Land Development Today - July/August 2007 - (Page U8)

Trends Role of Sustainability The Increased BY DOUG THOMPSON in American Cities Becoming a sustainable community requires more than just a plan on paper. Open any paper on any given day and you will find stories about the challenges that cities across the United States struggle with as they deal with a changing world. The driving forces of these changes range from globalization to climate change. Some cities, however, do better than others in dealing with these changes. The Economist recently published a special report on cities (May 5, 2007) in which one of the aspects they identified for successful cities was their ability to reinvent themselves. The article refers to Harvard economist Edward Glaeser’s study of Boston, which has reinvented itself several times: first as a maritime trading and fishing empire, then as a factory town, and more recently as a center of the information economy. The article goes so far as to suggest that the ability of a city to reinvent itself should be included in the measures used to evaluate the city’s desirability. One of the ways leading cities are reinventing themselves is by becoming more sustainable. Cities such as Seattle, Grand Rapids, Chicago, and Portland, have determined that one of the best ways to create a thriving city is to focus on issues related to what has become known as the triple bottom line: economic prosperity, environmental integrity, and social equity. This is a tall order. Addressing any one of these areas can be Economic Local employment rate Quality job creation Cost of living City bond rating Children below poverty limit New business startups Workers earning living wage Table 1 a significant task, but when they are combined to offer a balanced approach, the challenges can be daunting. Not all cities that have started sustainability initiatives have been successful – many start with fanfare and end with a fizzle. Building a truly sustainable city requires community building that involves city officials, business leaders, school officials, and nonprofit organizations. While sustainability can be the glue that brings together these disparate groups, politics can become the wedge that splits them apart. Traditional hierarchal organizational models that are familiar to city governments and businesses are often at odds with the less conventional governance models necessary to create the required partnership within the community. Creating partnerships is a critical element of any sustainability initiatives success and requires the participation and cooperation of many different sectors within the city. For example, improving the technical capabilities of students so that they can be trained to join the knowledgebased economy requires the support of the business community. Truly innovative solutions to environmental problems can be realized only when government, citizens, and businesses collaborate on the issues facing the community. Getting difEnvironmental Tons of waste landfilled annually Water usage Air quality Use of public transportation Number of LEED buildings Carbon footprint (per capita) Urban tree canopy ferent groups involved in developing the solution seems to be a key to successful implementation. When the partnerships are not established, it is difficult to implement even the most brilliant plans. Sustainability Indicators Dr. Kent Portney examines how cities are tackling sustainability in his book Taking Sustainability Seriously. While he admits that it is too soon to tell whether cities have been successful in becoming sustainable, it is not too early to assess how seriously they are addressing the problem. He has researched several sustainability initiatives and found that “the single most important element in assessing the seriousness of a city’s effort toward achieving sustainability is the presence of a sustainability plan.” He further notes that “one of the more distinguishing characteristics among sustainability plans or integrated strategic plans is the inclusions of indicators of sustainability.” These sustainability indicators operationalize the strategy – they define how to measure what is important. They turn a strategic plan from words on a page into action. To be effective, they must be tied to the vision, but it is equally important to take action when they move in the wrong direction. Social High-school dropout rate Education attainment rate Affordable housing Crime rate Volunteerism Voter turnout for local elections Teen pregnancy 8 July/August 2007

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Land Development Today - July/August 2007

Cover Contents Our Voice: Industry Advocates Your Voice: Reader Response Cover Story: Preparing Your Tax Strategy The Rules of the Game Historical Redevelopment Project Profile: Seattle’s High Point Retention: From Ravine to Road Land Use: Picatinny Arsenal Mixed Use: Florida Offices Industry News Products/Services Showcase Classifieds Recommended Reading Advertiser Index Editorial Board The Last Word: What? Me Plan… Urban Development

Land Development Today - July/August 2007

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