apa-scd spring 2013 newsletter

7/30/2019 APA-SCD Spring 2013 newsletter

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SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY PLANNINGThe Newsletter of the Sustainable Communities Divisionof the American Planning Association

American Planning Association

Sustainable Communities Division

Welcome from the Division ChairBy Daniel Lerch

Why does the APA need a Sustainable Communities Division? Weveasked (and been asked) that question many times since we rstproposed the idea in 2007.

Back then, our answer was simple: we elt the planning proession was not giving sustainability issues the serious attention and ocus they needed. Te U.S.Green Building Council had been aggressively pushing lowenergy buildingstandards in the private sector or years, and the U.S. Conerence o Mayorsand ICLEI were making waves with aggressive climate mitigation eorts. Plan

ners, meanwhile, seemed to have little to oer o relevance beyond yearsoldgrowth management tools and a slowly growing collection o innovative butoutlier practices rom places like San Francisco and Portland.

In retrospect, the national conversation on sustainability at that time was inthe midst o its biggest turning point since the early 1990s. Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Al Gores lm An Inconvenientruth in 2006 had started to shi public thinking on climate change, while the buildup to what would become the oilprice spike o 2008 (and the end o cheap oil generally) was prompting many people to rethink their assumptions aboutenergy. Planners thinking and planning practice were also at a turning point; there was certainly no lack o interesting projects and innovative policies at the time or anyone looking. But the conversation about sustainability within our proessionremained uncentered and diuse, and a sustainabilityocused Division seemed like a constructive way to address that.

Tings in the planning proession have changed quickly and dramatically since then. Communities and planners across thecountry now regularly deal with sustainability concerns. Within APA, weve gone rom a 2007 conerence in Philadelphiawhere the sessions dealing with climate change issues could quite literally be counted on one hand, to last years conerencein Los Angeles bursting at the seams with sustainability issues (and, not coincidentally, new young planners). Weve seenthe release o important new reports like Planning or a New Energy and Climate Future rom the Green CommunitiesResearch Center and Sustaining Places: Te Role o the Comprehensive Plan through the Sustaining Places Initiative.Some Chapters and Divisions have started committees and projects on sustainability issues.

But until now, weve still missed a critical component: a place within our national proessional body where those o us whowant to tackle the worlds deep sustainability challenges through planning can connect directly with our peers to discuss,organize, and collaborate. Tats what this new Sustainable Communities Division is all about. And in this-our veryrst newsletter-you can already see some o the benets, like ostering inormationsharing and collaboration between

APA State Chapters, and highlighting some innovative projects you may not have heard about.

Weve done the hard work o getting this Division up and running. Now we needyou to get involved with the exciting part:working with your peers to push sustainability thinking to the oreront o the planning proession. Please visit our blog atsustainableplanning.net or the latest news and links to our discussion orum, and help us start this important work.

Tanks or being a member,

Daniel LerchChair, APA Sustainable Communities Division

Spring 2013

1 Welcome from the Division ChairBy Daniel Lerch

2 National Conference Session Presen

Sustainability Practices for PlannersBy Carine Arendes

4 The Challenge of Sustainability PlannBy Scott T. Edmondson

11 APA Sustainability Objectives Are Gu

Policy for MunicipalitiesBy Sarah James

14 A Changing Planning Paradigm for a

Changing WorldBy Doug Melnick

16 Conference Reception Program

vol 1
http://www.sustainableplanning.net/http://www.sustainableplanning.net/


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SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY PLANNING SPRING 2013

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National Conference Session Presents

Sustainability Practices for Planners

By Carine Arendes

Visionary long range plans set high aspirations or communities, but

without concrete, achievable actions to get there, those visions maybe dicult to realize. Even when communities adopt sustainability,climate change, green building, or energy eciency policies, jurisdictions may lack the resources to meet policy goals or the rules andregulations that govern daily practice, and may actually create impediments to achieving those aspirations. At the APA National Conerencein Chicago, the Best Practices in Sustainable Community Planningsession will present case studies rom both the East and West Coaststhat deal with these challenges. Session experts will share how planners and policy makers across the nation have used concrete sustainable development strategies to make changes in the way developmentis implemented.

Evaluating Land Use Controls

One recent trend in practice is to evaluate the regulatory land useramework through a sustainability lens (requently LEEDND),identiy barriers to sustainable development, and then take action toreduce those barriers. In 2012, the City o Mount Vernon, New York,embarked on a project to develop a targeted Green MixedUse DistrictOrdinance. Te intent is to spur sustainable, mixeduse developmentalong a commercial corridor while increasing the capacity and reducing the costs o using energyecient designs and technologies andrenewable energy systems in projects in the zone. Te City analyzed

the proposed mixeduse zoning district ordinance using the echnicalGuidance Manual or Sustainable Neighborhoods to identiy possible adjustments or urther incentivizing and eliminating barriersto sustainable development. Meg Byerly, Sta Attorney or the LandUse Law Center at Pace Law School will talk at the conerence sessionabout how the Manual was used and the expected outcome i theresulting ordinance is implemented by the City.

Te desert city o Las Vegas might not be the rst West Coast cityyou think o regarding sustainability, yet the Las Vegas Planning andDevelopment Department recently completed an audit o the cityszoning code based on LEEDND standards. Te resulting report

identied code barriers to sustainability and proposed numerouschanges to the zoning code. Recommended policy changes call oradaptive reuse o historic buildings, postconstruction best management practices or site plans, and a more diverse range o buildingmaterials and alternative roong methods. Additionally, the reportrecommended changes in standards allowing greater building heightsor green buildings, providing greater fexibility in solar panel regulations, amending parking standards to encourage alternative transportation, reducing impervious suraces, minimizing parking, and

SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIESDIVISION LEADERSHIP

Spring 2013

Steering Committee

Chair: Daniel Lerch (Region V)

Treasurer: Mark Teschauer (Region III)Robert Kerns (Region II)

Clark Henry (Region I)

Michael Davidson (Region IV)

Debra March (Region VI)

Ben Herman (at-large)

Ramona Mullahey (at-large)

Angela Vincent (at-large)

Coordinators

2013 Conference Events: Carine Arendes, Michael

Davidson, Rob Kerns, Ramona Mullahey

Email Bulletin:Jennifer Koch, Andrew Parish

Membership: Beth Otto

Membership Survey: Lester King

Quarterly Newsletter: Christopher Ryan

State Chapters Activities:Anne Miller

Student Activities: Mark Teschauer

Newsletter Committee Volunteers

Rebecca Brown, Matt Bucchin, Andrew Dane,

Perry D. Gross, Amanda E. Hatton, Clark Henry,

Alison LeFlore, Ben Herman, Ann Ruzow Holland,

Sarah James, Peter Lowitt, Kate Marshall, Christie

McGetrick, MJ McGetrick, Andrew Parish, Jo

Penrose, Tony Robalik, Rinkey Singh, AngelaVincent, Ralph Wilmer

Contact

[email protected]

linkd.in/apa-scd

twitter.com/apascd

facebook.com/apascd

sustainableplanning.net
mailto:apascp%40gmail.com?subject=http://linkd.in/apa-scdhttp://twitter.com/apascdhttp://facebook.com/apascdhttp://sustainableplanning.net/http://sustainableplanning.net/http://facebook.com/apascdhttp://twitter.com/apascdhttp://linkd.in/apa-scdmailto:apascp%40gmail.com?subject=


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requiring more landscaping. Flinn Fagg, Deputy Directoro Planning & Development or the City o Las Vegas willexplain the code audit process that can be utilized in othercommunities.

Providing Resources to Implementers

Another approach is to create a library o online sustainability resources including incentives, voluntary programs, casestudies, and model ordinances or implementers. Jersey City,just across the river rom New York City, was an industrialcenter and destination or immigrants in both the 19th and20th centuries. oday, it is the second most populous cityin New Jersey and is known both or its cultural diversityand its high number o resident artists. Te Jersey CityRedevelopment Agency (JCRA) was motivated to encourage developers in the Citys designated redevelopmentareas to incorporate sustainability measures into theirredevelopment agreements in 2011. Aer researching best

practice models, the JCRAs consultant developed a guidance document that would incentivize sustainable growthwith standards targeted or each redevelopment area. Nowthey are in the process o turning those standards into acomprehensive rating system. Elizabeth McManus, associate planner at Clarke Caton Hintz, will share insights romJersey Citys process that may be replicable in communitiesacross the country.

