DOCUMENT RESUME ED 380 301 SE 055 984 AUTHOR Roseland ... · environmental movement in Anglo-Romantic traditions of. the 19th century have inspired many battles to protect a. pure

DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 380 301 SE 055 984

AUTHOR Roseland, MarkTITLE Toward Sustainable Communities: A Resource Book for

Municipal and Local Governments.INSTITUTION National Round Table on the Environment and the Economy, Ottawa (Ontario).REPORT NO ISBN-1-895643-09-0PUB DATE 92

NOTE 344p.

AVAILABLE FROM National Round Table on the Environment and theEconomy, 1 Nicholas St., Ste 1500, Ottawa, OntarioK1N 7B7.

PUB TYPE Books (010) Guides Non-Classroom Use (055)

EDRS PRICE MF01/PC14 Plus Postage.DESCRIPTORS City Government; Community Action; *Community

Development; *Community Planning; *Local Government;*City Government; Municipalities;*Sustainable Development

IDENTIFIERS Environmental Issues; *Environmental Problems

ABSTRACTThis book is intended as a resource for elected

officials, municipal staff, and citizens who would like to apply theconcept of sustainable development in their communities through anecosystems approach to human settlements management. Thesubcomponents of human community life and its impact on theenvironment are explored. Included are tested, practical suggestions,he;pful contacts, and essential references to use in settingcommunity planning and development on a sustainable course. Sixteenchapters include: (1) "The Meaning of Sustainable Development"; (2)

"Toward Sustainable Communities"; (3) "Atmospheric Change and AirQuality "; (4) "Transportation Planning and Traffic Management"; (5)

"Land Use and Growth Management "; (6) "Energy Conservation andEfficiency"; (7) "Solid and Hazardous Waste Reduction and Recycling";(8) "Water and Sewage "; (9) "Greening the City;" (10) "EconomicDevelopment "; (11) "Community Development "; (12) "Investment and

Purchasing "; (13) "Leadership by Example "; (14) "Environmental

Administration"; (15) "Beyond Municipal and Local Government"; and(16) "Lessons for Policymaking." (LZ)

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I

Toward SustainableCommunitiesA Resource Book forMunicipal and LocalGovernments

Mark Roseland

National Round Table on the Environment acid the Economy

Table ronde nationale sur l'environnement et l'economie

3

© Mark Roseland, 1992All rights reserved. No part of this work covered by the copyright herein may be

reproduced or used in any form or by any means - graphic, electronic, or mechanical,including photocopying, recording, taping or information retrieval systems -without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Canadian Catalogue Information in Publication DataRoseland, Mark

Toward sustainable communities: a resource book for municipal

and local governments

(National Round Table series on Sustainable Development)ISBN 1-895643-09-01. City planning - Canada.2. City planning - environmental aspects - Canada3. City planning. 4. City Planning - Environmental aspects.I. National Round Table on the Environment and the EconomyII. Title. III. SeriesHT169.C3R67 1992 307.17'0971 C92-094941-X

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Series General Editor: Daniel DonovanTel: (613) 992-7189 Fax: (613) 992-7385

ii

4

NATIONAL ROUND TABLE SERIESON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Series General Editor: Daniel Donovan

I Sustainable Development: A Manager'sHandbook

2 The National Waste Reduction Handbook3 Decision Making Practices for

Sustainable Development4 Preserving Our World5 On the Road to Brazil: The Earth Summit6 Toward Sustainable Communities7 Trade, Environment and Competitiveness

Aussi disponible en francais

Canada

A Resource Book for Local Government

NRTEE MEMBERS

Dr. George Connell, ChairNational Round Table on the Environment and the Economy

R.C. (Reg) Basken President, Energy and Chemical Workers UnionThe Honourable Carole Carson Minister of Environment,

Government of SaskatchewanThe Honourable Jean Charest Minister of Environment,

Coolr- .ment of CanadaThe : nourable J. Glen Cummings Minister of Environment,Cove: ;merit of ManitobaPat Delbridge President, Pat Del bridge Associates Inc.The Honourable Jake Epp Minister of Energy, Mines and

