City leaders face housing, climate, AI and funding turmoil. Here’s how to turn that uncertainty into resilient, people-centered green technology action.
Why “Uncertainty” Is Now a Core Leadership Skill
A 43-day federal shutdown, a national housing crisis, rising climate disasters and an AI wave that still lacks clear rules — that’s the backdrop city leaders walked into at the National League of Cities (NLC) City Summit 2025.
NLC’s official theme this year was “Ready and Resilient.” But the word that kept surfacing in surveys and hallway conversations was different: uncertainty.
Here’s the thing about uncertainty in cities: it isn’t just political or economic. It’s physical. It’s hotter summers, deadlier floods, fragile grids, and residents who can’t afford rent or power bills. For anyone working in green technology, urban sustainability or climate resilience, this isn’t abstract — it’s the operating environment.
The reality? It’s simpler than you think. Cities that treat uncertainty as a constraint get stuck. Cities that treat it as a design condition build smarter, greener systems by default.
This post breaks down what NLC leaders said in Salt Lake City — and translates it into practical strategies for green technology, climate resilience and smart-city teams that still need to deliver, even when the federal landscape is volatile.
1. Uncertainty Is the New Normal — Design Your Climate Strategy Around It
City leaders at the NLC summit described this moment as more unpredictable than anything they’ve seen in decades. They’re not exaggerating.
You’re dealing with:
- Climate shocks: record heat, smoke events, inland flooding and coastal storms
- Housing pressure: growing demand for affordable, energy-efficient homes
- AI disruption: new tools for planning and operations with unclear guardrails
- Funding whiplash: shutdowns, shifting federal programs, and short grant windows
Instead of waiting for stability, the smarter move is to design green technology and climate initiatives that assume volatility.
What this looks like in practice
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Modular, scalable pilots instead of giant bets
Don’t hinge your climate strategy on a single mega-project that needs perfect conditions. Structure work as:- Small pilot → neighborhood deployment → citywide expansion
- Hardware that can be upgraded (e.g., sensors, chargers, controls) rather than replaced
- Contracts that allow performance-based scaling when new funding appears
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Resilience-first infrastructure planning
Treat climate resilience as the organizing principle, not a “nice-to-have.” For example:- Prioritize microgrids and distributed energy in neighborhoods vulnerable to outages
- Combine green infrastructure (urban trees, bioswales, permeable streets) with digital infrastructure (flood sensors, smart meters) so every dollar does double duty
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Assume policy churn, protect long-term climate goals
Build programs that can survive changes in state and federal direction:- Focus on improvements that pay for themselves through avoided costs or savings (e.g., building energy upgrades, efficient street lighting)
- Use standardized project templates so you can quickly match new grant criteria without starting from scratch
Uncertainty isn’t a reason to slow climate work. It’s a reason to build systems that bend but don’t break when the policy or funding environment shifts.
2. Proximity Is Your Superpower for Green Tech Adoption
NLC CEO Clarence Anthony called proximity the “superpower” of local leaders:
“You see your residents every day. That empowers you to do the most good because you are the closest. That proximity is the kryptonite to the polarization we are feeling in America.”
He’s right — and this is exactly where green technology projects often fail or fly.
Climate strategies and smart-city tools that ignore daily lived reality don’t stick. The ones that work are built with people who ride the bus, pay the power bill, or live in the floodplain — not just consultants in a war room.
Turn proximity into climate and tech outcomes
Use your closeness to residents to derisk innovation:
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Start with what’s already working locally
During the shutdown, Central Falls’ mayor helped organize a pop-up food pantry when SNAP benefits froze. That response wasn’t theoretical — it came from direct contact with families running out of support.Translate that mindset into climate work:
- Identify neighborhoods already organizing around heat, flooding or housing
- Co-design solutions like cooling centers, community solar, or energy retrofits
- Let residents define what “success” looks like beyond glossy dashboards
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Run resident-centered pilots, not tech-centered demos
For example, for an EV charging or micro-mobility project:- Co-locate chargers where people already park for work, school or transit
- Pair new infrastructure with translated, plain-language outreach
- Collect feedback on pricing, location, and accessibility and update in real time
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Use proximity to bridge polarization on climate
When you talk about green projects in terms of lower bills, safer streets, local jobs and less time stuck in traffic, you defuse a lot of ideological tension. That’s proximity in action: speaking to lived pain points, not just climate metrics.
Most cities underestimate how much trust sits in their neighborhood relationships. For green technology adoption, that trust is worth more than any single funding award.
3. Build Resilient Climate Programs When Funding Is Uncertain
One of the loudest concerns at City Summit 2025 was the future of federal aid — especially after a shutdown that stalled everything from SNAP to grant processing.
If you’re building climate or smart-city initiatives, counting on uninterrupted federal support is a risky bet. You need programs that can pause, flex or pivot without collapsing.
