Ideas from Other Areas
Missouri
Kansas City’s 10,000 Rain Gardens program is a public/private initiative with the goal of reducing the runoff that pollutes waterways by planting rain gardens using native plants. The program protects water quality and also reduces greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and increased citizens’ awareness that they could personally help improve water quality.
Illinois
Chicago planted a rooftop garden on city hall which, on average, is seven degrees cooler than surrounding roofs on a year-round basis and as much as 30 degrees cooler in summer. The city offered ten $5,000 grants to help residents and small businesses finance the planning installation of green roofs. By the end of 2006, there were more than 250 public and private green roofs totaling more than one million square feet under design or construction in Chicago. Other green initiatives include
- A solar thermal grants program
- A giveaway of 500,000 energy-efficient compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs)
- A waste-to-profit network that enables waste products from some companies to become raw materials for other industries within the network
- A newly opened household chemical and computer recycling center
- Mayor Daley’s GreenWorks Awards recognizing private green building projects.
New York
Sustainable South Bronx in the heart of New York City is encouraging the development of “Green Roofs” in order to offset the Urban Heat Island effect, the increased city heat caused by modification of the land surface by urban development. A green roof is a layer of soil and foliage on top of a building.
Oregon
Portland is considered one of the leading sustainable cities in the country. In 1979 it was one of the first to adopt an energy policy emphasizing energy efficiency and renewables. Portland is also a leader in global warming and peak oil planning.
Pennsylvania
The Greensgrow Philadelphia
Project is a nationally recognized center for the research, development,
and dissemination of urban agricultural technology. Located on a former Brownfield
site in north Philadelphia, Greensgrow has become a remarkable example of
the successful transformation of blighted, vacant property into green, productive
and profitable enterprise. The Greensgrow model for success includes the use
of relatively low capitalization and operating costs, innovative and effective
growing systems and marketing strategies that are well-suited for the urban
environment.Utah
Salt Lake City started the e2Business program to recognize and support business owners that reduce resource consumption. Participants get free advertising under the e2business brand, free consultation and media credits.
Washington
Olympia has Putting Sustainability into Action is one of the City Council's four primary goals. To help implement this goal its Sustainability Super Team has developed a decision making model, the Sustainable Action Map, to help assess the impacts of any decision on the community as a whole. The model, creates a matrix of four components of sustainability - Natural, Individual, Community and Economy, which must be in balance to proceed; each component is assessed for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats resulting in a Stoplight indicator red, yellow or green.
Australia
Sydney Water, a statutory State-owned corporation, provides drinking water, recycled water, wastewater services and stormwater services to the people in the greater Sydney area. It is perhaps the best example of an integrated sustainable water system in the world.
Brazil
Curitiba, Brazil is looked upon by urban planners and environmentalists around the world as a role model for city planning. Anchored on enlightened transportation policies,the city has combined substantial growth with sustainability.
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