Its not just cities that play a role in developing tools to helpimplement sustainable development. Sustainable Jersey isa thirdparty certication or municipalities in New Jersey

developed by the New Jersey State League o Municipalities in partnership with the Municipal Land Use Center oTe College o New Jersey. Sustainable Jersey developeda menu o actions that municipalities can take to earnpoints toward certication. Te standards, incentives, andmeasures are developed through policy coordination withlocal governments, state agencies, universities, businesses,nonprot organizations, community stakeholders, andexperts. Te actions measure and address municipal perormance in areas o energy eciency, operations and maintenance, historic preservation, community outreach, diversity

and equity, health and wellness, green design, land use,transportation, and waste management. Randall Solomon,CoDirector o Te Sustainability Institute at Te College oNew Jersey will discuss a new tool developed or SustainableJersey, the Sustainable Land Use SelAssessment oolkit.

In Chicago

Te Best Practices in Sustainable Community Planningsession will provide attendees with more inormation onusing the tools described in the case studies. Te City o

EvEnts of intErEstACI 2013 National Home Performance Conference;

Denver, CO: April 29 - May 3, 2013

The 2013 Affordable Comfort, Inc (ACI) National Home

Performance Conference and the ACI Home Energy Lead-ership Summit will be co-located and held consecutively

in Denver, Colorado. These events bring together thou-

sands of dedicated professionals nationwide in the home

performance and weatherization industry.

http://www.affordablecomfort.org/events

IEEE-USA 2013; Portland, OR: August 1-4, 2013

Thursday and Fridays programs will feature the inaugural

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

Conference on Technologies for Sustainability with both

academic and application-oriented presentations.

http://sites.ieee.org/ieeeusa2013

The 2nd International Conference on Biodiversity &

Sustainable Energy Development; Raleigh, NC: August

12-14, 2013

This conference provides a platform for scientists, engi-

neers, directors of companies and students in the eld of

Biodiversity to meet and share their knowledge.

http://www.omicsgroup.com/conferences/biodiversity-

sustainable-energy-development-2013/

GreenTown Michiana; South Bend, IN: October 10-11,

2013

Attend GreenTown Thursday, October 11 and Friday,October 12, learn from been-there case studies with local,

regional and national experts. Join the drive to create a

healthier, more prosperous and sustainable community.

http://www.greentownconference.com

AASHE Conference and Expo: Resilience and Adapta-

tion; Nashville, TN: October 6-9, 2013

Americas largest higher education sustainability confer-

ence is going to be held in Nashville, Tennessee.

http://conference.aashe.org

AIA South Atlantic Region Conference 2013, ReinventArchitecture; Atlanta, GA: Date Pending

Participants can engage in a total of six seminar courses

having specic relevance within areas of sustainable de-

sign while achieving GBCI credits. This years conference

theme RE: inventing Architecture calls upon architects

and allied professionals to seek new methods, strategies,

and purposes within the realm of architecture.

http://new.usgbc.org/courses/aia-south-atlantic-region-

conference-2013-reinvent-architecture
http://sites.ieee.org/ieeeusa2013/program/http://sites.ieee.org/ieeeusa2013/program/http://www.omicsgroup.com/conferences/biodiversity-sustainable-energy-development-2013/http://www.omicsgroup.com/conferences/biodiversity-sustainable-energy-development-2013/http://www.greentownconference.com/about/what-is-greentown/http://conference.aashe.org/2013/conference-overviewhttp://new.usgbc.org/courses/aia-south-atlantic-region-conference-2013-reinvent-architecturehttp://new.usgbc.org/courses/aia-south-atlantic-region-conference-2013-reinvent-architecturehttp://new.usgbc.org/courses/aia-south-atlantic-region-conference-2013-reinvent-architecturehttp://new.usgbc.org/courses/aia-south-atlantic-region-conference-2013-reinvent-architecturehttp://conference.aashe.org/2013/conference-overviewhttp://www.greentownconference.com/about/what-is-greentown/http://www.omicsgroup.com/conferences/biodiversity-sustainable-energy-development-2013/http://www.omicsgroup.com/conferences/biodiversity-sustainable-energy-development-2013/http://sites.ieee.org/ieeeusa2013/program/http://sites.ieee.org/ieeeusa2013/program/


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Mount Vernon and the City o Las Vegas both utilized theechnical Guidance Manual or Sustainable Neighborhoodsand the Local Government Guide to LEED. Te Green Redevelopment Guide adopted by Jersey City RedevelopmentAgency provides an inventory o sustainability and greenbuilding programs impacting Jersey Citys Redevelopment

Areas including programs and resources or businesses, developers, property owners, and renters. Sustainable JerseysMunicipal Planning and Zoning Assessment will guide localcommunities through a review o their local master plans,zoning codes, and related regulations to determine i theyare supportive o sustainable growth.

Development implementation is a critical component osustainable community planning, and planners play a strategic role. Understanding the changing world o sustainabilitypractice and techniques is eective leverage that planners oall kinds can use to change regulations, develop incentives,

and implement sustainable community change. Join us at

the Chicago conerence and add our new sustainabilitytools to your toolbox.

Links to Further Resources

echnical Guidance Manual or Sustainable Neigh-borhoods

Local Government Guide to LEED - US GreenBuilding Council

Sustainable Jersey

Te Jersey City Redevelopment Agencys Green

Redevelopment Guide

Greening the Code

Carine Arendes, an assistant planner for Portland State University completing

her Masters of Urban and Regional Planning degree, assisted with the

Sustainable Communities Division conference session proposal selection.

While Oregons Washington County she worked on the Greening the Code

project, which utilized a code audit approach to develop recommendations for

reducing regulatory barriers to desirable sustainable development.

The Challenge of Sustainability Planning

State APA Chapters and the New APA Sustainable

Communities Division

By Scott T. Edmondson

Tis past July, a serendipitous phone call led to collaborationbetween the APA Colorado and APA Caliornia NorthernSection sustainability committees generating the ollowing

questions. How do other state APA chapters address societys sustainability challenge? What role can the new APASustainable Communities Division play? Te phone callended with an inormal research project to begin addressingthose questions. Tat project led to this article and the newDivisions Facilitated Discussion session at the upcoming2013 National APA Conerence, Mobilizing Sustainability(34:15 pm, Sunday April 14). Te session will explore therole that state APA chapters and the new APA SustainableCommunities Division can play in addressing sustainability.

With generous research assistance rom the APA Colorado

Sustainability Committee,1

the research team collectedinormation on sustainability initiatives by reviewing thewebsites o 63 statelevel public planning proessional organizations and sending email queries to 58 presidents (somestates have multiple sections; are part o larger, multistatecollaborations; or have independent, nonAPA proessionalorganizations; hereaer reerred to as APA state chaptersor ease o reerence). Researchers received 35 responses.Tis article summarizes the variety o issues that statechapters ace, how they address them, and the implications

or enhancing the eorts. You can join the Divisions onlinediscussion on this topic at http://linkd.in/scdchaps.

Findings

Initially, the research team expected to nd many activestate APA sustainability committees in light o the mainstreaming o sustainability over the past ve years, Nationa

APA leadership on the topic,2 and the increasing urgencyor an eective response. Tis section describes the researchndings on state chapter initiatives, which clustered asollows: (1) no committee, but interest and activity; (2)requests or inormation, (3) reasons or not having a committee; and (4) sustainability committees.

No Committees

wentyve state chapters with no explicit sustainabilitycommittee expressed interest, support or the topic, or theypromoted sustainabilityrelated activities including the

ollowing. Climate change and sea level rise (Delaware).

Promoting sustainable development practices (Louisiana).

Public health and the built environment (Minnesota).

