Success Stories
Planning
for Sustainable Communities
Albuquerque's
Environmental Story: Toward a Sustainable Community
was created to help students in Albuquerque, New
Mexico relate compassionately to their local natural and human
environment. A primary objective of the document is to foster
a mindset in Albuquerque's future citizens which can lead to
a sustainable future for their community. Its hands-on interpretive
approach is designed to heighten students' awareness, enhance
their capacity to enjoy the beauty surrounding them and develop
a sense of social and environmental stewardship.
Blueprint
2030 is a strategy for the Twin Cities (Minnesota) region
to strengthen its quality of life and regional competitiveness
while accommodating growth. It is intended to align regional
investments and incentives to support communities as they change
and grow. Elements of smart growth, new urbanism and sustainability
are built into seven objectives of the Blueprint 2030 growth
strategy. The strategy was adopted in December 2002.
Chillicothe Long-Range
Planning/Municipal Recycling is a long-range sustainable
planning program in Missouri that aims to generate new ideas,
develop additional leadership and involve the entire community.
The program also includes a curbside recycling program and the
creation of a paper pellet plant.
Citigroup
has adopted a comprehensive environmental policy that sets a
new standard for the financial services industry. The policy
provides a long-term framework for Citigroup to promote higher
environmental standards through its business practices.
Civano is an 820-acre
traditional neighborhood development in Tucson, Arizona that
was designed to promote economic growth while maintaining important
social values and ecological harmony. Civano buildings use the
best available technology to reduce energy and water demands.
The project also focuses on land-use planning and sustainable
transportation design. More information can be found through
the Civano website.
Flagstaff
2020 a community visioning process by and for the people
of greater Flagstaff, Arizona in 1997 addressed seven broad
target areas: Strengthening and Sustaining Community, Creating
Economic Opportunity, Protecting the Environment, Managing Growth,
Improving Housing and Livability, Promoting Family Life, Health
and Safety, and Fostering Human Development.
Hidden Springs
is a new residential community in Idaho that is based upon eight
principles that aim to protect the natural environment, preserve
rural character and farming traditions, preserve quality of
life, increase diversity and achieve traditional design for
its neighborhoods and homes.
Manatee
County "Rediscovers" Its Early Vision of Sustainability
sets forth both a remarkable history of planning
in Manatee County, Florida that teaches by example, as well
as offers a clear plan for a sustainable future.
Michigan Land
Use Leadership Council was created in 2003 and charged
with addressing the trends, causes, and consequences of unmanaged
growth and development in Michigan. The council provided recommendations
to the governor and legislative leaders designed to minimize
the impact of current land use trends on Michigan's environment
and economy.
Minnesota Sustainable
Development Initiative Program has brought together
more than 100 citizen-leaders to develop a sustainable development
plan that will reconcile the economic and environmental goals
of the state, ensuring environmental protection while allowing
for economic and job growth.
New Urbanism, Traditional
Neighborhood Development profiles the 80-acre development
of Seaside, Florida, heralded as the first and most successful
example of Traditional Neighborhood Development.
Northern Arizona University Sustainability Strategy Plan addresses nearly every aspect of the campus as an "ecosystem": water and energy use, transportation, materials purchase and disposal, building and landscape maintenance, research and education.
One
City, One Future City Sustainability Plan discusses
the plans of a "built-out" beach community in Clearwater, Florida
to put a sustainable future back into place.
Santa
Monica Sustainable City Progam was adopted by this California
city on September 20, 1994. The program includes policy guidelines
and ordinances for the following areas: Community and Economic
Development, Construction and Development, Education, Energy,
Hazardous Materials, Housing, Purchasing, Solid Waste, Stormwater
& Wastewater, Transportation and Water.
Smart
Growth Twin Cities Project was designed to demonstrate
how Minnesota communities can grow more compactly and preserve
open space, clean air and community appeal, while minimizing
costs by taking advantage of existing investments in transportation
and sewers. It used innovative public involvement methods that
encouraged metro area residents to help plan future development
through citizens forums, workshops, and visual preference surveys.
The project addressed both region-wide and local planning.
Stapleton Development
Corporation profiles the redevelopment of the former
Stapleton International Airport site, near Denver, Colorado.
The project involved constructing a community of urban villages,
employment centers and greenways that focus on sustainability,
environmental preservation and economic and social development.
Sustainability
Plan for the City of San Francisco was developed by
a group of more than 350 San Franciscans–community activists
and people representing many city government agencies, over
100 businesses, and academia. They gathered in working groups
in 1996 to draft the "rough game plan that is necessary for
a concerted effort to achieve a sustainable society." In July
1997, the goals and objectives of the sustainability plan became
policy of the City and County of San Francisco, California.
Sustainable
Communities Initiative of the City of Austin serves
as a formal vehicle to bring together diverse views to plan
for the needs of today and tomorrow throughout the entire Austin,
Texas region. It is designed to link Austin's existing programs
and to reinforce additional sustainable development initiatives.
Sustainable Manhattan
is a project of the Kansas Center for Rural Initiatives, which
is a fledgling community effort to promote sustainable development
choices in Manhattan, Kansas and the surrounding areas.
Thomas Jefferson
Sustainability Council Regional Sustainability Planning
aims to provide a definition of sustainability for Charlottesville,
Virginia so that the town may develop indicators to measure
sustainability and determine the risks of implementing unsustainable
actions or policies.
