ASC's Intersections Newsletter — December 19, 2025
🎧 Listen to this article
Nora’s Note
EJ on Climate Change. For more than a year, ASC has supported the Mayor’s Office on Climate Change and Environmental Justice (MOCEJ) with outreach workshops engaging more than two dozen New York City agencies to inform design requirements on the horizon to bring city-owned capital projects into alignment with climate goals. This week, community-based organizations joined the conversation in a workshop on how equity and environmental justice should inform the new design frameworks and be integrated into the City’s Climate Resiliency Design Guidelines (CRDG) and the EJNYC Plan. Through structured discussion and small-group breakouts, participants reviewed draft tools, identified gaps, and surfaced community-centered insights that will inform the next phase of the City’s climate resilience work. This is the kind of work we do best: helping public agencies turn values into clear, actionable frameworks that guide real-world investment and accountability.
Transportation
Congestion pricing is delivering early public health wins by cleaning up New York City’s air, according to new peer-reviewed research. A recent study found that fine particulate pollution dropped 22% within Manhattan’s congestion zone after the toll was launched, driven in part by a decrease in heavy trucks, which produce emissions that the EPA links to asthma and heart disease. Learn more about how researchers measured these changes and what they could mean for the future of NYC’s congestion pricing program. (Source: Gothamist)
AMNY: City Council approves ‘unfair deactivations’ safeguards for rideshare drivers, delivery workers
StreetsBlogNYC: Mamdani vows to appeal ruling that killed DOT’s Astoria bike lane
Mass Transit Magazine: CTA completes 2025 ‘Refresh & Renew’ program
Climate
As 2025 comes to a close, global climate action is pushing ahead. Even as the U.S. steps back from the Paris Agreement, countries like China, India, and Germany are rapidly scaling renewable energy, while others, such as Brazil and the European Union, continue to strengthen climate commitments and clean-energy investments. The moment underscores a shift in global leadership and a path forward for the clean energy transition, driven by economics, innovation, and international momentum. Learn more about how the global climate space is evolving here. (Source: Grist)
Inside Climate News: How do rooftop solar and EVs affect electricity costs for everyone else? Here’s a new estimate
E&E News: House passes pipeline permitting legislation
Happy Eco News: Lab grown cow leather from living animals could transform fashion industry
Economic Development
How do cities accelerate housing? At a recent National League of Cities event, experts shared their insights on how cities can intentionally balance the housing needs of both new and existing residents. Solutions proposed during the session included having municipalities purchase land, expanding incentives and tax credits, and building partnerships with developers that do not normally build affordable housing. Read more to learn more about how cities across the United States are addressing their housing needs. (Source: Smart Cities Dive)
The City: As U.S. transit takes a dive, MTA enjoys a rarity: more service and stable cash flow
Canary Media: Raya Power makes a solar-battery system you can put in your backyard
The State: Columbia waterfront park could be designed by firm responsible for NYC High-Line
Digital
Michigan is taking its mobility legacy in a new direction—upward. Long known as the heart of the auto industry, the state is now positioning itself as a national leader in advanced air mobility, exploring how drones and aerial technologies can solve real-world transportation and infrastructure challenges. At Detroit’s Michigan Centralcampus, startups, researchers, and public agencies are collaborating to test drone applications ranging from infrastructure inspection to emergency response and delivery services. Through the state’s Advanced Air Mobility Initiative, Michigan is encouraging cross-agency collaboration and inviting innovators to demonstrate how these technologies can support public needs. (Source: GovTech)
Wired: You’re thinking about AI and water all wrong
Engadget: In 2025, AI and EVs gave the US an insatiable hunger for power
The Verge: Feeding the machine
About Arch Street Communications
At ASC, we help government agencies, corporations and nonprofit organizations across the globe communicate issues that affect people’s lives. We’re the bold, nimble, women-owned small business (WBE) that has supported strategic communications programs to build stronger communities for 30 years.
Ready to find the “simple truth” solutions to build a better future? We want to hear from you! Get in touch to learn how our signature approach can work for you.
Subscribe to Arch Street Communications' Newsletter Intersections