HUD Sustainability Planning Grant or integratinghousing, transportation, and employment in theregion (Mississippi).
http://new.usgbc.org/resources/technical-guidance-manual-sustainable-neighborhoodshttp://new.usgbc.org/resources/technical-guidance-manual-sustainable-neighborhoodshttp://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=6131http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=6131http://www.sustainablejersey.com/http://www.mappler.net/jcra/http://www.mappler.net/jcra/http://www.co.washington.or.us/LUT/Divisions/CurrentPlanning/GreeningCode/index.cfmhttp://linkd.in/scd-chapshttp://linkd.in/scd-chapshttp://www.co.washington.or.us/LUT/Divisions/CurrentPlanning/GreeningCode/index.cfmhttp://www.mappler.net/jcra/http://www.mappler.net/jcra/http://www.sustainablejersey.com/http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=6131http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=6131http://new.usgbc.org/resources/technical-guidance-manual-sustainable-neighborhoodshttp://new.usgbc.org/resources/technical-guidance-manual-sustainable-neighborhoods


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Sustainability toolkits and collaboration (Oregon andWashington).

Climate action plans (ennessee).

Energy eciency (Arizona).

Regional transportation and sustainability issues

(National Capital Area). Health and planning (CaliorniaInland Empire

Section).

Ecomunicipalities and smart growth (Wisconsin).

Four state chapters expressed interest in additional inormation, as ollows.

Best practices (Kentucky).

Sustainability committee goals and objectives (Georgia).

Sustainability committee work programs (Arizona). Inormation useul or starting a sustainability com

mittee (Mississippi).

Te state chapters without sustainability committees hadthe ollowing explanations.

Have unctional but not issuebased committees.

Absence o sucient interest to lead a committee.

Antisustainability planning sentiment in the community.

Address the issue when interest arises.

Pursue the topic through other unctional committees, collaborations, or opportunities, but notthrough a dedicated committee.

Already built into the chapters mission and strategicplan.

Handled better locally, not at the state level.

Insucient chapter capacity to address the topic inany manner.

Need to develop more chapter capacity beore takingon other initiatives.

No public or local proessional call to address sustainability on a statewide basis.

Conficts o interest oen arise when multijurisdiction chapters address issues or try to ormissuebased committees.

Sustainability Committees

Five state chapters have sustainability committees. Teyrepresent a range o approaches and work plans that may be

useul to other chapters considering a more ormal initiative. Te ve chapters are CaliorniaNorthern, Colorado,Florida, Massachusetts, and New Jersey.

Tree other state chapters have similar eorts ocused onsustainability. One member o the Utah Executive Committee leads their Green Committee, which addressesenvironmental and sustainability issues and is developing aweb page o resources. Neither Oregon nor Washington hasseparate sustainability committees, but their sustainabilityinitiatives are extensive and longstanding. Washington APAaddresses sustainability through the lens oclimate change,the Growth Management Act, and Livable Washington. TeOregon APAs sustainability work includes development oan extensive sustainability toolkit or Oregon planners thatother planners may nd useul. Te Chapter collaborates

E n E r g yC C W reqe s Ee new

He: Mayor Rex Parris of Lancaster, CA announced

in March that his city will instute a rst-of-its-kind re

quirement that solar be installed on every new single-

family home built aer January 1, 2014. The new law

will be wrien into Lancasters Residenal Zones Up

date on residenal solar. Along with a range of green

building provisions, it species that new single fam-

ily homes meet minimum solar system requirementsResidenal homes on lots from 7,000 square feet must

have a solar system of 1.0 kilowa to 1.5 kilowas

Rural residenal homes of up to 100,000 square feet

must have a system of at least 1.5 kilowas.

hp://www.greentechmedia.com/arcles/read/lan-

caster-to-require-solar-on-every-new-home
http://www.washington-apa.org/sustainable_washington/http://washington-apa.org/resources/gmahttp://washington-apa.org/documents/LivableWashington.pdfhttp://resources.oregonapa.org/http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/lancaster-to-require-solar-on-every-new-homehttp://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/lancaster-to-require-solar-on-every-new-homehttp://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/lancaster-to-require-solar-on-every-new-homehttp://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/lancaster-to-require-solar-on-every-new-homehttp://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/lancaster-to-require-solar-on-every-new-homehttp://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/lancaster-to-require-solar-on-every-new-homehttp://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/lancaster-to-require-solar-on-every-new-homehttp://resources.oregonapa.org/http://washington-apa.org/documents/LivableWashington.pdfhttp://washington-apa.org/resources/gmahttp://www.washington-apa.org/sustainable_washington/


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with Washington APA on their Game Changing Initiatives,which are not ocused exclusively on sustainability butincludes those principles. Te Chapter promotes sustainable development . . . through comprehensive planning oreconomic development, social and environmental objectives. In addition, the Chapters 20102015 strategic plan

identies sustainability as a primary planning challenge,with the biggest challenge being the integration o sustainability principles and concepts into the state program andinto planning practice generally.

Committee summaries ollow below in alphabetical orderby state.

APA CA-Northern (2010). Te SustainabilityCommittees mission is to create a learningpractice network that advances eective sustainability planning in the Northern Section. Te

Committee enhances understanding and practice byilluminating leading edge and strategic sustainability3rameworks, initiatives, and planning cases. Such approaches catalyze planning innovation to achieve netzeroand restorative environmental impacts, economic prosperity, and vibrant livable communities.4,5Te Committeepursues this mission in our ways: (1) publishing a regularnewsletter column (Planit sustainably), a bimonthlyEUpdate, a blog, articles, guides, reports, and a web site; (2)holding workshops to deepen dialogue, training, andcollaboration, and oering AICP Proessional CerticationMaintenance credit; (3) conducting research to advance

practice in collaboration with local universities and rms;and (4) catalyzing planning innovation to support the shito regenerative planning (practice, regulations, and legislation).

APA Colorado (2009). Te Sustainability Committees mission is to promote the integration osustainability principles into planning policy andpractice. Te Sustainability Committee pursues a

work program o education and outreach. It meets monthly,plans trainings and events, assists with state conerencegreening; identies and promotes best practices; collabo

rates with other organizations; and engages Colorado APAmembership. Te Committee works with the LegislativeCommittee to promote policy recommendations thatsupport sustainability planning. Tey share innovativemethods and oster dialog. Tey publish articles and promote events regularly in the Chapters newsletter. TeCommittee holds seminars with CM credit throughout theyear and at the State Conerence. Te Chapter website

provides links to resources and displays volunteer opportunities.

APA Florida (2012). Te Sustainability Committee completed startup tasks in 2012, such asdening sustainability and establishing committeeobjectives. Tey ound each committee member

had dierent ideas about sustainability that took time toreconcile. Tey also ound that dening an arena o ocus isparticularly challenging because sustainability planning issuch an allencompassing subject. Te Committee has ambitious plans to provide extensive webbased sustainabilityplanning resources. Teir committee developed the ollowing objectives:6 (1) create a consistent message (theme,denition) o sustainability or community planning inFlorida; (2) provide advice and direction to the ChaptersExecutive Committee and Legislative Policy Committee onsustainability initiatives and eorts; (3) identiy other

existing sustainability eorts, and as appropriate, nd waysto coordinate, complement, and not duplicate their eorts;(4) provide resources on sustainability and sustainableplanning practices to planners through the Chapters website; (5) identiy and highlight the role o planners insustainability and building sustainable communities; and (6provide a orum or discussion about sustainability or theproession and others.

APA Massachusetts (2004). Te SustainabilityCommittee works towards the ollowing threeobjectives: (1) providing a orum or proession

als, students, and other interested parties involvedwith sustainability to discuss planning issues; (2) increasingellowship among committee members through the exchange o inormation and ideas; and (3) increasing planners knowledge o the growing sustainable developmentpractice throughout all aspects o land use planning withinMassachusetts.