Resources, Government of CanadaJosefina Gonzalez Research Scientist, Forintek Canada Corp.Diane Griffin Executive Director, Island Nature TrustDr. Leslie Harris Memorial University, NewfoundlandTony Hodge School of Planning, McGill UniversitySusan Holtz Senior Researcher, Ecology Action CentreJohn E. Houghton Chairman and C.E.O., Quebec and Ontario

Paper Company Ltd.David L. Johnston Principal and Vice-Chancellor, McGillUniversityPierre Marc Johnson Direcleur de Recherche, Centre de medecine,

d'ethique et de droit de l'Universite McGillGeraldine A. Kenney-Wallace President and Vice-Chancellor,

McMaster UniversityMargaret G. Kerr Vice President, Environment, Health and Safety,

Northern TelecomLester Lafond President, Lafond Enterprises Ltd.Jack M. MacLeod President and C.E.O., Shell Canada Ltd.Jim MacNeill Senior Fellow, Sustainable Development Program,

Institute for Research on Public. Policy.The Honourable Donald Mazankowski Minister of Finance,

Government of CanadaDavid Morton Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Alcan AluminiumDr. Bob Page Faculty of Environmental Design, University of

CalgaryLeone Pippard President and Executive Director, Canadian Ecology

AdvocatesBarry D. Stuart Judge of the Territorial CouitThe Honourable Michael Wilson Minister of Industry, Science and

Technology, Government of Canada

Ex ?.cutive Director: Ron Doering

Toward Sustainable Communities

The National Round Table on the Environment and theEconomy is pleased to present this book as a furthercontribution to the greater understanding of theconcepts of Sustainable Development and SustainableCommunities.

The views expressed in its pages are those of its authorand do not necessarily represent those of the NRTEEor its Members.

7

vi

6


Foreword

For generations, environmentalists in North America havefought to protect "nature," but have been ambivalent inthe struggle to create healthy, equitable, and economicallysustainable communities for the human family. TowardSustainable Communities confronts this majorcontradiction and shortcoming of the North Americanenvironmentalist tradition with practical, hopefulguidance.

The intellectual roots of the North Americanenvironmental movement in Anglo-Romantic traditions ofthe 19th century have inspired many battles to protect apure and wild nature, but they have,4iled to guidehumankind on a course that is sustainabl0While we havetended to nature's ecosystems, we hale permitted ourcities and towns to become engines of resource extractionand exploitation, waste generation and release, so much sothat even the chemistry of the Earth's atmosphere is nolonger spared from their effects.

During the period that environmentalism became aforce in North American public life, our cities andccinrnunities have sprawled without consideration forresource efficiency. Infrastructure has been constructedhousing, roadways and sewage systems, for instance --which encourages disregardful resource consumption.Water sources have been taxed or polluted. Builtenvironments have been designed which alter micro-climates and promote photochemical smog formation.Environmental services, such as public transit systems,have been left without public support.. Our settlementshave not only become less and less habitable for humans

vii


and most other species. They now stand as the geographicpoint sources of most regional and global environmentalproblems, and threaten even the most distant wild areassaved by environmental advocates.

Over the most recent decades, a new humanistic traditionin the environmental movement has developed, whichfocuses attention directly upon the state, form, andmanagement of human communities. It includes theHabitat movement, the Healthy Cities movement, and themore recent "sustainable communities" and eco-citiesmovements. These movements share the perspective thatthe most direct and effective means to protect theenvironment is to redevelop, retrofit, and redesign ourown communities in other words, to make themsustainable communities.

Toward Sustainable Communities chronicles many ofthe practical outcomes of this new movement. Built upona sound theoretical basis the application of the conceptof sustainable development through an ecosystem approachto human settlements management the book exploresthe subcomponents human community life and itsimpact on the environment. Toward SustainableCommunities is a rare compendium of tested, practicalsuggestions, helpful contacts, and essential references touse in setting community planning and development on asustainable course.

Jeb BrugmannSecretary GeneralThe International Commission for Local EnvironmentalInitiatives

viii

S


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The author gratefully acknowledges financial support forthis project from The Forum for Planning Action, TheUniversity of British Columbia Centre for HumanSettlements, The University of British Columbia Task Forceon Healthy and Sustainable Communities, and Friends ofthe Earth.

