Main Street Climate Change Reading List

Climate change affects every community. It is important to prepare for increasing weather risks and design sustainable communities with reduced climate impact. From design and infrastructure to organization and planning, there are many tools you can use to make your community more resilient and reduce carbon emissions. We gathered five resources to help you get started.

Main Street Disaster and Resilience Toolkit

Created in partnership with the National Parks Service through the Main Street Community Disaster Preparedness and Resilience Program, this publication is designed to help Main Streets and commercial district organizations better prepare for and respond to more frequent and severe disasters. Read here >

We Can't Build Our Way to Net Zero

Reusing and retrofitting existing buildings is vital to achieving significant emissions reduction targets in the few years we have. Estimates have found that reusing an existing building saved 50-75% of carbon emissions that would be created by building a new one. Read here >

Beat the Heat this Summer Using Downtown Design

Weather conditions play a significant role in how we interact with downtown spaces. As each summer sets new heat records, it is important to incorporate design elements that mitigate the temperature and welcome people to explore your downtown safely. Read here >

Guidelines on Flood Adaptation for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings

Including flood mitigation and adaptation to your building rehabilitation projects is critical to preserve your historic assets and promote community sustainability. These guidelines from the National Park Service describe the standard methods of flood adaptation for historic structures, including temporary measures, landscape management, floodproofing, basement management, and more. Read here >

Older, Smaller, Better

This study demonstrates the unique and valuable role that older, smaller buildings play in developing sustainable cities. Established neighborhoods with a?mix of older, smaller buildings perform better than districts with larger, newer structures when tested against a?range of economic, social, and environmental outcome measures. Read here >