<< Back to Climate Adaptation and Preparedness main page
What is a Community Resilient Hub and how will the help the District prepare for climate change?
Climate Ready DC calls for the District Government to create Community Resilience Hubs. Community Resilience Hubs are community-serving facilities that provide information and services to build resilient communities before, during, and after emergency events. As climate change brings more flooding, heat waves, and severe storms, Community Resilience Hubs will complement our existing emergency response services and, critically, serve DC communities year-round by promoting health, providing meeting spaces, educating the community about risks and emergency preparedness, and supporting workforce development. Resilient power systems are a critical feature of Community Resilience Hubs since they will need to operate and provide services such as refrigeration, cell phone charging, and communications during outages.
- Learn more about Community Resilience Hubs and efforts to implement them across the nation.
Towards a Resilience Hub Pilot
Beginning in 2017, the District began meeting with community members from the neighborhoods surrounding the Watts Branch tributary in Far Northeast Ward 7 to address climate resilience. This geographic focus area was chosen because the Climate Ready DC plan found that these neighborhoods face high risk from climate change. In 2018, these community members coalesced around three high priority climate initiatives, including community resilience hubs.
This same group of community members expressed interest in continuing to meet with District Government staff to create a more concrete vision for Ward 7 Community Resilience Hubs. After monthly meetings in 2019 and 2020, the group outlined their recommendations for Ward 7 hubs, including potential sites and high priority services that they should offer. The group continues to meet through 2021 to help implement the vision for a Community Resilience Hub pilot in Ward 7.
- Learn more about the 2018 Ward 7 community engagement process and recommendations.
- Learn more about community recommendations for Community Resilience Hubs in Ward 7.