Weathering Climate Disasters with Resilience Hubs

The document describes resilience hubs as community-serving facilities designed to provide essential resources and reliable power during extreme weather events. It outlines a framework for implementation, emphasizing the importance of community buy-in, strategic siting in trusted locations, and the integration of energy efficiency, solar power, and battery storage to ensure 'hours of safety' for vulnerable residents. The guide also highlights available federal funding sources, such as the Inflation Reduction Act and the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, to support these initiatives.

• Resilience hubs are physical facilities that support residents and distribute resources across five foundational areas: reliable power, coordinated communication, dependable facilities, operational management, and specialized services and programming.
• Effective siting of resilience hubs requires prioritizing facilities that vulnerable residents trust and can access 24/7, noting that community centers or libraries may be preferred over city hall.
• Prioritizing energy efficiency through insulation and building envelope improvements increases 'hours of safety,' which is the duration a building can maintain safe temperatures during a power outage regardless of backup power availability.
• Integrating solar and battery storage provides critical backup power for disadvantaged communities who may experience longer outages because they are not located on 'critical circuits' prioritized for power restoration.
• Multiple federal funding streams are currently available for resilience hubs, including the $2.3 billion Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities program, the Inflation Reduction Act's Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grants, and the Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency Block Grant Program.

APA

RMI (2022). Weathering Climate Disasters with Resilience Hubs. https://rmi.org/resources/weathering-climate-disasters-with-resilience-hubs/

Chicago

RMI. Weathering Climate Disasters with Resilience Hubs. 2022. https://rmi.org/resources/weathering-climate-disasters-with-resilience-hubs/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=Weathering Climate Disasters with Resilience Hubs |date=26 October 2022 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/weathering-climate-disasters-with-resilience-hubs/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2022weathering, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{Weathering Climate Disasters with Resilience Hubs}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2022}, month = oct, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/weathering-climate-disasters-with-resilience-hubs/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }