🇲🇽 Happy Wednesday! Today is Mexican Independence Day. ¡Feliz Día de la Independencia!

🌧️ Today's weather: Chance of thunderstorms with a high of 72.

🎂 Happy birthday to our members Tom Overpack and Rodrigo Sierra!

Today's newsletter is 1,095 words — a 4-minute read.

Chicago ranked No. 1 for climate resilience in an AlphaGeo analysis of 72 major cities, a distinction Mayor Brandon Johnson is touting as he runs for reelection.

The big picture: More than 50 years after officials adopted the Deep Tunnel plan, Chicago continues to invest in trees and stormwater infrastructure as it prepares for more extreme weather.

• Now planners are considering the city's next generation of climate defenses.

Reality check: Last month's devastating derecho showed that being more climate-resilient doesn't make Chicago invulnerable, especially as the federal government rolls back regulations aimed at slowing climate change.

• Yesterday, World Business Chicago named Green City Rising and WONDERWAYS! co-winners of its Horizon Lines: Visions for Chicago 2050 competition.
• Green City Rising would create neighborhood arboreta, while WONDERWAYS! would turn the city's 28-mile boulevard system into climate-resilient public space.

Between the lines: These aren't funded city projects. World Business Chicago will bring the winning teams together with public, private and community partners to explore pilots, feasibility and potential funding.

Zoom out: On Monday, the Trump administration finalized the repeal of most Biden-era greenhouse gas standards for fossil fuel power plants and proposed eliminating the remaining standards.

The other side: The EPA says the rollback will reduce regulatory costs and lower energy costs.

What they're saying: "Being ranked most resilient doesn't mean Chicago is climate-proof. The derecho emphasized that concern," Environmental Law & Policy Center CEO Howard Learner tells Axios.

The bottom line: Chicago's next test will come from the weather and not the rankings.

Go deeper

Isolation can shrink the worlds of people with Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

• What if their neighbors knew how to connect with them?

The big picture: That's the idea behind dementia-friendly communities, which aim to help people with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia stay connected to the places and people around them.

State of play: Once a month, Chicago Methodist Senior Services hosts a Memory Cafe at the Edgewater Library with storytelling themes and entertainment.

• The next Memory Cafe is "Sports Day" at 11am on Friday.

How it works: Dementia-friendly communities (DFC) invite neighbors to gather and ask: What do people who have Alzheimer's and dementia need from the people living and working around them?

What they're saying: Bob Contino knows the need for connection, both for his mother, Vivian, and him as her caregiver.

• "Many people assume that caregivers are overwhelmed (not wrong) or that additional outreach may be an inconvenience or extra burden," Contino tells Axios.
• "Instead of asking 'how can I help?', try to find a tangible act or personal expression that may be meaningful. Once, a neighbor left a jar of homemade pesto on my doorstep with a kind note."

By the numbers: About 250,000 people 65 and older were living with Alzheimer's in Illinois in 2020, according to the Alzheimer's Association.

• The 465,000 caregivers provide 668 million hours of unpaid support statewide.

What's next: Dementia Friendly America offers online and in-person classes to learn more about the disease and how to be a good neighbor.

• As Contino notes, "A little understanding goes a long way."

More ways to help

🅿️ A handful of alders negotiated a new deal on the city's parking meter contract with the system's new buyer. The deal calls for a $75 million payout to the city and 5% of the system's future profits. It must be approved by the full City Council. (Tribune)

📑 Gov. JB Pritzker has officially requested a presidential major disaster declaration for the August storms that hit eight Illinois counties, including Cook and Will. (ABC 7)

⛺️ The Chicago Park District hired a homeless-support specialist to help connect residents in encampments to housing services. (Block Club)

🏒 The Blackhawks made 21-year-old Connor Bedard the second-youngest captain in franchise history. (ESPN)

Chicagoans hoping to repair their lawns after a hot summer are running out of time.

Why it matters: Late summer and early fall are the best times to reseed lawns in northern Illinois, giving new grass enough time to establish before winter.

The big picture: Plant too late and grass might not establish before winter; too early and young grass could still be exposed to stressful summer heat.

State of play: Illinois Extension generally recommends seeding between Aug. 15 and Sept. 15, though the ideal window usually comes a little earlier in northern Illinois.

Yes, but: Chicago just experienced its hottest first four days of September on record, delaying the arrival of normal fall growing conditions.

Between the lines: The weather right now looks excellent for germination: temperatures are dropping mostly into the 70s over the coming week, nighttime temperatures remain well above freezing and there's plenty of moisture in the forecast.

• Seedlings need roughly 30 frost-free days to become established enough to handle a freeze.

The bottom line: Chicago's traditional seeding window may be closing, but this week's cooler, wetter weather could offer procrastinating lawn owners one last shot.

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👋 Hey, it's Justin!

Our sold-out "Chicago Knows Best" game show at the Hideout was such a blast that we figured: Why stop now?

State of play: We're bringing Survey Says back to the newsletter with the hopes of getting back on stage before the end of the year!

• Are you ready to answer some ridiculous Chicago questions?

This week's topic: Name something a Chicagoan should never do.

Take survey here

Axios Social Club brings together curious locals for good food and good conversation with people you might never meet otherwise.

How it works: Take a quick quiz, reserve your seat and we'll match you with five fellow locals at one of our favorite restaurants.

Here's the twist: You won't find out your restaurant or dinner crew until the day of the event.

• After dinner, all the tables meet up at a surprise afterparty.

If you go: Join us Oct. 6 at 6:30pm in Logan Square.

• Tickets are $15.99 per person.
• Food and drinks are purchased separately.

Come hungry. We'll handle the rest.

Edited by Larry Graham.

🍷 Carrie wants to stroll Lincoln Park's Uncorked wine walk tomorrow.

📺 Justin is ready for the premiere of season six of "Slow Horses" tonight. CARTWRIGHT!

🗓️ Monica is on sabbatical.

Want more Axios Chicago content? Check out our Instagram for extra stuff to do, behind-the-scenes photos, videos and more!