This publication was initiated by the Forum for PlanningAction to continue the momentum generatedby its conferenceon sustainable communities held in Vancouver in 1989. Theconference was funded by Environment Canada and theBritish Columbia Ministry of Municipal Affairs, and wasorganized with financial assistance from The KoernerFoundation, BC Hydro, Cominco, Mean, and Inco.

I am particularly obliged to Brahm Wiesman and WilliamRees of the University of British Columbia's School ofCommunity and Regional Planning, Council member NancySkinner of the Berkeley, California City Council, MichaelReplogle of the Institute for Transportation and DevelopmentPolicy in Washington, D.C., Peter Burch of the City ofVancouver, David Loukidelis of Lidstone, Young, Andersonin Vancouver, Jeb Brugmann of the InternationalCommission for Local Environmental Initiatives, and severalanonymous reviewers for reviewing all or parts of themanuscript prior to publication.

Thanks also to Kevin Lee for providing additional researchassistance on bicycle transportation initiatives; to the staffof the National Round Table on the Environment and theEconomy for their enthusiasm; and to Renee Roseland forgraciously tolerating the many weeks I seemed married onlyto this project.

ix


CONTENTS

ForewordIntroduction

vii1

Part One From Sustainable Developmentto Sustainable Communities

1 The Meaning of Sustainable Development 5

2 Toward Sustainable Communities 21

Part Two Sustainable Community Tools3 Atmospheric Change and Air Quality 57

4 Transportation Planning and Traffic 75Management

5 Land Use and Growth Management 111

6 Energy Conservation and Efficiency 153

7 Solid and Hazardous Waste Reduction and 169

Recycling8 Water and Sewage 185

9 Greening the City 201

10 Economic Development 215

11 Community Development 247

12 Investment and Purchasing 267

Part Three Planning and AdministrativeTools

13 Leadership by Example 277

14 Environmental Administrat; 1 295

15 Beyond Municipal and Local .government 319

16 Lessons for Policymaking 335

xi

INTRODUCTION

This book is intended to enable local government officialsand citizens who want to apply the concept of"sustainabledevelopment" in their communities. The rationale forwriting it is that many of our most critical globalenvironmental issues (e.g., atmospheric and potentialclimate change) are rooted in local, day-to-day problems(e.g., traffic congestion and inefficient land use patterns).It follows that enlightened local decisions about theseissues will be of global as well as local benefit.

The people who prompted me to write this book were thepeople for whom I wrote it elected officials, municipalstaff, and concerned citizens. In the last few years I havespoken widely on the topics described in these chapters.Invariably, people ask me during or after my lectureswhere they can find out more. The answer, until now, hasbeen "in my files."

That isn't good enough any longer. While globalenvironmental change is accelerating, there is a wealth ofimportant and exciting information that really can help usmake the 1990s the "Turnaround Decade" that sets theplanet on a sustainable course. Unfortunately, most ofthis information is not available through the mainstreammedia. I have endeavoured to make these ideas, tools andresources accessible.

The book is designed to be both stimulating and usefulEach chapter begins with an introductory overviewexplaining the topic and its relevance to sustainablecommunities and/or municipal and local government,followed by a set of Tools, Initiatives, and Resources. Eachchapter's Resources section includes the bibliographicreferences for that chapter.

1


The book is not intended to be comprehensive; rather, itattempts to identify and document the current range ofmunicipal and local government initiatives towardsustainable communities. Dozens of tools, initiatives andresources are presented in these pages, accompanied byhundreds of references to aid interested readers in theirown research. Certain tools and initiatives may be missingbecause I didn't know about them, but many others wereomitted because of space and budget limitations. I havepresented those which seeme,T most readily transferableto other communities.

The mixed use of Canadian and American spellingsthroughout the book (e.g., centre vs. center, neighbour vs.neighbor) is because I have kept the original spellingsintact in all excerpts from the literature ofnot only Canadaand the US but also from several other countries.

This volume is part of a larger, ongoing research project.If you are aware of sustainable community initiatives andresources other than those described here, or are involvedin developingyour own sustainable community initiatives,please send your information and/or documentation to mein care of the publisher.