APA New Jersey. Te Sustainability Committeepromotes planning that creates sustainable,green, energy ecient communities at all levelso government. Tis type o planning creates

strong relationships between buildings, land use, housing,all modes o transportation, and the environment to improve energy eciency and reduce environmental impacts.Te Committee promotes livable communities throughcommunity education, public charrettes, and acilitatinginterorganizational initiatives. Te Committee reviews,comments, and proposes legislation and policies thatpromote ecoriendly community design and a holistic
http://centralpt.com/upload/342/Otherdocs2012/15535_CreatingGreatCommunities_3-2012.pdfhttp://centralpt.com/upload/342/Documents2011/13465_OAPA2010-2015StrategicPlan.pdfhttp://centralpt.com/upload/342/Documents2011/13465_OAPA2010-2015StrategicPlan.pdfhttp://centralpt.com/upload/342/Otherdocs2012/15535_CreatingGreatCommunities_3-2012.pdf


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approach to increase the use o best sustainable planningpractices and community livability models and tools.

Assessment

Tis section assesses the ndings presented above toilluminate the primary challenges that state chapters ace

in responding to societys sustainability challenge.7

Teexplanations or not having a dedicated sustainabilitycommittee suggest that some state chapters may have insucient capacity, may not perceive a relevant role, or insome cases ace public opposition to the topic. Te rangeo explanations and the our types o requested inormation (best practices, goals and objectives, work programs,and startup inormation) indicate highpriority needs oany state APA chapter interested in exploring and embracing the sustainability challenge. Te requested inormation on goals and objectives raises the larger issues opurpose and denition related to advancing societys

sustainability response, while that on work programraises the general issues o methods and roles related tomounting an eective sustainability response.

Te issuebased initiatives that state chapters pursue andthe work programs o sustainability committees illustratethe dierent ways that chapters presently dene andrespond to the sustainability challenge. Tese dierent approaches refect many dierent denitions o the sustainability challenge. Like all denitions and approaches, theyvary in their eectiveness. For the purposes o this article,one useul way o understanding this variation is by

examining three general approaches to sustainability: (1)conservation and environmentalism (habitat, resources,and energy conservation); (2) planning (smart growth,livable places, and healthy cities); and (3) regenerativedesign and planning using the endgame perormanceparameters o netzero/restorative impacts to driveneeded innovation (EcoMunicipalities, EcoDistricts,Living Building/City Challenge, Integrated CommunitySustainability Planning, One Planet Framework).

Initiatives using either o the rst two approaches tend tobe tactical and issuebased while those using the third approach are anchored in ecosystem principles and typically have a strategic, endgame ocus. Te rst two typicallyrespond with perunit environmental impact mitigation,such as a 15% reduction in GHG emissions per vehicle,which simply slows the rate o ultimate damage. Incontrast, the third embraces the ull challenge. It ocuseson achieving the end game o sustainability success withat least netzero-i not netpositive-restorative impacts.Tis approach addresses the root economic source o

the sustainability challenge. It recouples our economyand environment in ways that eliminate environmentaldamage and enhance the economy, thereby establishingthe basis or durable prosperity. Tis approach is not asilver bullet, but by embracing the whole challenge romthe beginning, it motivates the required innovation and

magnitude o response needed or success.

Tus, in addition to the relatively normal organizationalchallenges o mounting an organized response to aplanning need, such as capacity and best practices notedabove, there is the additional challenge or state chaptersthat want to embrace the sustainability challenge urthero identiying an eective response when that response isstill a work in progress.

Enhancing the Response

Tis section explores ways that state chapters and the

new Division could enhance state chapter sustainabilityinitiatives in light o the challenges discussed above inthe Findings and Assessment subsections. Tis initialresearch suggests a varied state chapter response to thesustainability challenge, which probably refects societyspresent understanding o the challenge and comortzone or responding. It is dicult or planning practiceto get too ar ahead o society. It also refects sustainabilitys unusually dicult methodological, technical, andleadership challenge. However, compared to conditionscreated by accelerating socioeconomic and environmental

ClimatE CHangEDd rbe tEDx tk Ce Che aped

he ae: Back in April 2012, David Roberts, lead

writer on energy and climate for Grist.org, presented

at a TEDx event called Hello Climate Change: Re-

thinking the Unthinkable. His presentaon was tled

Climate change is simple and consisted of simple-

to-understand explanaons regarding the threat and

consequences of climate change. Subsequent to thatspeech, Ryan Louis Cooper, a journalist and social me-

dia manager for Washington Monthly, combined the

original speech with music, imagery, and video to cre-

ate a unique and powerful 15 minute video well worth

checking out.

http://grist.org/climate-energy/my-tedx-talk-on-cli

mate-pimped-out/

(continued on page 10...)


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THANKS TO EVERYONE WHOMADE THIS DIVISION HAPPEN!

The APA Sustainable Communities Division was ofcially launched in Fall 2012, but its roots go back at least to 2000

when a group includingSarah James, Steve Preston, Ralph Wilmer, Peter Lowitt, and Gary Peterson collaborated on

APAs Planning for Sustainability Policy Guide. The effort that culminated in this Division started at the 2007 APA national

conference in Philadelphia, with Sharon Ferguson walking room to room collecting over 600 signatures supporting the

establishment of a new APA Sustainability Division. She and Daniel Lerch developed and submitted a formal proposal to

the APA to form the Division, which in part read: Planners are uniquely qualied to assume a leadership role in confronting

and solving the evolving uncertainties that humanity faces. This is too great a topic of interest and concern not to be a

signicant part of the APA. A division solely devoted to this topic is sorely needed and is, frankly, overdue.

Because APA required prospective Divisions to rst show their staying power as an informal group, Sharon and Danielformed a coordinating committee with Sarah, Ralph, Peter from the 2000 policy guide group, plus Angela Vincent, Carol

Barrett, Joyce Allgaier, and Aaron Tuley to run the APA Sustainable Community Planning Interest Group (APA-SCP). With

the help of the inimitable Kelley Roy, in 2010 APA-SCP held a boisterous launch party at Lucys Retired Surfers Bar &

Restaurant during the national conference in New Orleans. We quickly collected over 1,000 people on our mailing list,

and started building a presence online and within the APA. In 2011 at the national conference in Boston we showcased

model communities and hosted APA President Bruce Knight at our even more-boisterous-than-the-preivious-year party

at the Cactus Club. More folks got involved with our activities, includingDebbie Lawlor, Rob Kerns, Ben Herman, Mike

Davidson, Ramona Mullahey, Kevin Fletcher, Christopher Ryan, and Nathan Storey.

As we expanded our membership, as well as our engagement with APA projects like the Sustaining Places Task Force,

it became clear that wed need a more formal structure and program in order to be effective. At the 2012 national

conference in Los Angeles we held a focused reception and strategizing session, identifying specic key projects people

wanted to work on. Soon after we learned that APA was ready for us to re-apply to be a Division, so we formed a transitionaSteering Committee with Daniel, Angela, Ben, Rob, Ramona, Michael, Debra March, Mark Teschauer, and Clark Henry.

APA formally announced us as their twentieth Division in late 2012; within a matter of months, well over 200 Founding

Members joined, and a small army of volunteers (sidebar, page 2) started working on the next chapter of our story.

We are very grateful to all the sponsors who have supported us both nancially and strategically since our start in 2010.

This project would have faltered many times without their involvement. Our past sponsors include: Clarion Associates,

WRT, Farr Associates, SRA, ENE, Placematters, Fregonese Associates, Criterion Associates, Audubon International, DuncanAssociates, The Natural Step - USA, George Washington University Master of Sustainable Planning program, GreenerFutures, the U.S. Green Building Council, metapattern, Data Driven Planning, Mullahey & Mullahey, Sustainability2030,

Brendle Group, and Post Carbon Institute.

We are especially grateful to Chris Duerksen and Ben Herman of Clarion Associates, Dave Rouse and Rob Kerns of

WRT, Doug Farr of Farr Associates, Kate Marshall of SRA, and Gerry Gallagher of ENE for being repeat sponsors year

after year. Your consistent nancial support has given us a much-needed foundation, but its your time, advice, and ideas

have been truly invaluable, and are what have kept this effort moving forward through often uncertain waters. Thank you!

