On April 1st, 2025, GASP’s Program Manager of Climate Change & Community Engagement, Perry Dowell, met with City Councilor Crystal Smitherman to introduce a climate resolution. Also present were a group of students from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), who played a key role in drafting the resolution, based on research conducted by GASP.
Counselor Smitherman was chosen as the most suitable person to introduce to the resolution first, owing to her strong dedication to environmental justice, which was recently recognized when she received the 40 Under 40 Young, Gifted and Green award from the Black Millennials for Flint, a national environmental justice and civil rights organization.
Perry explained that the climate resolution is the culmination of nearly three years of work, initially sparked by GASP’s Green New Deal for Birmingham (GND4BHM) campaign. Over time, it evolved into the development of a comprehensive Climate Action Framework, which is set to be presented to the Mayor’s Office of Resilience and Sustainability this spring. The decision to introduce the resolution is an important step in urging the City of Birmingham to address critical environmental and climate challenges affecting its residents.
Councilor Smitherman expressed enthusiastic support for the resolution and agreed to sponsor its introduction to the City Council.
Perry announced the good news to the staff at GASP saying:
“Big news! Counselor Smitherman has agreed to take on the climate resolution!”
The resolution will be formally presented during the City Council meeting on Earth Day, Tuesday, April 22nd, at 9:30 AM. GASP invites all supporters and community partners to attend and demonstrate their backing for the resolution.
A Collaborative Effort: The Climate Action Framework
The Climate Action Framework forms the foundation of the resolution and represents the result of over two years of community engagement, along with a year of focused research and expert consultation. Between the spring of 2022 and summer of 2023, GASP worked diligently to gather input from Birmingham residents through six Community Climate Assemblies.
These sessions explored local climate challenges and allowed residents to share their visions for a more sustainable future, while a team of volunteers, the Green New Deal for Birmingham Planning Team, recorded notes from the conversations. Following these assemblies, GASP analyzed the collected feedback and identified key recurring themes.
To gain deeper insights, GASP partnered with the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama (PARCA) to conduct two focus groups. PARCA’s final report highlighted two primary concerns for residents: transportation and climate-resilient infrastructure. Additional issues that frequently arose in the community discussions included public transportation, pedestrian infrastructure, local government transparency, flooding & stormwater management, and urban heat. These issues became the focal points for the Climate Action Framework.
Building on these priorities, GASP collaborated with the Southeast Climate and Energy Network (SCEN) and UAB’s Lister Hill Center for Health Policy to begin drafting the Framework in May 2024. To ensure comprehensive solutions, GASP sought input from advocacy experts with extensive experience in climate, infrastructure, and sustainability. Their expertise was instrumental in shaping the final proposals in the Framework.
This past fall, GASP worked closely with UAB students researching public health and policy to translate the Climate Action Framework into a formal resolution. The students applied their academic training to real-world environmental issues, helping shape a policy that reflects both rigorous research and community needs. Their work exemplifies the power of collaboration between advocacy organizations and academic institutions in advancing climate justice.
Join Us in Supporting the Resolution
GASP is excited to present this important step toward a sustainable and climate-resilient Birmingham. We encourage all of our supporters and partners to attend the City Council meeting on April 22nd to show their support of the resolution. The meeting will begin at 9:30 AM and located on the third floor of the Birmingham City Hall Building 710 20th Street North, City Hall – 3rd FloorBirmingham, AL 35203.