I dedicate the book to the municipal and local governmentpoliticians, staff and citizen activists around the worldwho have developed the wide array of initiatives thatmake it possible. Your efforts to create a sustainablefuture have sustained me as well.

-13 2

PART ONE

From Sustainable Development toSustainable Communities

3

Z4

The MPaning of Sustainable Development

1

The Meaning of Sustainable Development

"Each generation is entitled to the interest on the naturalcapital, but the principal should be handed on unimpaired."

Canadian Conservation Commission, 1915

The environment has changed. Equally important, so hasour perception. We are beginning to realize that we toohave to change.

In 1970 our major environmental problems wereperceived to be local: smog, DDT, oil spills, jet exhausts,and mercury. By 1990 the list and scale of environmentalproblems had grown to global proportions, includingdesertification, rising sea-levels, temperate and tropicalrainforest depletion, forest die-back, acid rain, toxiccontamination of food and water supplies, soil erosion,species extinction, freshwater scarcity, water tabledepletion, marine pollution, fisheries collapse, ozonedepletion, greenhouse gas buildup, climatic change, andurban growth.

AwareLess of environmental deterioration has itselfbeen growing, in part due to a cascade of warnings (e.g.,The Limits to Growth, Global 2000, The World ConservationStrategy) that what we have until now called "development"is in fact jeopardizing our future.

In December 1983, in response to a United NationsGeneral Assembly resolution, the UN Secretary-Generalappointed Gro Harlem Brundtland of Norway as Chairmanof an independent World Commission on Environmentand Development. The mandate of the Brundtland

5

15


Commission, as it became known, was threefold (WCED1987):

" to re-examine the critical issues of environment anddevelopment and to formulate innovative, concrete,and realistic action proposals to deal with them;to strengthen international co-operation onenvironment and development and to assess andpropose new forms of co-operation that can break outof existing patterns and influence policies and eventsin the direction of needed change; andto raise the level of understanding and commitment toaction on the part of individuals, voluntaryorganizations, businesses, institutes and governments."

For the next few years the Commission studied theissues and listened to people at public hearings on fivecontinents, gathering over 10,000 pages of transcripts andwritten submissions from hundreds of organizations andindividuals. In April 1987 the Commission released itsreport Our Common Future. At the core of the report is theprinciple of "sustainable development." The Commission'sembrace of sustainable development as an underlyingprinciple gave political credibility to a concept many othershad worked on over the previous decade. The Commissiondefined sustainable development as meeting "the needs ofthe present without compromising the ability of futuregenerations to meet their own needs." This simple, vaguedefinition has been criticized by some and hailed by others(see Starke 1990).

Unfortunately, many people mistakenly use the term"sustainable development" to mean either environmentalprotection or else sustained economic growth (presumablyto pay for, among other things, environmental protection).Even the Brundtland Commission accepted the need for afive- to ten-fold increase in world industrial output asessential for sustainable development.

6

J 6


Sustainable Confusion"The term [sustainable development] has beencriticized as ambiguous and open to a wide range ofinterpretations, many of which are contradictory.The confusion has been caused because 'sustainabledevelopment,' sustainable growth' and 'sustainableuse' have been used interchangeably, as if theirmeanings were the same. They are not. 'Sustainablegrowth' is a contradiction in terms: nothing physicalcan grow indefinitely. 'Sustainable use' is applicableonly to renewable resources: it means using them at

L.,rates within their capacity for renewal."(IUCN 1991)

./,

Environmental protection is like foam padding it offerssome protection from a fall. We congratulate ourselves ifwe double our spending to double the thickness of thefoam, because we assume thicker foam means moreprotection. However, we only get more protection if we fallthe same distance. Meanwhile, unsustainable developmentconstantly increases the distance we're likely to fall.Sustainable development must therefore be more thanmerely "protecting" the environment: it requires economicand social change to reduce tho need for environmentalprotection.