Toward a Sustainable Community in Southern Orange County is the title of a draft report released for community input in April 2004 by the Council on a Sustainable Community in Chapel Hill-Carrboro, North Carolina. The report proposes eight components
as the basis for environmental, social and economic sustainability, and offers recommendations for achieving sustainable community goals.
Environmental
Protection and Economic Revitalization
Bethel New Life Community
Revitalization Projects is a community-development corporation
in Chicago, Illinois working to revitalize local neighborhoods
through the creation of jobs, housing rehabilitation, development
of community education and health-care programs and the cultivation
of neighborhood-improvement projects.
Chattanooga's
Adventure in Revitalization illustrates the attitudes
and projects that have changed Chattanooga, Tennessee from the
"dirtiest city in America" to one of the most talked about success
stories in sustainability.
Council
on a Sustainable Community, formed by the Chapel Hill-Carrboro
(North Carolina) Chamber of Commerce in 2003, is an independent
task force that will address how to proactively promote a healthy
economy and ensure Chapel Hill and Carrboro remain successful
and sustainable.
Economic Diversification
Programs of the Owsley County Action Team is a
Kentucky program in which a group of citizens is working toward
implementing an economic diversification strategy that promotes
entrepreneurial initiatives in high-value agriculture, wood
and forest-based enterprises; tourism and recreation; industrial
development and infrastructure development.
Florida Sustainable
Communities Demonstration Project is a Tallahassee project
created in 1996 by the Florida Legislature to promote community
involvement in achieving higher levels of energy efficiency,
environmental protection and economic development.
Royal
Philips Electronics released the company’s second
annual sustainability report (2004), which extends the company’s
sustainability principles to Philips’ 50.000 suppliers.
In addition, Philips pledges to develop five sustainable-product
propositions by the end of 2004.
Sustainable City Project
for Planning Energy Policy of San Jose, California, is
a project of the Urban Consortium Energy Task Force, which develops
urban planning processes that identify, rank and implement energy
policies and program options for promoting urban sustainability.
TechPark Neighborhood
Reclamation and Business Park Project is a business
park and neighborhood revitalization project in Rock Hill, South
Carolina that combines economic development, revitalization
of low-income neighborhoods and preservation of natural beauty
and wildlife habitat.
Sustainable
Agriculture
Rural Action’s Rural
Renewal Strategy is a Trimble, Ohio program that
empowers low-income residents to design and implement their
own community-based solutions to environmental and economic
challenges.
Sustainable Urban/Rural Enterprise
is a project that promotes the dual goals of economic development
and environmental stewardship in Richmond, Indiana. The plan
is based on the belief that economic and agricultural systems
should be both adaptable and resilient and that no development
activity should deplete the area’s natural resource base.
Megalinks/Collections
of Success Stories
Alliance
for Redesigning Government, of the National Academy
of Public Administration, features case studies focusing on
topics such as community development, economic development,
rural development and the environment.
Best Practices for
Human Settlements Database from UN-HABITAT profiles
project initiatives that address sustainability issues, such
as poverty eradication, economic development, social services,
environmental protection, infrastructure, housing and land use,
urban and regional planning processes and disaster and emergency
preparedness.
The Southeast Michigan
Council of Governments (SEMCOG) publishes Best Practices
for Sustainable Development. This March 1999 report available
in print form profiles 34 "best practices" case studies
from southeast Michigan communities. Best practices fall into
three categories: environmental protection, economic progress
and human development.
BEST
and BIG Success Stories provides a host of links to
case studies on Portland, Oregon businesses that have won awards
for notable energy and environmental accomplishments.
Topics include energy efficiency, water conservation, waste
reduction and recycling and clean and efficient transportation.
Champion Communities—EZ/EC
Community Projects That Work features 28 stories of
successful development projects launched by Champion Communities,
EZ/EC communities and other rural communities. They illustrate
the diverse ways in which rural communities are creating local
programs as long-range solutions to the many social and economic
problems they face.
Council
for a Sustainable Florida 2003 Award Winners names the
businesses, universities, government agencies and community
groups that the group recognized for sustainability intiatives
or promising practices. (PDF)
HORIZON Solutions
Site links to a number of international projects focusing
on areas such as agriculture, air pollution, biodiversity, energy,
industry, transportation and waste management.
HUD
Best Practices' Case Study Book - Communities at Work: Addressing
the Urban Challenge profiles the winners and finalists
in the National Excellence Awards for The City Summit (Habitat
II).
HUD’s
Beyond Shelter: Building Communities of Opportunity –
The United States Report for Habitat II profiles a number
of sustainability success stories in land use, community revitalization,
affordable housing and brownfield reclamation.
ICLEI
Project Summaries and Case Studies offers the International
Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) collection
of project summaries (abstracts of full case studies). Ordering
information for case studies is also available on this site.
100
Stories from @Grass-roots.org tells the stories of a
number of the nation’s grassroots heroes in the fields of hunger
and nutrition; homelessness; low-cost housing; welfare, children,
and family support; community organizing and advocacy; job training
and community economic development.
Sustainability
in Action Case Study Profiles, provides a map and index
of outstanding sustainable community initiatives from across
the U.S, organized by state and available as PDF files.
America's Most Livable Cities features 30 cities recognized for innovations in the Creative Economy that have brought vitality and growth to their regions and improved quality of life. The cities are chosen by Partners for Livable Communities once each decade.
Last updated: July 2, 2004
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