Posted on April 02, 2025

Building Climate Resilience Through Community Partnerships

Richmond, VA - April is Earth Month in Richmond, and the Office of Sustainability is proud to highlight several key initiatives that demonstrate our commitment to creating a more sustainable, equitable, and resilient city. From community-based grant programs to innovative renewable energy projects and policy initiatives, we're working across departments and with community partners to bring the goals of RVAgreen 2050 to life.

Supporting Neighborhood Climate Resilience

The Neighborhood Climate Resilience Grant (NCRG) Program stands as one of our community-based initiatives with the most impact. This program supports the implementation of equity-centered, neighborhood-based planning and climate resilience projects within the City of Richmond.

This April, City Council will consider $250,000 in funds for 2025 NCRG Recipients, including:

• Flipp, Inc.
• Studio Two Three
• Reedy Creek Coalition
• Future Habitats
• ProFarms Gateway
• Richmond Community ToolBank
• Renewal of Life Land Trust

These organizations represent the diversity of approaches needed to build true climate resilience in our communities — from urban agriculture and food security to green infrastructure, community education, and environmental justice initiatives.

Innovative Renewable Energy: From Landfill to Solar Farm

City Council will soon consider an exciting project to repurpose the capped landfill at the East Richmond Road Convenience Center into a solar farm and pollinator meadow.

The site, which operated as a landfill from the 1960s until 1986, represents a perfect opportunity for beneficial reuse. Given the restricted uses of the capped section, it is an ideal candidate for a solar photovoltaic energy system complemented by a pollinator meadow.

This project exemplifies our commitment to finding innovative solutions that address multiple environmental challenges simultaneously - generating clean energy while supporting ecosystem services through pollinator habitat.

Policy for Plastic Reduction

Also in April, Richmond will take an important step toward reducing plastic waste when a five-cent Disposable Plastic Bag Fee is introduced to City Council for consideration.

Based on an analysis of similar Virginia cities that have adopted this fee, the Office of Sustainability estimates Richmond residents would pay an average of $2.12 per person, and the city would generate about $371,000 in revenue annually as a result of the charge.

Revenue generated from this program will support environmental education programs, provide reusable bags to SNAP and WIC recipients, and fund cleanup initiatives — ensuring the benefits of this policy reach those most impacted by plastic pollution.

Earth Day 2025: Launching "Cool the City"

The highlight of our Earth Month activities will be the official launch of "Cool the City" on Earth Day, April 22nd. The community is invited to join us at Broad Rock Sports Complex from 4-6pm, where Mayor Danny Avula and Councilmember Nicole Jones will speak about this groundbreaking initiative.

Cool the City represents a five-year grant funded collaboration between four Black- and Brown-led community-based organizations and three City of Richmond offices (Department of Public Works, Office of Sustainability, and Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities). Partners include Southside ReLeaf, Groundwork RVA, Happily Natural, and Virginia Interfaith Power and Light.

The Cool the City coalition will work to increase tree canopy, reduce the urban heat island effect, and build capacity in our frontline communities. Through this collaboration we anticipate significant outcomes including strengthened climate resilience, improved health outcomes, and increased community capacity in Richmond's frontline communities.

Funding for this project was provided by the Inflation Reduction Act and the USDA Forest Service, Urban and Community Forestry Program. USDA and the City of Richmond are equal opportunity providers and employers.

Join Us This Earth Month

We invite all Richmond residents to engage with these initiatives throughout Earth Month. Whether attending the Cool the City launch, providing input on the proposed disposable plastic bag tax, or learning more about our Neighborhood Climate Resilience Grantees, there are many ways to participate in building a more sustainable Richmond.

For more information on these and other sustainability initiatives, visit rvagreen2050.com or follow us on social media @RVAgreen2050.

Together, we can create a greener, more resilient Richmond for generations to come.

Posted on Feb. 23, 2025
By Danny Avula

Hey, Richmond. It's your mayor, Danny.

Recently, I joined 133 mayors across the country in urging Congress to preserve the federal clean energy tax credits. These credits are at risk of being eliminated, which would impact successful clean-energy programs like the improvements we're making here in Richmond to our municipal fleet.

Today, we uses these tax credits to expand electric vehicle charging infrastructure for our fleet - a program recently ranked 37th among all public fleets in North America for its operational efficiency. This recognition shows how our careful approach to fleet management, transitioning to electric vehicles and building charging stations, both reduces maintenance and fuel costs and improves service delivery to residents. Plus, the financial benefits are tangible: These credits help Richmond implement targeted improvements while managing costs for taxpayers. Over 500 local governments across the country are using similar cost-effective approaches to improve their municipal services.

We know how to use use these tools effectively to benefit residents and build resilient communities. We also know these credits are working for Richmond and help us make improvements that enhance city services while being mindful of the cost to residents. That's why I've signed onto this letter to Congress.

As we continue to look for ways to operate more efficiently and reduce costs, we need certainty that these proven funding tools will remain available to cities like Richmond. If you'd like to learn more about our Office of Sustainability, visit RVAgreen2050.com and sign up the newsletter.