Like other political objectives of its kind (e.g., democracy),we all agree with the need for sustainable developmentand disagree over whatit entails. Nevertheless, sustainabledevelopment has a core meaning which remains howeverit is interpreted. There are three elements to this (seeJacobs 1991):

Environmental considerations must be entrenched ineconomic policy-making. Environmental and economicobjectives mustbe placed within a common frameworkin which a variety of parallel objectives can be

7


Natural CapitalThe term "natural capital," coined by ecologicaleconomists, can help us understand the meaning ofsustainability. Like financial capital, natural capitalconsists of assets. There are three kinds of "ecologicalassets":

non-renewable resources, such as minerals and fossilfuels;the finite capacity of natural systems to produce"renewable resources" such as food crops, forestryproducts and water supplies - which are renewableonly if the natural systems from which they aredrawn are not overexploited; andthe capacity of natural systems to absorb theemissions and pollutants which arise from humanactions without side effects which imply heavycosts passed onto future generations (such asactivities that release chemicals which deplete theatmosphere's ozone layer and greenhouse gaseswhich may cause serious climatic imbalances).

"No one can doubt that the stock of non-renewableresources is finite. No one can doubt that eco-systems(individually and collectively within the biosphere)have limits in their capacity to absorb pollutants.There is agreement that some environmental assetsare irreplaceable - for instance areas [...] ofoutstanding natural beauty. The debate centres onwhich environmental assets are irreplaceable andthe extent to which current (and projected) futurelevels of resource use degrade the capital stock ofenvironmental assets for future generations, theextent to which one resource can be substituted foranother (for instance, a synthetic substance replacinga natural one) and the extent to which pollutantsderived from human activities are damaging thebiosphere."

(Mitlin and Satterthwaite 1991))

8


recognized. In particular, we must learn to live on the"interest" generated by remaining stocks of living"natural capital" (Rees 1991). Growth at the expenseof sustainability actually makes us poorer rather thanricher (Daly and Cobb 1989).Sustainable development incorporates an inescapablecommitment to social equity. This requires not simplythe creation of wealth and the conservation ofresources, but their fair distribution both between andwithin countries, including at least some measure ofredistribution between North and South. Sustainabilityalso requires the fair distribution of environmentalbenefits and costs between generations."Development" does not simply mean "growth," asrepresented by faulty measures of economicperformance such as increases in Gross NationalProduct (GNP). Development implies qualitative aswell as quantitative improvement.

In sum, sustainable development mustbe a different kindof development. It must be a pro-active strategy to developsustainability.

This applies particularly in developed countries, whereone quarter of the world's people consume three quartersof the world's resources. Given that North Americans areamong the world's most inefficient and wasteful consumersof materials and energy (see WC ED 1987), it is incumbentupon us to find ways of living more lightly on the planet.For North Americans to contribute to global sustainabilitywill require major shifts in the lifestyles of the affluent. Awide variety of approaches are called for, includingappropriate technologies, recycling, and waste reduction.The most important adaptation, however, is a reduction ofour present levels of material and energy consumption.This will require a more globally conscious kind of localdevelopment than we are accustomed to.

9

2.)


mSocial Equity and Sustainable Development

Today the poorest fifth of the world's population hasless than two percent of the world's economic productwhile the richest fifth has 75 percent; the 26 percentof the world's population living in the developedcountries consumes 80-86 percent of nonrenewableresources and 34 to 53 percent of food products.Bringing the Third World up to North American livingstandards would require a five- to ten-fold increase inworld industrial output (see WCED 1987), yet thecontingent combination of depleted resource stocks(e.g., fossil fuels, fisheries, forests) with degraded life-support systems (e.g., ozone depletion, global warming,acid rain) demonstrates the impossibility of the entireworld consuming and polluting at the rate of NorthAmericans. Social equity demands that we balancethe needs of the biosphere with the needs of the vastmajority of the human population, the world's poor.Within the developed nations, this in turn means thatwe must balance the needs of the biosphere with theneeds of our own poor. But in doing so we can nolonger rely on our 200-year tradition of materialgrowth as the primary instrument of social policy.

1

---1"The opposite of wealth is not poverty but sufficiency. This iscritical. Sufficiency is not a matter ofsacrifice and deprivation.It is a means of working out different ways of achievingsatisfaction in our own lives."

