-income communities, and those with underlying health conditions. Our resilience projects aim to eliminate inequities in climate burdens.

And an important component is making sure that the opportunities our climate work provides are also equally accessible. For example, transitioning to renewable energy, upgrading buildings to improve energy efficiency, and decarbonizing our transportation system grow the green economy and provide workforce development opportunities. One way the city is helping to grow a diverse green workforce is our GreenPower program, where trainees with diverse and non-traditional backgrounds work alongside city electricians to install solar photovoltaic systems and complete energy efficiency projects at city facilities. This sets them up for success in the solar industry, or in other good, family-supporting jobs.

Creating those empowering opportunities is critical to ensuring programs are supported by residents. What advice would you give other mayors who are pursuing climate resiliency for their cities and towns?
Lead by example. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to the realities of a changing climate requires action by everyone in the community. Setting ambitious climate resilience goals and taking bold actions for city operations has multiple benefits. City operations can be a showcase for what’s possible and spur technology adoption by neighboring cities and towns as well as the private sector. The city of Madison is actively transitioning our fleet of vehicles and equipment to low or no-carbon fuel sources, and other local governments are learning from our experiences as part of a county-wide [Sustainability Leaders Collaborative.](https://daneclimateaction.org/Initiatives/Sustainability-Leaders-Collaborative#:~:text=The Sustainability Leaders Collaborative (SLC,county focused on climate change.) We have also adopted an ordinance requiring that all new city buildings must be LEED Silver certified or better, reducing our carbon emissions and creating real world examples that developers can visit to see sustainable building practices in action. These are just a few illustrations of how leading by example for city operations can spur change. Local governments can’t solve the climate crisis alone, but we can be leaders and innovators.

Thank you for your time, Mayor Rhodes-Conway. We appreciate the work you’re doing for the residents of Madison!

Related resources: The Next American Migration: What Cities Should Know About Climate Change and Populations on the Move