By: Danny Avula; Posted on: Jan. 21, 2025

That was not how I was expecting to start this administration!   

On January 5, just days after I was sworn in as Mayor with an ambitious plan to build a thriving city that leaves no one behind, the City of Richmond was hit by the first big winter storm of the season.  

A second storm six days later dropped even more snow on us. 

Monday morning, as my kids were gearing up to go sledding, I jumped into a plow truck with a member of our Department of Public Works team as he treated city streets with rock salt and sand to keep roads passable for drivers.  

That same day, we learned that the winter weather delivered another serious challenge: a storm-related power outage that led to flooding at the city’s water treatment plant, loss of function of our filters and pumps, the eventual loss of water service to the City and portions of the region, and a boil water advisory being issued as a public health precaution.  

The next 144 hours were an all-hands-on-deck whirlwind as we worked around the clock to restore water service.  Systemwide pressure levels necessary to get water flowing were achieved by Thursday, and two rounds of testing confirmed on Saturday that our water is safe to drink. 

Throughout that time, city government staff from across the enterprise mobilized to meet the needs of Richmonders. We activated our Emergency Operations Center to centralize and coordinate our response efforts. 

We quickly stood up a citywide distribution network to get packaged water into the hands of people throughout the week. 

With more snow inbound, our goal was to ensure that water would continue to flow in the event of another power outage.  We deployed additional personnel (city staff, contractors, and outside experts), resources, and equipment to the water plant heading into last weekend. We also implemented new processes and protocols to closely monitor water system function and staff expectations. 

Those steps have helped keep the system running. 

While restoration efforts succeeded, there is no doubt lives were impacted by the outage.  

To address that, we are taking a series of actions to help families, individuals and small businesses in need. 

I made an initial pledge of $25,000 from the Richmond Forward Together PAC to support recovery efforts and encourage people to give if they can. 

The City continues to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in eviction diversion programs administered by non-profit partners to help vulnerable families stay in their homes. 

We are planning a future Water Recovery Week as a good will promotional effort to encourage people to patronize businesses and restaurants and to donate to relief efforts.  

The City is also filing with the U.S. Small Business Administration in pursuit of economic injury disaster loans for small businesses and is applying to the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency to recover City money spent during the emergency response. 

And we have temporarily extended City bill payment due dates by 10-days to provide people with a grace period in light of recent events. 

These steps are important in supporting our community, but there is more we need to do.  The public wants, and deserves, answers as to how this water crisis happened. 

Better understanding what occurred at the water plant will be a focus of the thorough, transparent independent investigation this administration has promised to deliver. Having a fresh set of eyes to provide an unbiased view of events as they transpired will offer a clear assessment of the situational performance of plant machinery and personnel. We are moving rapidly, but not recklessly, towards that goal. And we are doing so in collaboration with City Council. 

Even as we pursue that work, it is important to reflect more broadly on what this episode reveals. 

This moment has taught us that we need to think comprehensively about emergency planning and disaster preparedness.  

We must examine our critical infrastructure systems in the City to understand how they work, and what points in the system are aging or have the potential to malfunction under stress.  

This requires a full evaluation of the strengths and vulnerabilities of these systems and their ability to withstand weather events, natural disasters, and other potential calamities.  

This water crisis has underscored the fundamental idea that a thriving city is one that reliably delivers essential services to its people. 

But a thriving city take other forms as well.  

During the campaign, I pledged to focus on strengthening resilience in our City by pursuing policies that promote inclusivity, thriving neighborhoods, the health and well-being of children and families, and an effective and accountable City Hall. 

That work must, and will, continue. I am unwavering in my commitment to build a city that leaves no one behind.  

We have our work cut out for us, Richmond. 

As we approach it, I am encouraged by, and profoundly grateful for, the efforts city staff and community partners who stepped up to help in a time of uncertainty. 

And I am determined to do everything in my power as your Mayor to keep our community safe. 

Just as our team did during the water outage, we are ready to roll up our sleeves and dig in to get the job done. 

Let’s get to work! 

via: Danny Avula: Richmond, we have our work cut out (Richmond Times-Dispatch)

By: Ross Catrow

Over the last eight years, Bobby Vincent, Director of Public Works, and his street crews have been hard at work paving street after street, neighborhood after neighborhood all across Richmond. With constant attention (and financial support in the budget), DPW has paved thousands of lane miles of streets (we have over 2,400 in the City). Over the last six years, that hard work brought the percentage of our streets with a “Paving Condition Index” (PCI) of Satisfactory or Good from 35% in 2018 all the way up to 75% in 2024!

But what does “all across Richmond” actually mean? Check out the below .gif to see how many of our streets’ PCI shifted from reddish (Serious, Very Poor, Poor) in 2017 to a soothing sea of green (Satisfactory, Good) in 2024. This kind of citywide quality-of-life improvement makes a big difference to all users of our streets—people who ride, roll, take the bus, or even drive.

P.S. If you’ve got a pothole that needs filling or a road that needs repairing, head on over to RVA311.com and submit a request.