Porritt 1989

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4


Toward Global Equality"To try to solve the economic problems of the high.consumption welfare states or the poor countries bystimulating further growth in the former, as theBrundtland Commission and many others propose,will exacerbate problems for both rich and poorcountries. Even the stimulation of growth in the poorcountries will be counterproductive unless the growthis oriented toward solar energy and is based onecologically sound renewable resource production.To attempt to deal with international disparities bytrickling aid from growth-stimulated rich countriesto poor countries will at best be insufficient to reducethose countries' poverty; at worst, such an approachincreases their dependency on technology and oil,deepens their debt, and leads to more ecologicaldestruction. If we in the rich countries are to helpthose in the poor, we must reduce our ownconsumption[...]Whether or not such a path issufficient to move toward global equality, it isnecessary." (Boothroyd 1991)

INITIATIVES

United Nations Conference on Environment andDevelopment (UNCED)The first-ever "Earth Summit" was held in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil, in June 1992. Ironically, because of politicalsensitivity the official agenda generally avoided directdiscussion of what many analysts perceive to be the twokey global sustainability issues: consumption in the Northand population growth in the South. Despite the possibilityof important international agreements on critical globalissues arising from UNCED, many people now realize thatthe General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) may

11


have a more profound impact on the future of the globalenvironment than all the h andshaking and speechmakingby heads of state at the Earth Summit. UNCED informationis available in North America from:

National Secretariat UNCED '92Environment Canada10 Wellington Street, 4th FloorHull, Quebec K1A 0113Tel: 819/953-1420 Fax: 819/953-3557

UNCED New York OfficeRoom S-3060, United NationsNew York, NY 10017Tel: 212/963-5959 Fax: 212/963-1010

National "Green Plans"Canada is one of a handful of nations that has produced a"Green Plan" for a healthy environment. The Plan wasprepared by the Government of Canada after cross-countryconsultations in 1990. It claims that its measures willreverse environmental damage, maintain futuredevelopment, and secure a healthy environment and aprosperous economy. Time will tell if the plan lives up toits claims. Whatever its weaknesses, however, the simplefact of having a plan demonstrates environmentalleadership relative to most other countries. Availablefrom Environment Canada Communications Offices orfrom:

Canada's Green Planc/o Environment CanadaOttawa, Canada K1A OH3

Round Tables on the Environment and the EconomyApparently unique to Canada, Round Tables are foundedupon the conviction that the success of sustainable

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development will be determined through the definition ofa new consensus. Round Tables attempt to bring togethera representative selection of people from all facets ofsociety governments, industry, ecology groups, unions,universities, native peoplesto create a forum for divergentpoints of view. The idea is that the consensus, alliances,and synergy essential for effective sustainable developmentpolicy may emerge through these new institutions.Provincial and many community Round Tables have alsobeen established throughout Canada. More information isavailable from:

National Round Tableon the Environment and the Economy1 Nicholas Street, Suite 520Ottawa, Ontario K1N 7B7Tel: 613/992-7189 Fax: 613/992-7385

RESOURCES

THE WORLD CONSERVATION UNION (IUCN), THE UNITEDNATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME (UNEP), AND THEWORLD WIDE FUND FOR NATURE (WWF),Caring for theEarth: A Strategy for Sustainable Living (Gland,Switzerland: IUCN/UNEP/WWF, 1991). Dozens ofgovernments and international agencies contributed tothis report, vhich sets out 132 measures that must beimplemented over the next ten to twenty years ifthe Earthis to remain capable of supporting its population. Thereport estimates that ensuring the long-term survival ofthe planet will cost $1,288 billion over the next decade(equal to three times Canada's national debt), much ofwhich could come from reducing military spending, selling"Earthcare Bonds," and other financial mechanisms..Additional recommendations include creating aninternational body to monitor the environment on a global

13


scale, controlling population growth, minimizing thedepletion of non-renewable resources, and sharingresources between rich and poor countries and with futuregenerations.

This report stands out as essential reading for tworeasons. It is the first such document to propose a globalaction plan that will sooner or later, in this format oranotherhave to be adopted. It is also the first such reportto recognize that local governments are key units forenvironmental care. Available from:

United Nations Environment ProgrammeRoom DC 2 - 0803United NationsNew York, NY 10017Tel: 212/963-8093

WORLD COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT,

Our Common Future (New York: Oxford UniversityPress, 1987). This is the report of the BrundtlandCommission discussed above. The Commission's mainrecommendations are to revive economic growth; changethe quality of growth; conserve and enhance the resourcebase; ensure a sustainable level of population; re orienttechnology and manage risks; integrate environment andeconomics in decision-making; reform internationaleconomic relations; and strengthen international co-operation. The Commission's call for a five- to ten-foldincrease in world industrial output, withoat any analysisto show whether such expansion is ecologically possible, ishighly questionable.

