Geography 2050 (2021) Lightning Talk: How Do We Fund Equitable Mitigation and Adaptation?

In this video, researcher Kristen Smith explores the question of how to fund equitable mitigation and adaptation to climate change. She discusses the current reliance on state and local governments for funding public infrastructure and highlights the challenges faced by communities in accessing stable and predictable revenue. The focus is on FEMA’s Building Resilient Infrastructure in Communities (BRIC) grant, with an analysis revealing geographic inequities in funding distribution. The video suggests potential solutions, including changing scoring criteria for competitive grants and proposing alternative models, such as direct federal investments.