History

Past Sponsors
http://www.planning.org/policy/guides/adopted/sustainability.htmhttp://apascd.wordpress.com/2013/04/09/april-2009-proposal-to-form-a-sustainable-community-planning-division/http://sustainableplanning.net/http://sustainableplanning.net/http://apascd.wordpress.com/2013/04/09/april-2009-proposal-to-form-a-sustainable-community-planning-division/http://www.planning.org/policy/guides/adopted/sustainability.htm


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Page 9


THANKS TO EVERYONE WHOMADE THIS DIVISION HAPPEN!

Founding MembersIdris Abubakar

Judith Adler

Imaikalani Aiu

Larry Allen

Joyce Allgaier

Jeannine Altavilla

Andrew Amakawa

Joseph Anselmo

Carine Arendes

Michael AshbyAndrew Aurbach

Ryan Aylesworth

Kristin Baja

Anthony Barranda

Gabriel Boyle

Laura Brown

Rebecca Brown

Matthew Bucchin

William Burke

Margaret Byerly

Maria Cadavid

Katherine Cairoli

Brian Campbell

Eileen Canola

Madeline Carroll

Marcia Caton Campbell

Bo Kyung Choi

Josh Clements

Bradley Cleveland

Raquel Collison

Adeline Collot

Kevin Cook

Rosana Cordova

Martha Curry

Andrew DaneGinger Daniel

Valerie Darbouze

Michael Davidson

Mercedes Davison

Erik de Kok

Richard Dial

Hamid Dolikhani

Kara Drane

Christopher Duerksen

Robert Duffy

Robyn Eason

Scott Edmondson

Ruby Edwards

Katherine Elliott

Kasey Evans

Craig Failor

Kenneth Fallows

Linda Farmer

Jaime Fearer

Daniella Fergusson

David FieldsKenneth Firestone

Christopher Fisher

Kevin Fletcher

Miguel Flores

Naysha Foster

Irwing Gama

Sally Geislar

David Gofnet

Teresa Gonzales

Peter Gower

Chloe Green

Jennifer Gregory

Martin Griggs

Perry Gross

Rui Guo

Richard Hails

Robert Hamblen

Richard Hartman

Fazla Hassan

Roger Hawk

Travis Hawks

Rachel Healy

Erica Heller

Janice Henderson

Benjamin HermanAlex Hinds

Jody Hodge

Noah Hodgetts

Kimberley Hodgson

Marta Holt

George Homsy

Jeffrey Jacobberger

Brian James

Sarah James

Colleen Johnson

Madelyn Johnson

Robert Jonson

Sean Peter Kane

Hope Kaufman

Richart Keller

Katherine Kem

William Keyrouze

Leigh King

Lester King

William Klein

Edwin KnightKaren Knittel

Elizabeth Knutson

Jennifer Koch

Charles Kooshian

Eric Kozielski

Cosima Krueger-

Cunningham

Robert Kull

Melissa Ladd

Jeffrey Lambert

Heather Lamboy

Deborah Lawlor

Jenifer Ledbetter

Rodger Lentz

Neocles Leontis

Daniel Lerch

Melissa Leto

Cary Lowe

Peter Lowitt

Paul Luersen

Brian Lutenegger

Michael Lydon

Ashlee Macdonald

Kevin Maevers

Debra MarchCasey Martin

Keith Maw

Timothy McClain

David Mcconnell

Bruce McDowell

George McKibbon

Kathleen McMahon

Nancy Mcpherson

Justin Meek

Douglas Melnick

Anne Miller

Susan Millhauser

Julie Minde

Jennifer Minner

Saharnaz Mirzazad-

Barijough

Robert Mitchell

Donnita Moist

Roshana Moojen

Jasmin Moore

Ramona MullaheyJoanna Nadeau

Sakura Namioka

Deborah Nelson

Calvin Nelson

Alison Nelson-

Robertson

Lisa Nisenson

Hilary Nixon

Jennie Nolon

James Noonan

Rachel Novak

Vicki Oppenheim

Keith Orlesky

Daniel Osborn

Tim Padalino

Hilary Papineau

Andrew Parish

Katherine Pederson

Jo Laurie Penrose

Sven Peterson

Gary Peterson

Kenneth Pin

Norbert Pointner

Katherine Poppel

Cen QiuOrlando Raez

Wendy Rampson

Aaron Reser

F. Craig Richardson

Anthony Robalik

Kelly Rodgers

Timothy Rood

Jeremy Rothwell

Christopher Ryan

Rana Salzmann

Brenda Scheer

Jon Schladen

Robin Scholetzky

Micah Scoggan

Lin Shen

Carissa Slotterback

Josh Smith

Becky Soglin

Shelby Sommer

Meredith Soniat

Merrill St. Leger-Demian

Stephen Steinhoff

Jill Sterrett

Jason Su

Gretchen Sweeney

Frederick Taintor

Mark Teschauer

Daniel Tirrell

Carol Truppi

Scott Turner

Nicki Van Vonno

Angela Vincent

Zachary Waas Smith

Tareq Wafaie

Sharon Wason

Robert Watkins

Heather Way

Julia Webb

Albert Wei

Stephanie Weigel

Mike Welch

Bonnie Wessler

Michael West

Sterling Wheeler

Kim WheelerDarcie White

Paula Wiech

Rocky Wiles

Linda Wills

David Wilwerding

Amy Wolfson

Susan Wood

Belinda Wordlaw

Janet Wright

Peter Young

John Zeanah


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Page 10


Page 10

SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY PLANNING

trends, these ndings reveal a gap between the current andneeded sustainability response. Bridging the gap becomesthe challenge, the measure o success, and the method ormotivating the needed level o creativity and eort. How tobridge the gap becomes the challenge to state APA chapters

who want to enhance their sustainability initiatives or startor expand a sustainability committee.

Te assessment in the preceding section suggests that statechapters ace the ollowing challenges when addressingsustainability.

1. Capacity and resources.

2. Leadership and education.

3. Constructively engaged public.

4. Bestpractices tools.

5. Committee startup inormation, including samplegoals, objectives, and work programs.

6. A clear strategic ramework to use in identiying eective approaches and moving towards the end gameo sustainability success.

State APA chapters and the new Division can meet theseneeds with standard inormation, education, and trainingservices, possibly in partnership with National APA. Inaddition, creating a national collaborative learning/practicesustainability planning network can increase the speed olearning, innovation, and eectiveness.

However, ormulating the content or these programs raisesthe critical question o the preceding section: o the manypossibilities, which approaches are eective and how arethey identied? Does society and planning simply need todo more o what it already does (business as usual), aster,

more extensively, or better? I so, expanding the use o bestpractices may be sucient. Alternatively, do society andplanning need to do something undamentally dierent-inother words, outsidethebox innovation? I so, then theneeded understanding and responses may not yet exist,best practices may be inadequate or the larger goal, andtaking an experimental approach may be a necessary parto the response.

How do we proceed under these conditions o uncertainty?One option is best practices+, where the + stands orongoing innovation, invention, and experimentation

until we achieve sustainability success. Tis predicamentleaves state chapters, the new Division, the proession, andindividual planners, with one additional challenge (to addto the six identied above):

7. Routine innovation.

How can we design the innovation methodology neededto achieve sustainability success, and then incorporateit into our planning practices and societal institutions?8Fortunately, the proession already has core expertise inintegrative planning and design methodology that it can

harness to the task. In addition, the proession alreadyhas promising initiatives in the newly coalescing arena oregenerative design, planning, and development withits endgame ocus on netzero/restorative impacts.9Techallenge will be institutionalizing innovation.

Tese initiatives have deep roots in the longstandingecological design tradition o planning and sustainabledevelopment.10Tereore, they are a natural startingpoint or state chapters and the new Division in develop

r E s o u r C Em a n a g E m E n tAusn implements curbside composng: In January

2013, the City of Ausn, Texas iniated a pilot curbside

organics collecon program for 7,900 residenal cus-

tomers. The program is overseen by Ausn Resource

Recovery, the city department tasked with overseeing

composng, recycling, and resource management.

