Press release: Smart Surfaces Could Deliver Over $20 Billion in Benefits Across 10 US Cities
New Tools Help Cities Design Cooler, Healthier, and More Resilient Communities
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New Tools Help Cities Design Cooler, Healthier, and More Resilient Communities ✺
August 19, 2025 - Across 10 major U.S. cities - home to 8 million people - citywide adoption of Smart Surfaces could deliver $7.6 billion in public health benefits, $3.3 billion in electricity bill reductions, and $9.9 billion in infrastructure savings, while also reducing or offsetting 79 million metric tons of CO₂e and managing 275 billion gallons of stormwater. Expanding Smart Surfaces to the surrounding metropolitan areas (impacting 34 million Americans) could deliver a total of $26.6 billion in public health benefits, $10 billion in electricity bill reductions, and $34.8 billion in infrastructure savings, while also reducing or offsetting 246 million metric tons of CO₂e and managing 969 billion gallons of stormwater.
To help cities act on this potential and accelerate transformation, the Smart Surfaces Coalition and data partners—including World Resources Institute, Altostratus, Inc., Open Technologies, Trust for Public Land, and the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law—developed a suite of tools enabling cities to more easily conduct benefit-cost analysis, geospatial analysis, and data-driven policy implementation. Together, these tools enable users to assess local surface infrastructure, model the quantified benefits of Smart Surface solutions, and craft legislation backed by clear financial, health, and climate impact data.