HCBD and Community Climate Resilience

Healthy, resilient communities promote well-being and are ready for climate challenges.  These communities are prepared to recover after climate events like floods. They also make changes to adapt to climate challenges like extreme heat and drought.

Municipalities and community groups have accomplished these initiatives by working together:

• Communities can make plans to support climate resilience. The Town of Sylvan Lake developed a Climate Resilience Action Plan, which identified climate-related risks and opportunities. Sylvan Lake is taking action to mitigate climate-related risks such as extreme heat, water quality and availability, and extreme weather events such as floods, fires, and storms. Being prepared and adapting to changes supports physical and mental health and well-being.
• Educating residents about stormwater management helps improve the health of lakes and rivers, which protects drinking water resources for communities downstream. Calgary has a website about stormwater management with information available in many different languages. Strathcona County implemented Trout Unlimited Canada’s Yellow Fish Road program to teach residents about how their actions can impact rivers, streams, and lakes.
• Municipal zoning regulations can minimize urban sprawl, protect existing agricultural land and improve food security and climate resilience. The City of Edmonton expanded opportunities for urban agriculture in the zoning bylaw renewal, which came into effect in 2024.

Community climate resilience resources:

• Public Health Agency of Canada. Mobilizing Public Health Action on Climate Change in Canada highlights climate change’s physical and mental health impacts and the important role healthy environments play in combating climate change.
• Alberta Municipalities. Climate Risk Assessment and Adaptation Considerations for Municipal Governance discusses integrating climate risk assessment and adaptation into municipal statutory responsibilities.
• Health Canada. Climate Change and Health Equity describes the relationship between climate change, health and health equity.