The pilot program expands upon exisng citywide

collecon of yard trimmings by adding collecon of

food scraps and soiled paper. At the iniaon of the

program, Ausn Resource Recovery Director Bob Ged-

ert esmated that almost half of landlled materials

could have been composted. Collecng organic ma-

terials at the curb will keep valuable materials out of

our landlls, reduce harmful greenhouse gases and

help Ausn get closer to Zero Waste. The Depart-

ments goal is to reach zero waste by 2040 (reducingthe amount of trash sent to landlls by 90 percent).

To support the new iniave, the City is providing free

composng classes, home composng system rebates

of up to $75, new composng carts, and indoor food

scrap receptacles.

hp://www.ausntexas.gov/news/city-launches-curb-

side-organics-collecon-pilot-program

(continued rom page 7...)
http://www.austintexas.gov/news/city-launches-curbside-organics-collection-pilot-programhttp://www.austintexas.gov/news/city-launches-curbside-organics-collection-pilot-programhttp://www.austintexas.gov/news/city-launches-curbside-organics-collection-pilot-programhttp://www.austintexas.gov/news/city-launches-curbside-organics-collection-pilot-programhttp://www.austintexas.gov/news/city-launches-curbside-organics-collection-pilot-program


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SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY PLANNING SPRING 2013SPRING 2013

APA Sustainability Objectives Are Guiding Policy for Municipalities

By Sarah James

Close to 30 cities, towns, and county governments haveocially adopted the our sustainability objectives o theAmerican Planning Associations Planning or Sustainability

Policy Guide (2000) as their municipal policy or achievingcommunity sustainability.

Ashland, Bayeld, and Washburn in Northwest Wisconsinbecame the rst US communities to do so in 2005 whentheir City Councils passed ocial resolutions adoptingthese objectives. In the years that ollowed, more than 25other municipalities in Wisconsin and beyond ollowedtheir example and have been busy turning the sustainability objectives into action. Madison, WI; Duluth, MN;

ing content or the inormation, education, and trainingservices that would be developed to address the needs(17) summarized above. Doing so would require criticallyevaluating leadingedge sustainability planning (denitions,assumptions, strategies, process, methods, content, tools)or their transerable value. However, this additional needor ongoing innovation in routine planning practice asa requirement or eective sustainability planning mayinvolve additional research and development initiatives.11Tis is another arena o activity and support that state APAchapters and the new Division, in concert with NationalAPA could undertake.

Conclusion

A tting thought or our proession as we embrace thesustainability challenge is the adage, the best way to predictthe uture is to create it. Architect William McDonoughextends this idea when he says, Being less bad is notbeing

good! Tat reraming illuminates the undamental shi oapproach that now challenges the planning proession andsociety more widely. Orchestrating this shi, at individualthrough institutional levels, is our 21st century challenge.

Invitation

In light o the inormal research results discussed above,what are your ideas about (1) the nature o the sustainabilityplanning challenge and the role o state APA chapters andthe new APA Sustainable Communities Division in addressing it; and (2) designing the new roles and practices to urther develop the approach and capacity needed to respondeectively to the sustainability challenge? Te Divisioninvites you to participate in the collaborative response tothese central questions through its online discussion on this

topic at http://linkd.in/scdchaps, its acilitated discussionsession at the 2013 National APA Conerence in Chicago(Mobilizing Sustainability, 34:15 pm, Sunday, April 14), andthe Divisions ongoing dialogue and work program.

Scott T. Edmondson, AICP, is a Strategic Sustainability Planner-Economist

with the San Francisco Planning Department, a member of the new APA

Sustainable Communities Division, founder/member/past co-director of theAPA California Chapter Northern Sustainability Committee, and founder/

principal of Strategic Sustainability Institute 2030. The views expressed in

this article are his alone. The review and comment team consisting of Carine

Arendes, Clark Henry, Daniel Lerch, Anne Miller, and Marie Summers provided

valuable insights.

Notes1. Caitlyn Horose and Carrie Murphy.

2. See the National APA Sustaining Places Initiative and the position paperon reinventingplanning for sustainability.

3. The Natural Step is one rich source of resources and experience instrategicsustainability(summary of approach; and Guide).

4. Examples of noteworthy initiativesinclude Eco-municipalities, The Living Building/City/Future Challenge, Eco-Districts, Eco-Cities, Integrated Community SustainabilityPlanning (Canada; The Guide), and the One Planet Livingframework. There are manyother important focused initiatives that would t into these overarching frameworks, suchasArchitecture2030 and their2030 Challenge for Planning(and existing buildings). See

also, Beatley, Green Cities of Europe, Island Press, 2012.5. See Alex Steffen (Worldchanging.com), TED Talks, (1) The shareable future of cities, an(2) The route to a sustainable future.

6.APA Florida Sustainability Committee Meeting Notes, April 30, 2012, Merle Bishop.

7.Although there are many denitions of societys sustainability challenge, the keyconcept is the threat that human activity is compromising the capacity of the biosphere,as earths regenerative life support system, to continue supporting life on the planet.Five primary sources characterizing this challenge and response options in detail arethe following: Beyond the Limits (Meadows and Randers); Plan B 4.0 (Brown); CommonWealth (Sachs); Hot, Flat, and Crowded (Friedman); and The Post Carbon Reader (PostCarbon Institute). In addition, the APA has codied a denition and approach for theplanning profession in its Policy Guide on Planning for Sustainability.

8. Business has been making innovation routine for the past 20+ years and it likely hastransferable value for planning and communities. See Interface Corporation for onelongstanding and noteworthy example with some transferable potential. This themeof innovation for sustainability planning and communities could be the basis for aconference, workshops, or APA research program.

9. See note number 8.

10. See article by Edward J. Jepson, Jr., Ph.D., AICP. Dr. Jepson, How Possible isSustainable Urban Development, Planning Practice & Research, Vol. 25, No. 4, pp.417437, August 2010). See also, Beatley, Green Cities of Europe, Island Press, 2012.

11. This requirement for creating and institutionalizing the capacity for on-going innovationis part of a larger challenge: creating learning organizations, institutions, and societieswith the capacity to meet the complexities of sustainability. See Peter Senge, a leaderin this eld for many years, and his book, The Necessary Revolution, which summarizeshis consulting experience with global businesses and communities in forging this newlearning capacity of innovation for sustainability.

P h o t o c o u r t e s y S a r a h J a m e s
http://linkd.in/scd-chapshttp://www.planning.org/sustainingplaceshttp://www.globalplannersnetwork.org/pdf/reinventingplanningenglish.pdfhttp://www.naturalstep.ca/sustainabilityhttp://www.naturalstep.ca/sustainabilityhttp://www.naturalstep.ca/sustainabilityhttp://www.sustainability2030.com/storage/quick-start-trainng-guide/ICSP-A_Guide.pdfhttp://www.naturalstep.ca/sustainabilityhttp://www.naturalstep.ca/sustainabilityhttp://www.naturalstep.ca/sustainabilityhttp://www.sustainability2030.com/storage/quick-start-trainng-guide/ICSP-A_Guide.pdfhttp://living-future.org/http://living-future.org/http://www.pdxinstitute.org/index.php/ecodistrictshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eco-citieshttp://instituteforecomunicipalities.org/Eco-municipalities.htmlhttp://living-future.org/http://living-future.org/http://norcalapa.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/ICSP-A_Guide.pdfhttp://www.pdxinstitute.org/index.php/ecodistrictshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eco-citieshttp://www.oneplanetliving.org/index.htmlhttp://norcalapa.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/ICSP-A_Guide.pdfhttp://www.oneplanetliving.org/index.htmlhttp://architecture2030.org/http://architecture2030.org/2030_challenge/2030_challenge_planninghttp://architecture2030.org/http://architecture2030.org/2030_challenge/2030_challenge_planninghttp://www.ted.com/talks/alex_steffen_sees_a_sustainable_future.htmlhttp://www.ted.com/talks/alex_steffen.htmlhttp://www.ted.com/talks/alex_steffen_sees_a_sustainable_future.htmlhttp://www.interfaceglobal.com/sustainability.aspxhttp://www.interfaceglobal.com/sustainability.aspxhttp://www.solonline.org/?page=PeterSengehttps://www.solonline.org/store/view_product.asp?id=317571http://www.solonline.org/?page=PeterSengehttps://www.solonline.org/store/view_product.asp?id=317571https://www.solonline.org/store/view_product.asp?id=317571http://www.solonline.org/?page=PeterSengehttp://www.interfaceglobal.com/sustainability.aspxhttp://www.ted.com/talks/alex_steffen_sees_a_sustainable_future.htmlhttp://www.ted.com/talks/alex_steffen.htmlhttp://architecture2030.org/2030_challenge/2030_challenge_planninghttp://architecture2030.org/http://www.oneplanetliving.org/index.htmlhttp://norcalapa.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/ICSP-A_Guide.pdfhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eco-citieshttp://www.pdxinstitute.org/index.php/ecodistrictshttp://living-future.org/http://living-future.org/http://instituteforecomunicipalities.org/Eco-municipalities.htmlhttp://www.sustainability2030.com/storage/quick-start-trainng-guide/ICSP-A_Guide.pdfhttp://www.naturalstep.ca/sustainabilityhttp://www.naturalstep.ca/sustainabilityhttp://www.naturalstep.ca/sustainabilityhttp://www.globalplannersnetwork.org/pdf/reinventingplanningenglish.pdfhttp://www.planning.org/sustainingplaceshttp://linkd.in/scd-chaps


