Houston, Texas, makes headlines for flooding on a regular basis. And like other communities, that will only get worse with climate change-induced sea level rise and severe storms. Kim talks with local flooding expert (and Rice University professor) Jim Blackburn about what factors created this dangerous situation in Houston and what solutions (not just regulations!) could help the community and save lives.

With Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power" hitting theaters, we talk with long time Climate Reality Project volunteer and Massachusetts municipal manager Keith Bergman about the film and how the Climate Reality Leadership Corps has helped him define his public service role -- and how it can inspire and empower more local activism on climate change.

San Antonio recently combined 3 planning processes: master, transportation and sustainability. SATomorrow was a feat of coordination, which has also been a theme in their first stages of implementation. Kim catches up with their Chief Sustainability Officer about putting the plan into action.

The City of Richmond, Virginia, won an award for their groundbreaking RVAGreen Sustainability Plan. We check in with them on their progress over the first five years, the challenges they've encountered, and what's on the horizon now that the new mayor has announced an ambitious climate action goal.

Local governments and community organizations often struggle with how to design, promote and pull off events that actually engage your community in a meaningful, comprehensive way. I've worked with Emie Michaud Weinstock of Reveled Up to try to crack this nut, and in this chat she walks through some key recommendations and workshop format options.

A team of folks recently completed a comprehensive assessment of the physical, environmental and social impacts of street tree planting in Lawrence, Massachusetts. I talk with several team members -- Angela Vincent (Merrimack Valley Planning Commission and American Planning Association Sustainable Communities Division volunteer), Brad Buschur(Project Director with Groundwork Lawrence) and Neil Angus (Devens Enterprise Commission and APA-SCD volunteer) -- about this health impact assessment of the Green Streets program.

Portland along the coast of Maine is no stranger to climate change mitigation, but they've also been making strides on the adaptation or resilience front. We talk with the City's Sustainability Coordinator about their neighborhood focus with the Bayside Adapts initiative, their recent design challenge and more ways they are preparing for sea-level rise, storm water management and more.

Growth in Phoenix is exploding, and that can generate a ton of waste. But the City is taking the unique approach of "The Circular Economy" with their Reimagine Phoenix roadmap, engaging public and private partners to increase waste diversion from 16 to 40% by 2020 and zero waste by 2050. We talk with former Public Works Director John Trujillo about the principles of a circular economy and the genesis, evolution and forecast for the city's waste goals.

Washington D.C.'s Department of Environment has utilized "Sustainable DC Ambassadors" for effective community outreach and engagement. Dan breaks down the program (why they went in this direction, the application process, volunteer expectations, their results) with us in detail to help other local governments considering a similar approach or looking for unique ways to engage their communities.

Matt Rodrigues, Traffic Engineer for the City of Eugene, Oregon, walks us through some of the rationale behind, challenges to and plans to achieve ambitious goals. These include tripling walking, biking and transit use by 2035 and a Climate Recovery Plan with a goal of achieving emission reductions consistent with achieving 350 ppm of CO2 in the atmosphere by 2100.