Raleigh's climate resiliency attracting new residents - WRAL News

Raleigh's climate resiliency attracting new residents

Raleigh is one of the fastest-growing cities in the nation, with more than 1,000 people each month migrating to the City of Oaks.

Some new residents say climate resiliency was a key factor in considering where to relocate.

"There's no earthquakes to worry about. There's no wildfires to worry about," said Crystal Ledbetter, who left her home in California in 2014.

Karen Ballard, a real estate advisor with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Paracle, says the climate is a great selling point for clients.

"You have four seasons," Ballard said. "I think people are moving here for the right reasons."

According to a recent study from Architectural Digest, Raleigh ranked as the second most climate resilient city in the nation. Charlotte ranked fifth.

Kristina Zagame helped to oversee the analysis for Ecowatch using data from NOAA, University of Notre Dame’s Urban Adaptation Assessment, EPA, and other sources across 50 major cities to determine which are most resilient to climate change.

Raleigh scored 44 out of 50 for clean energy infrastructure.

"It's policies are actually fell a little bit further behind if you look at the individual rankings," Zagame said.

Raleigh scored in the top three, however, for climate change readiness and adaptability.

"What the survey is really saying is that Raleigh is a safe place to live," Zagame said. "It's a place that's still going to be standing in the next 30, 100, 200 years."

Raleigh also had a had a high ranking for its air quality index, boasting 217 days of good air quality.

Denver, the city that took the top spot in the climate resiliency rankings, only has 84 days of good air quality on average.
Liz McLaughlin Jelia Hepner