Practical moves for a more resilient funding strategy
- Mix your capital stack
Don’t rely on one source. Blend:- Federal and state grants
- Utility programs and on-bill financing
- Green bonds or climate resilience bonds
- Public–private partnerships for infrastructure (EV, solar, broadband)
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Design for quick “ramps” when funds appear
Use downtime strategically so you can move fast when opportunities open:- Keep shovel-ready climate projects with scoped designs and cost ranges
- Pre-qualify vendors under flexible contracts
- Maintain a short list of priority neighborhoods and facilities for rapid deployment
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Make the financial case in operations terms
Climate and green technology projects are easier to protect during budget cuts when they’re framed as cost control, not just environmental good:- Energy-efficient buildings reduce operating costs year after year
- Smart water networks cut non-revenue water and leak repair costs
- Modernized street lighting lowers both energy and maintenance budgets
If you can show that a project protects your operating budget, it’s more likely to survive the next fiscal squeeze — and that stability is priceless in an era of political churn.
4. Use AI and Data Responsibly to Manage Urban Chaos
NLC leaders mentioned a “mounting artificial intelligence revolution” as part of the broader uncertainty cities face. That’s accurate: AI can help with climate modeling, traffic optimization, and grid management — or it can create new risks and inequities.
The smartest cities are moving deliberately, not blindly, on AI.
Where AI actually helps climate and resilience work
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Predictive maintenance for green infrastructure
Use AI models on sensor data to identify failing pumps, transformers, or HVAC equipment before they go down, cutting both emissions and outages. -
Climate risk mapping and resource targeting
Combine satellite imagery, local data and climate projections to map:- Urban heat islands
- Flood-prone streets
- Vulnerable residents (e.g., those without access to cooling)
Then prioritize tree planting, cool roofs, drainage upgrades and microgrids where they’ll have the most impact.
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Dynamic transportation management
AI-enhanced traffic systems can reduce idling, emissions and travel time. But the key is tying them to broader goals like transit priority, bike safety and equitable street design.
Guardrails you shouldn’t skip
- Establish a clear AI ethics framework before major deployments
- Require explainable outcomes for decisions that affect services or enforcement
- Audit data sets to avoid embedding bias in climate, policing or housing models
If AI sits on top of unequal systems, it will replicate those patterns faster. If it’s guided by clear climate, equity and resilience goals, it’s a powerful tool for managing complexity.
5. Turning Civic Polarization Into Climate Collaboration
NLC leaders spent serious time on one topic many tech and climate teams underestimate: polarization.
You feel it when a heat-resilience plan turns into a culture war, or when transit improvements are framed as an attack on drivers. The summit’s message was blunt: local leaders have a responsibility to model civility and cooperation, especially for the next generation.
For green technology and climate projects, ignoring polarization is a mistake. You need a plan to work through it.
How to design climate projects that survive political turbulence
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Anchor initiatives in shared values, not partisan language
Most people, regardless of party, care about:- Strong local economies
- Public safety
- Kids’ health
- Reliability of basic services
Frame green tech around these anchors: fewer blackouts, lower household costs, safer air for children, more local jobs.
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Create visible, near-term wins
Long-term climate goals matter, but politics often works on a two to four-year horizon. Build in wins residents (and elected officials) can point to quickly:- Utility bills dropping in upgraded buildings
- Faster, safer routes to school after a street redesign
- Reduced flood nuisance on specific blocks after green infrastructure
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Train staff in civil discourse, not just technical skills
The NLC summit dedicated time to improving how local officials talk across differences. Climate staff need the same:- How to run inclusive public meetings
- How to respond to disinformation calmly
- How to separate bad-faith attacks from valid concerns
If you treat public conflict as a sign your project is failing, you’ll stall. If you plan for it as part of the work, your climate and green tech agenda is far more likely to endure.
What This Means for Your Green Technology Strategy
Most cities won’t get a stretch of calm, predictable years to quietly build their climate-ready, low-carbon future. The era of neat five-year plans not interrupted by shutdowns, social tension or extreme weather is over.
This matters because waiting for stability is, effectively, a decision not to act. And not acting carries its own risks: higher flood losses, deeper energy poverty, worsening air quality and more dangerous heat.
There’s a better way to approach this.
Treat uncertainty as the design constraint. Build:
- Modular, resilient climate projects that can scale up or down
- Funding strategies that don’t hinge on one federal program
- AI and data systems that serve clear resilience and equity goals
- Community partnerships that turn proximity into trust, and trust into adoption
If you’re responsible for climate, sustainability or smart-city work, ask yourself:
What’s one initiative I can re-architect this quarter to be more resilient to political, financial or climate shocks?
Start there. The cities that will lead on green technology and resilience over the next decade won’t be the ones with the most stable environment — they’ll be the ones that learned how to make sense of the chaos together and kept building anyway.