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Portsmouth, NH; and most recently, Concord, MA (thebirthplace o American independence) are among these.

The Chequamegon Bay Eco-Region Initiative

In 2005, an Ashland City Councilor and a University oWisconsinExtension educator began the sustainability

movement that led to regional adoption and use o theAPA sustainability objectives. Since 2005, the Wisconsincommunities o Ashland, Bayeld, and Washburn havebeen joined by two neighboring municipalities and twoNative American tribes in adoption o the APA objectivesto orm the Chequamegon Bay ecoregion initiative. Teseve communities and two tribal nations have cooperativelydeveloped a regional sustainability plan that is overseen bythe Alliance or Sustainability, a nonprot organizationmade up o citizens, businesses, and ocials rom the entireregion. Currently, key activities are local organic oodproduction and a living economy initiative that supports

locallyowned enterprises with products or services thatmeet local needs and pays air wages.

Sustainable Portsmouth, New Hampshire

PhotocourtesySara

hJames

Portsmouths sustainability movement began with its 2005Master Plan revision involving hundreds o citizens callingor greater City awareness o and action toward sustainability. As a next step, Portsmouths City and Deputy CityManagers commissioned sustainability training or all CityCouncilors, board members, and department heads; thetraining introduced the APA sustainability objectives andaddressed how to work with these objectives to systematically change policies and practices. In 2007, the PortsmouthCity Council adopted the APA sustainability objectives asguiding municipal policy.

oday, a City Sustainability Coordinator meets monthlywith department heads to review sustainability progress.Working toward sustainability has become part o everydayCity business. At the same time, three community organizations have spread the word among Portsmouth citizens andbusinesses through initiating sustainability study circles,

developing a veyear sustainability plan, and planning anannual Sustainability Fair. Tis air attracts thousands opeople rom the region to see examples o local sustainability initiatives and businesses such as local organicood producers, electric cars, and ecoclothing, as well asexamples o the Citys sustainability accomplishments. Tetrash rom the entire event can be carried away in one trashbag-everything else is composted or recycled. Portsmouthnow eatures LEEDcertied buildings such as a library,water treatment plant, re station, and a greenrenovatedhistoric middle school building. Other sustainability accomplishments include land conservation, water conservation,

and green mosquito control. Portsmouth also incorporatedthe APA sustainability objectives in its zoning ordinance.

Concord, Massachusetts

Photocbad

IanBritton

In 2011, the Concord Board o Selectmen voted to adopt theour APA sustainability objectives and use these objectivesas action and policy guides throughout all departments.Since then, the own has produced an energy reductionplan that includes a smart grid power system, energy

eciency or all own buildings, an outdoor lighting policy,the installation o solar panels on a ormer landll, and asolar home challenge. In addition, Concord now uses greenstorm water retention, green cleaning supplies or ownbuildings, and solar trash compactors. A communityorganization called Concord CAN is actively carrying outcitizen sustainability education with a ocus on issues suchas local ood production, home energy use reduction, andclimate change.


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Overall Community SustainabilityAccomplishments

Soon aer adopting the APA sustainability objectives,most communities created a shared vision o their uturesustainable community and conducted a baseline sustainability analysis o how they initially measured up to the

objectives, according to a 2010 survey. In subsequent years,the majority o these communities created sustainabilityimplementation teams, conducted energy and waste audits,and developed sustainability plans. Several communitiesrevised their master plans and land use regulations to ocuson sustainability. Sustainable development projects haveincluded green redevelopment o industrial areas, greenroos, local armers markets, green purchasing standards,adoption o LEED building standards, emissions inventoriesand energy reduction plans, green re stations and libraries, green street programs, plans or energy independence,

municipal sustainability coordinators, municipal employeestrainings, and ongoing community sustainability education.One community has partnered with over 180 local organizations and businesses to promote sustainability.

How It Got Started

In 200405, the ounders o the Northern WisconsinChequamegon Bay initiative and other sustainabilityactivists learned about municipalities in Sweden thatwere making remarkable and widespread progress towardcommunity sustainability. All o these Swedish communities had adopted a set o guiding sustainability principles

as ocial municipal policy-the same set o principles theAPA Sustainability Policy Guides objectives were developedrom. o date, over 80 Swedish municipalities-almost 35percent o all in the nation-have adopted these principlesand put them into practice throughout their local governments and larger communities. Tese communities havecome to be known as ecomunicipalities, as have thosecommunities in the U.S. and beyond that have adopted thesame principles or the related APA sustainability objectives.Ecomunicipalities commit to a broadbased approach orimplementing the objectives.

Key to Successaking a systems approach to community sustainabilityis an important eature o successul ecomunicipalities.Many approaches to community sustainability use a siloapproach-that is, taking on one or more separate sustainable development projects or initiatives. In contrast, asystems approach ocuses not only on one aspect o sustainability, such as renewable energy, but also on the interrelated

issues o land use, impact on natural systems, toxic materials, and human needs, airly and eciently.

Te APA sustainability objectives are wellsuited as a toolor carrying out a systems approach in community sustainability planning. Because these objectives are rst orderprinciples, they can be applied to any municipal or planningsubject as well as to all sectors o community lie: municipaldepartments and policies, community and householdactions, and businesses. When all parts o the communityuse these same principles to guide change to sustainability,the resulting network o actions will constitute a systemwhose component parts and projects do not confict with-but rather complement-each other. Even i a departmentis working on a specic project, such as a green buildingordinance or sustainable purchasing guidelines, using theour sustainability objectives as sustainable design guidelines can assure that the project will not solve one problem

while creating other problems in the process.

Eco-municipalities around the world

Te ecomunicipality approach has spread to Japan, Arica,Europe, South America, and New Zealand in addition toNorth America and Sweden. Te rst International Ecomunicipality Conerence took place in Helsingborg, Swedenin 2008.

PhotocourtesySustainableSweden,Inc.

Current Networking Initiative

Eorts are underway to connect ecomunicipalities aroundthe world and sustainability activists who share their valuesin a Web arena called Ecomuna. Ecomuna is intended toserve as a capacity center or community sustainabilitywhere activists can come together to share experiences,learn about best practices, and participate in real timeonline discussions and seminars. An objective o the


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Page 14

SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY PLANNING SPRING 2013SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY PLANNING

A Changing Planning Paradigm for a Changing World

By Doug Melnick

Major urban fooding, expansive wildres, species extinctions, and severe drought are just some o the challengesthat planners are conronted with in these early days o the21st century. Tese natural trends have been clearly linkedto climate change as outlined in the most recent DraNational Climate Assessment, which states:

Climate change is already aecting the American people.Certain types o weather events have become more

requent and/or intense, including heat waves, heavydownpours, and, in some regions, foods and droughts.