LINDA STARKE, Signs of Hope: Working Towards OurCommon Future (NY: Oxford University Press, 1990).Starke's book records some of the progress made in thefirst few years after publication of Our Common Future,and points to initiatives underway around the world bygovernments, industry, scientists, non-governmental

14

Is


organizations, the media, and young people. While notintended to be comprehensive, it shows thatthose workingtoward a sustainable future no longer toil alone.

LESTER BROWN, ET AL, State of the World: AWorldwatch Institute Report on Progress Toward aSustainable Society (NY: W.W. Norton & Co., annual).This annual volume includes consistently credible researchrelating to the challenge of sustainable development.Topics addressed in 1991 included energy, waste, forestry,urban transport, over-consumption, green taxes, and theenvironmental impacts of war. The Worldwatch Institutealso publishes an excellent series of papers and a bi-monthly magazine, World Watch. Available in bookstoresor from:

Worldwatch Institute1776 Massachusetts Ave., NWWashington, DC 20036-1904Tel: 202/452-1999Fax: 202/296-7365

MICHAEL JACOBS, The Green Economy: Environment;Sustainable Development and the Politics of theFuture (London: Pluto Press, 1991). This book is primarilyabout environmental economic policy in industrializedcountries, which Jacobs argues are mainly responsible forthe environmental crisis. Jacobs rejects both the traditionalGreen movement demand of "zero growth" and the neweconomic orthodoxy which seeks to give the environmenta monetary value. He argues that sustainability providesan objective both morally defensible and capable ofbeingtranslated into policy. He then describes a range ofinstruments by which economic activity can beconstrained within environmental limits, and showshow environmental policies need not hurt the poor. Hisdiscussion includes regulation versus financialincentives, the role of government expenditure, and

15


integrating equity with social policy. The last sectionof the book addresses questions of measurement inthe context of environmental decision-making.

Jacobs' final chapter addresses the impact of a Greeneconomy on our lives. Jacobs makes a cogent distinctionbetween "standard of living," as equated simply withdisposable income, and "quality of life," the sum of allthings which people purchase collectively, whether throughpublic expenditure (e.g., public education) or not purchasedat all (e.g., air quality).

Will people be willing to forgo constant expansion ofmaterial possessions in favour of a more sustainablelifestyle? The important point, he notes, is not how likelysuch a change in culture might be - whether or not thechange occurs is for us to decide. Cultures and tastes areinfluenced by a whole range of social and political factorswhich themselves can be changed and developed by politicalparties, pressure groups, voluntary organizations,individual behaviour and cultural activity. In this senseachievinga sustainable economy in industrialized societiesis not ultimately a question of economics but rather aquestion of manifesting the desire :.Thrl ,-;11 to change.

HERMAN E. DALY AND JOHN B. COBB, JR., FOr theCommon Good: Redirecting the Economy TowardCommunity, the Environment, and a SustainableFuture (Boston: Beacon Press, 1989). Daly, a World Bankeconomist and Cobb, a theologian, teamed up to critique"mainstream" economic thinking and offer a new paradigmfor economics, public policy, and social ethics. Their workis based on a concern with building community, achievingequity and social justice, and maintaining high levels ofeconomic well-being while conserving and enhancingenvironmental resources.

Daly and Cobb argue that the "welfare approach to socialjustice" must be replaced by a more comprehensive

16


approach in which municipalities expand their authorityand responsibility in order to work with local citizens onprojects designed to enhance community capacityenvironmentally, socially and economically. They believethat the promotion of greater levels of self-reliance withinthe geographic boundaries of the municipality shouldprovide one basis for this new approach. For example, theysuggest that using wastes as raw materials andemphasizing the local production of goods and services forlocal use, using locally-based resources, is likely to have afar greater positive impact on social welfare than is thefurther expansion of human services.

