Sustainable municipal planning

http://www.naturalstepusa.org/storage/articles-and-case-studies/MSP_CompleteGuidebook_06.06.pdf

Alberta, Canada published a guidebook to municipal sustainability planning.

And it's great. Just really good stuff, and language that I love. I love good language.


For..."community sustainability, there are two important components that need to be 
developed:  




i)… a shared understanding of a successful future in which a strong social 
fabric weaves through communities ensuring that fundamental human needs 
are met, a vibrant cultural scene breeds creativity to drive innovation, 
ecological integrity is protected and there is a strong economy; and 
ii) … a plan of action that consists of practical investments* that make 
economic sense today and that serve as steps towards the shared 
understanding of a successful future that is environmentally, socially, and 
culturally sustainable.


* This is not simply a matter of whether the investment has a positive return on investment in the 
short-term.  Initiatives should also take into account how to avoid long-term risks, e.g. resulting
from trends such as increasing energy and waste disposal costs, stricter legislation or increasing
stakeholder demands"

I have to keep myself from just copying and pasting the entire thing here, but here are some great definitions of concepts important to municipal sustainability planning.



Common Elements of Successful MSPs 
Some common elements of successful Municipal Sustainability Plans include:  


Political will to commit resources: Having the political will to implement the plan 
accompanied by an adequate commitment of financial and personnel resources.  
Although the process is meant to engage the broader community, its success or failure 
will rest on the leadership and support of Council to the process.  This leadership will be 
called upon throughout the process to provide guidance and steer the process in case 
problems arise. 


Vision-Led Process:  A desired vision of a successful outcome that generates energy 
and enthusiasm and gives purpose and meaning to inspire the contribution of time and 
effort.  


Backcasting:  Backcasting means starting first with the desired outcome in mind and 
then identifying present-day actions to move in the direction of that outcome.  The 
outcome, or “vision”, should also be consistent with sustainability principles to ensure
that the basis for our economy and livelihood, i.e. natural systems and the materials and 
services they provide, are protected for future generations to access.
  
Picking the low-hanging fruit:  Low-hanging fruit are those actions that garner early 
agreement, are obtainable in the short-run, and can demonstrate success to generate 
momentum. In a community, this can be something as basic as getting a group together 
to clean up a visible vacant lot.  


Democratic process:  At the heart of Municipal Sustainability Planning is a commitment 
to a bottom-up participatory change process that engages citizens in designing the 
specific steps to move toward the desired vision. Using a democratic, participatory process to involve the “implementers”, i.e. partner organizations who will be responsible for implementing parts of the plan, is key to successful adoption and implementation of actions toward change.  


Leading from the side:  This describes a particular leadership style taken by process 
leaders that allows planning and action plans to emerge from the process, rather than 
imposing predetermined strategies or projects. Leadership from the side provides clear 
guidelines, then elicits ideas from participants for how to apply them.  


Taking a systems approach:  The approach to change is comprehensive and integrated, 
aimed at bringing about change throughout the range of planning areas. A conventional, 
less effective approach addresses issues on a one-by-one basis.  


Broad involvement:  A wide representation of community participants takes part both in 
the creation of a positive vision and in the steps toward achieving that vision. Broad 
involvement of citizens and implementers helps assure that change will happen, since 
those responsible for making it happen are involved in shaping the proposals from their 
beginning, again the idea of “involving the implementers”. 


Keeping it going:  Planning in cycles, testing early action proposals, ongoing education 
and training programs, monitoring the effectiveness of actions with indicators, all guided 
by the vision and sustainability principles, help institutionalize change and keep adopted 
practices going over time.

Good definitions of sustainability

I'm going to keep a running list of definitions I love. (There are so many!)

Here's one for today:

“A sustainable community is one that is economically, environmentally, and socially healthy and
resilient. It meets challenges through integrated solutions rather than through fragmented
approaches that meet one of those goals at the expense of the others. And it takes a long-term
perspective— one that's focused on both the present and future, well beyond the next budget or
election cycle.”  - Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC 1997)

"Minneapolis is a city that people choose to call home. It offers its residents a progressive tradition of good government, civic participation and a vibrant economy for business and industry. In Minneapolis, residents cherish their children, value education, embrace their diversity, respect their neighbors and protect their environment. Their promise to future generations is an even greater, more beautiful city than the one they inherited."  Minneapolis city vision. 

Green Infrastructure

A key component of turning Detroit into a more vibrant and sustainable place to live and work is green infrastructure. Green infrastructure is made of planned natural features, such as parks, green alleys, and greenways, that support both healthy ecosystems and communities. Aside from the obvious benefits of having more parks in the place that we live, this approach to planning can also help to clean our environment. By building more parks and fewer parking lots, more rainwater can soak into the ground and filter naturally instead of coming into the sewers and needing to be treated. Having more trees in our communities helps to clean the air and also take up carbon from the atmosphere. Green infrastructure can also help to support biodiversity and reduce the urban heat island effect. Where would we be without clean air and water? Or insects to pollinate plants that we eat? We depend on well-functioning ecosystems to maintain our quality of life. Green infrastructure is a great way to make neighborhoods more fun, attractive, and healthier places to live in!

