When the climate changes, cities must change with it. Fix examines how our urban centers are being rethought and what green, just and resilient communities could look like. With insights from local government officials, architects, residents and more, our “Sustainable Cities of the Future” series examines how we will live, work and play in the cities of tomorrow. (Explore the full series so far.) Yassamin Ansari has played a role in some of the biggest climate initiatives of the past decade. As an advisor to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, she worked on the Paris Agreement (yes, the Paris Agreement) for a year. She later coordinated the first UN youth climate summit. In between, she led a handful of global climate protection summits and convinced more than 20 large technology companies such as Slack and Salesforce to commit to the decarbonization goals with the Step Up Declaration. All that green credibility got her on the Grist 50, Fix’s annual list of aspiring changemakers, in 2019. But since then, Ansari has focused on another front in the fight against the climate crisis: the local government. That spring, Ansari took on a new role as councilor for her hometown of Phoenix, becoming the youngest woman ever elected to that office. It’s a big fulcrum, she says, but switching from macro to micro felt like the best way to make change tangible. “I loved my experience at the UN,” she says, “but I was at the point where I thought I could have a greater impact locally.” After all, the big global and national goals mean little when cities , Municipalities and counties don’t really do the work to reach them.
[Who’s building the green cities of the future? These 5 people — and a whole lot of others.]
Although Phoenix is the fifth largest city in the country, Ansari sees it as an emerging place – diverse, growing and full of potential. The desert metropolis was once considered the least sustainable city in the world, but she and her colleagues are committed to turning that reputation on its head and making Phoenix a role model for other cities around the world. We met with Ansari to ask about her new job and what she would like to achieve in her first term. Your answers have been edited for length and clarity. Q. You have probably heard this question many times, but what made you want to run for Phoenix City Council? A. I’ve heard this question many times. I worked in the climate field for about six years after graduating from college. I worked on the UN Secretary General’s climate team, which helped implement the Paris Agreement. I’ve worked at several major climate summits in DC, New York, and California, and have had the opportunity to work with cities, states, and corporations on their emissions reduction goals and get them to come up with bold climate plans. I was particularly passionate about the city administration and the role that cities can play in the fight against the climate crisis in my opinion. I come from Phoenix. I grew up here. I started researching what Phoenix did in the past and I discovered [that] Until a few years ago we were literally known as one of the least sustainable cities in the country. We are at the forefront of the climate crisis, whether it is extreme heat, drought, the risk of forest fires or air pollution. But not enough has been done. I decided to run for the city council to be the champion on this subject. Q. What was it like to move from the global level to local politics? A. [At] At those climate summits that I worked on, the only purpose was to get cities in the U.S. and around the world to commit to renewable energy policies, transportation policies, electric vehicles, and so on. To be honest, I’m fed up with having to convince people who are taking the climate crisis seriously. I realized that it could really be one or two people who lead an elected local body and change things. Help us envision the sustainable cities of the future. We want to hear what you see exciting today, or your greatest ideas for the future. When it comes to Phoenix, we are now the fifth largest and fastest growing city in the country. We can really make a difference not only in terms of climate protection, but also in the policies that we implement to improve people’s quality of life. My biggest concern right now is air pollution. [We have some of] the worst air quality in the country – it disproportionately affects people of color and low-income communities. Study after study shows that asthma rates in children rise, lung cancer rates rise. It is a local public health crisis and unless we take some brave steps to improve our transport systems and infrastructure, that will not change. Q. What are some of your top city priorities? A. Aside from pollution, I would say the other great heat is extreme heat. We are in the middle of the budget process in the city of Phoenix, with a $ 2.8 million allocation for a new air conditioning and heating office. We see rising temperatures every year and the growing threat of urban heat to the public, especially vulnerable populations such as the unprotected population, requires a forward-looking approach. We’re going to hire a Chief Heat Officer who will focus on resilience and preparing for heat that we already know will keep increasing no matter what we do. [The office of heat readiness] is tasked with responding – fighting the heat island effect and making sure we have cooling centers so people are protected. The park department will also receive financial support and five employees will focus entirely on planting additional trees in city parks and updating the tree population and database. We have a unique desert climate here. Our Mayoress Kate Gallego is part of the C40 – a coalition of mayors around the world who work for climate protection. In their vision we want to be the most sustainable desert city in the world. Read on Too many clean energy programs leave the poor behind. Enter the ‘share card’. I was recently appointed to chair a new ad hoc committee on the introduction of electric vehicles. One of [top] Sources of pollution in Phoenix is transportation. Most people have a car, and unfortunately most of them are fossil fuel cars. It is really important that we do everything we can to make electric vehicles more affordable and accessible. improve the infrastructure to make it possible for the people; and look into incentives and discounts that could cut costs for families. I also hope we can work with the local school districts, our fire department, etc. on electric buses, trucks, and more heavy duty vehicles. I am currently in the process of putting the committee together with the aim of publishing an ambitious roadmap for electrification by the end of the year. Two cities that I spoke to [for guidance] are Denver and Sacramento. Both have made pretty ambitious plans over the past few years. But I am confident that we can surpass the ambition. Phoenix has already done a lot of great work around EVs, but we’ve never released a written plan. I think this will be a good opportunity to get the goal down on paper and then bring it to life. Q. What are your visions for the city of the future? A. I read that Paris is trying to [enact] this concept of a 15 minute city. Wherever you want to go, even in a huge urban center like Paris, you can get to within 15 minutes – because public transport is so good, everything is accessible by bike and on foot. This is a vision that I really want to bring here, even if it will be very difficult. In Phoenix we are now expanding our light rail system, which is really great. When I think 10, 20, 30 years into the future, I hope that we have light rail vehicles everywhere and that you can get around not only in the city but in all the surrounding suburbs. We have fewer people on the road, and when you’re on the road, drive a clean electric vehicle – or whatever new technology we have at the time. For me, it’s all about the health component. If we really succeed, then [we’ll see that] Everyone has access to clean air and water, and pollution no longer harms our overall health. Q. What makes you most hopeful these days? A. To be honest, the new government makes me very hopeful. I am really excited about the work and the guidelines that they have already published. With the American Rescue Plan, for example, the city of Phoenix will receive $ 396 million over the next two years – obviously all related to COVID relief, but it really allows us to be creative in how we can best use this money to help people to help . We talk about helping people directly, we talk about how to deal with food deserts, we talk about more COVID vaccination centers and overcoming things like language barriers, helping refugee communities and undocumented communities – all of those things we normally don’t would be able to. It was obviously a terrible and unprecedented pandemic, but I think the silver lining of this opportunity – cities needing to better rebuild now – is one that we shouldn’t miss. —– Find out more in our series on sustainable cities of the future: >> These 5 people are building the green cities of the future >> What big cities can learn about climate adaptation from rural Louisiana >> Too many clean energy programs are leaving the poor behind. Enter the ‘share card’ >> A more sustainable skyscraper? Imagine a spaceship designed by Jenga. >> What big ideas do you have for the future of cities? Share your thoughts here.
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