Sea levels is rising, oceans are becoming more acidic,and glaciers and arctic sea ice are melting. Tese changesare part o the pattern o global climate change, which is

primarily driven by human activity.

Te social, environmental and economic impacts o ourchanging climate are notsomething that planners havedecades to respond to, as weare already experiencing themnow. Rising ood prices, climatereugees struggling to rebuild

their lives aer major stormevents, and extreme heat eventsare just a ew examples o howclimate change is impacting ourwork today.

Te question or planners is,how do we respond in a waythat rearms our relevanceand impact. We cannot remain

isolated within the traditional silo o plans, regulations, andtheory, but we need to embrace the realities o our changingworld. It is time or us to take an active role in mitigatinghumancaused (anthropogenic) climate change and adapting our communities to current and uture impacts, improving eciency, and increasing resiliency.

Planners have the opportunity, responsibility, and trainingto provide leadership and vision to our residents, stakeholders, and elected ocials as we chart our way througha changing landscape. We can do this by integratinglocal energy and ood security, vulnerability assessments,

emergency response planning, and the economic impactso climate change into our everyday work. Tere are manyresources and best practices available that can help plannersreach beyond our usual approach.

Eco Districts are one emerging eld being pioneered bythe Portland Sustainability Institute, as well as the cities

o Portland, OR,Cleveland, OH, andVancouver, BC, justto name a ew, andare highly integrated

neighborhoods thatocus on smart buildings, ood and energyproduction, waste andwater conservation andreuse, multimodaltransportation optionsopen and recreational

project is to accelerate the transition to sustainability aroundthe world through local communities. Ecomuna is seekingparticipants or this project; i interested, contact the authoro this article at the address below.

For More Information

Te sustainability objectives o APAs Planning orSustainability Policy Guide:www.planning.org/policy/guides/adopted/sustainability.htm(SectionIII A)

Examples o municipal resolutions adopting APAssustainability objectives: www.instituteorecomunicipalities.org/ecomunicipalities.

City o Portsmouth, NH, sustainability initiatives andhistory: www.cityoportsmouth.com/sustainability/timeline.htm

own o Concord, MA, sustainability actions andprinciples: www.concordma.gov/pages/ConcordMA_Planning/sustainability%20page

About the author: Sarah James has operated a city and town planning

consulting practice for many years. She and Torbjrn Lahti are the co-authors

ofThe Natural Step for Communities: How Cities & Towns Can Change

to Sustainable Practices (New Society Publishers, 2004) which received

Planetizens Top Ten Books Award in Planning & Design in 2005. She can be

contacted at [email protected].

Photocbna

SarahGilbert
http://www.globalchange.gov/what-we-do/assessmenthttp://www.globalchange.gov/what-we-do/assessmenthttp://pdxinstitute.org/http://www.planning.org/policy/guides/adopted/sustainability.htmhttp://www.planning.org/policy/guides/adopted/sustainability.htmhttp://www.planning.org/policy/guides/adopted/sustainability.htmhttp://www.instituteforecomunicipalities.org/ecomunicipalities.http://www.instituteforecomunicipalities.org/ecomunicipalities.http://www.cityofportsmouth.com/sustainability/timeline.htmhttp://www.cityofportsmouth.com/sustainability/timeline.htmhttp://www.concordma.gov/pages/ConcordMA_Planning/sustainability%20pagehttp://www.concordma.gov/pages/ConcordMA_Planning/sustainability%20pagehttp://www.concordma.gov/pages/ConcordMA_Planning/sustainability%20pagehttp://www.concordma.gov/pages/ConcordMA_Planning/sustainability%20pagehttp://www.cityofportsmouth.com/sustainability/timeline.htmhttp://www.cityofportsmouth.com/sustainability/timeline.htmhttp://www.instituteforecomunicipalities.org/ecomunicipalities.http://www.instituteforecomunicipalities.org/ecomunicipalities.http://www.planning.org/policy/guides/adopted/sustainability.htmhttp://www.planning.org/policy/guides/adopted/sustainability.htmhttp://pdxinstitute.org/http://www.globalchange.gov/what-we-do/assessmenthttp://www.globalchange.gov/what-we-do/assessment


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spaces, and tracking progress toward neighborhood sustainability over time.

A number o planners and sustainability proessionals aremaking signicant progress in increasing local ood resiliency by knocking down barriers to urban agriculture andgetting vacant land into productive agricultural use, therebycleaning up vacant lots, creating jobs, and improving localhealth.

Now more than ever, planners must work in an arena thatcuts between traditional silos and the search or multiplebenets or cobenets within policies and projects. We canno longer simply look at a stormwater pipe as a means orconveying runo, but rather as an opportunity to buildin capacity or uture storms through rightsizing and theinclusion o green inrastructure, which reduces fooding,provides green space, improves air quality, and increasesproperty values.

Most communities dont have sustainability oces thatocus on these challenges and the opportunity exists ormunicipal planners to expand their roles and ll this void.In the City o Boulder, CO, or example, planners are atthe oreront o innovative energy policies that are drivingthe rental housing market to provide energyecient andaordable housing through a Residential Energy Conservation Ordinance (RECO), and in Albany, NY, the planningdepartment has taken on numerous roles ranging romserving as the lead city agency working with the New York

Power Authority to develop an Albany Energy Master Planto overseeing climate change mitigation and adaptationwork.

Planners can and should reach beyond their comort zonesto take on new responsibilities and partner with new groupsand specialists, such as the Urban Sustainability DirectorsNetworkand the Institute or Sustainable Communities, twoorganizations that are leading the way by helping municipalities and communities become more ecient, innovativeand resilient through inormation sharing and cooperation.Te result is diverse communities that are making real

and timely ontheground changes that are improving thequality o lie or their residents now, while preparing or anuncertain uture.

Doug Melnick, AICP is Director of Planning and Sustainability for the City

of Albany, New York. If youd like to learn about what Albanys Planning

Department has been doing to redene its role and help Albany become

more sustainable or just to discuss the views above, he can be reached at

[email protected].

Photocba

Mugley

WritE for tHEn E W s l E t t E r !The new Sustainable Communities Division Newsletter

Editorial Board is excited to announce the opportunity

for members and other interested individuals to submit

original articles, research summaries, letters, suggestions,

workshops and other educational opportunities and

best practices for inclusion in our quarterly newsletter.

Material must be relevant to the practice of sustainable

community planning, community-based environmental

stewardship, and related topics. We are mainly looking

for original content that is 2500 words or less, especially

if youre including graphics or pictures. Please include

necessary citations and all graphics must be at least

300 dpi. All material should be submitted electronically

to Newsletter Coordinator Christopher Ryan([email protected]). The next submission

deadline is July 1st, 2013, and will generally be the 1st

week in March, July, October, and December. All content

is copyright the American Planning Association unless

otherwise indicated, and any reprint requests must be

submitted to APA Leadership Coordinator Susan Turner

at [email protected]. Please contact the Newsletter

Coordinator for copyright forms and for any questions.
http://www.usdn.org/home.html?returnUrl=%2findex.htmlhttp://www.usdn.org/home.html?returnUrl=%2findex.htmlhttp://www.iscvt.org/http://www.iscvt.org/http://www.usdn.org/home.html?returnUrl=%2findex.htmlhttp://www.usdn.org/home.html?returnUrl=%2findex.html


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PROGRAM

Welcome to our ourth annual reception, our rst as an ofcial APA Division!Enjoy the ood and drinks, and visit the stations around the room to nd out whatwere up to and how you can get involved. Every 20 minutes well grab everyonesattention or a quick activity - the meeting part o this event. Please put yourconversations on hold at these times.

STATIONS

Communications: Get involved with our newsletter, bulletin, social media...

Membership: Volunteer! Become a Division leader! Start a new project!

Collaborations: Help catalog best practices on the interactive map. Connectwith olks working at the State Chapter level.

Connections & Mentorships: Learn and help others learn.

SPONSORS

APA Sustainable Communities DivisionANNUAL RECEPTION / MEETING

Sunday 4:30pm - 6:00pm, 2013 National Conference

Strategic SustainabilityInstitute 2030

ecology and environment, inc.International Specialists in the Environment