DWEJ is working on a green alley project on the East Side with with Genesis Hope (http://www.genesishope.org/). Since alleys are an often neglected areas that are home to undesireable activities, revitalizing them can have a big impact on the surrounding neighborhoods. Other cities, like Chicago (http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/cdot/provdrs/alley/svcs/green_alleys.html), Baltimore (http://www.communitygreens.org/AGandAG) , and Los Angeles, have used green alleys to combat blight, crime, and environmental issues.

DWEJ is also working with Community Development Advocates of Detroit (http://cdadonline.ning.com/) to help develop strategic planning tool that neighborhood groups can use to help direct the future of their areas. This tool includes strategies for areas that could be redeveloped into naturescapes or green thoroughfares that would function as green infrastructure.

If you want to learn more about green infrastructure here are some links that will show you the development of green areas and links across metro-Detroit and the world!

A great place to get started: http://www.greeninfrastructurewiki.com/
Michigan Trails & Rails: http://www.michigantrails.org/projects/detroit-trails/
A greenway report from Time: http://detroit.blogs.time.com/2010/07/15/a-greenway-runs-through-it/


- Volunteer Anne Shivkovsky

Our new intern's first day on the job...

This spring, we got connected to Taylor Daugherty, a super-energetic, smart young lady this summer who is one of our new interns. She just finished her sophomore year at Western Michigan University, and juggles pageant competitions with a double major in environmental studies and broadcast journalism.

Her first day on the job was helping out with the May 5 Environmental Summit, which DWEJ partnered with sister organizations and residents to organize. We wanted to expand community engagement on environmental issues for the Detroit Works Project. I asked her to write a little reflection about what she thought about the event for our blog, and wow - here's what she wrote:

"The Environmental Summit was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.
Heading into my junior year of college as an environmental studies major, I thought I knew a pretty good amount of information. The biological aspects of the environment, importance of maintaining ecological equilibrium , the necessity of preserving the ozone ... blah blah blah, so to speak.  One thing that was missing from the lectures, labs, field experiments and statistical assessments however, ... was actual application.

So the summit, needless to say, was amazing. As a mere “fly on the wall”, I was able to absorb so much information. Being able to see the passion behind the people’s stories, opinions and ideas, and the fact that they were directly effected by the things I read about in my textbooks everyday, helped me to understand 1. the interconnection among the different aspects of the environmental realm (social, ecological, political) 2. the importance of having a variety of organizations aimed at different sectors of the environmental field and 3. the benefits of simple communication.

All in all, I really enjoyed the summit. I was able to see generations of Detroiters with strong opinions and passionate appeals, speaking up for things they believed in. It was encouraging, it was insightful ... it was ... Bold!

-signed, the new intern."

There are so many things I like about this picture. Revival of a key historic building (with the help of state historic tax credits) downtown, and a couple of our sweetest trainees (Curtis Harper, Jr. and Curtis Harper, Sr.) employed on the project. 

Broderick Towers: Woodward at Grand Circus Park. 

Detroit's Environmental Holy Grail...?

What would be the environmental holy grail for Detroit?

For Simone Sagovac of Southwest Detroit Environmental Vision, a cap on cumulative impacts + reduction goals is pretty close. That would be one power-packing policy, because setting both a cap and reduction goal would not only totally change the way permitting decisions are made, but also require currently polluting facilities to get cleaner and cleaner. That would REALLY be prioritizing human wellbeing.

Why cumulative impacts? Here's why, in very simple terms by Peter Montague, director of Environmental Research Foundation in Annapolis, Maryland:

"Actions that are tolerable or even harmless at the individual level can degrade the planet if thousands or millions of people do them."

A locally relevant version would be "Permitted emissions that are tolerable or even harmless at the individual level may be reducing air, water and soil quality to hazardous levels in areas of concentrated industry" - like in Southwest Detroit.

We could address all different sources of cumulative health impacts - air quality, water quality, soil quality, in the built environment, etc. You could get into zoning, green infrastructure, brownfield remediation, alternative energy...

Would it adequately capture issues like access to recreation, public transit and housing options, and energy conservation? I guess if we included fuel emissions, indoor environmental quality, and power plant emissions.

Anyway, I wanted to share two rather wonky items that I like:

Santa Monica's Sustainability Plan - guiding principles, indicators, goals... drool.

My own excerpted summary

Santa Monica Office of Sustainability and Environment

Santa Monica's "10 ways a sustainable community works" poster

AND

Smart Growth Leadership Institute's Policy Audit tool. OOHH. You're supposed to have a shared city vision to audit policies against? That makes sense. :)

Take Action Against the Incinerator!

The publich hearing is at 9:40am on Thursday, April 28. But you can take action before then by calling or emailing councilmembers.

Action Alert: Deadline Apr 27: spread far and wide and generate emails/calls

Please let Zero Waste Detroit [zwdetroit@igc.org] know of your call/email

Contact Council Planning & Economic Development Committee:

Jenkins: 313-224-4248; councilmemberjenkins@detroitmi.gov

Cockrel: 313-224-4505; CockrelK@kcockrel.ci.detroit.mi.us

Kenyatta: 313-224-1198; K-Kenyatta_MB@detroitmi.gov

Council President Pugh: 313-224-4510; CouncilPresidentPugh@detroitmi.gov

Message:

Dear Council Member ______

I urge you to vote NO on April 28 when the Planning and Economic Development Committee considers the request from Detroit Renewable Power (owners of the Detroit incinerator) for Brownfield redevelopment tax credits.

No more public monies for the incinerator!

Your name______
Address_____


Or take online action here: Ecology Center