Perhaps Daly and Cobb's greatest contribution is theirindex of sustainable economic welfare (ISEW). As analternative accounting system to the GNP, the ISEWattempts to factor in the social and environmental costs ofgrowth in measures of:

income distribution, as a measure of equity;net capital growth, in order to assess whether capitalformation is proceeding "in step" with populationgrowth, as a measure of the sustainability of currenteconomic activity;sources of capital (i.e., internal or external), as ameasure of self-reliance;natural resource depletion, as a measure of how muchfuture generations will need to be compensated for theloss of services from exhausted nonrenewableresources;environmental damage, as a measure of the costs ofnoise, air and water pollution;value of unpaid household labour, in order to ensurethat the index does not discriminate against non-waged contributions to general welfare.

Whereas GNP for the US has risen annually for the lastfew decades, the ISEW shows a similar pattern of

17


improvements in the 1960s, little growth in the 1970s, anddecline in the 1980s. The exercise underscores the authors'argument that growth at the expense of sustainabilitymakes us poorer rather than richer. The importantquestion, they conclude, is whether we continue to focusour efforts on increasing total output or whether weredirect our focus toward sustainability.

ReferencesBOOTIIROYD, P., "Distribution Principles for Compassionate

Sustainable Development," in A.H.J. Dorcey, ed.,Perspectiveson Sustainable Development in Water Management: TowardsAgreement in the Fraser Basin (Vancouver: WestwaterResearch Centre, 1991).

BROWN, L., ET AL, State of the World: A Worldwatch InstituteReport on Progress Toward a Sustainable Society (NY: W.W.Norton & Co., annual).

CANADIAN CONSERVATION COMMISSION, 1915; cited inMetropolitan Toronto Planning Department, Towards aLiveable Metropolis (Toronto: Metropolitan Plan ReviewReport No. 13, May 1991).

DALY, H.E. AND J.B. COI3B, JR., For the Common Good:Redirecting the Economy Toward Community, theEnvironment, and a Sustainable Future (Boston: BeaconPress, 1989).

JACOBS, M., The Green Economy: Environment, SustainableDevelopment and the Politics of the Future (London: PlutoPress, 1991).

INTE/LNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE (IUCN),

THE UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME (UNEP), andTIIE WORLD WIDE FUND FOR NATURE (WWF), Caring for theEarth:A Strategy for SustainableLiving (Gland, Switzerland:IUCN/UNEP/WWF, 1991).

MITLIN, D. AND D. SicrrEicri IWAITE, "Sustainable Developmentand Cities," prepared for How Common Is Our Future? AGlobal NGO Forum. Mexico City: Habitat InternationalCoalition, March 4-7, 1991.

PORRIT, J., "Seeing Green: How We Can Create A MoreSatisfying Society," Utne Reader No. 36, Nov/Dec 1989, pp.70-77.

18


REES, W.E , "Understanding Sustainable Development"(Vancouver: UBC School of Community and RegionalPlanning, 1991).

STARKE, L., Signs of Hope: Working Towards Our CommonFuture (NY: Oxford University Press, 1990).

WORLD COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT(WCED), Our Common Future (New York: Oxford UniversityPress, 1987).

19


2


"It is becoming apparent that almost every issue ofsustainabledevelopment which emerges at the local level will be replicated,in one form or another, at the provincial, national andinternational levels."

George E. Connell, Chair,National Round Table on the Environment and the

Economy, letter to the Prime Minister, 1991.IImporting Sustain ability

"Our preliminary data for industrial cities suggestthat the land 'consumed' by urban regions is typicallyat least an order of magnitude greater than thatcontained within the usual political boundaries orthe associated built-up area. If we take the lowerFraser Valley (Vancouver to Hope) as an example, ourregional population uses 18 times as much land as itactually occupies. The missing land is, in effect,`imported' from distant elsewheres which may not beecologically secure or politically stable (...) Howeverbrilliant its economic star, every city is an ecologicalblack hole drawing on the material resources andproductivity of a vast and scattered hinterland manytimes the size of the city itself."

(Rees 1992

Nearly half of the world's people will live in urban areas bythe turn of the century (see WCED 1987). The way theseurban areas are developed will largely determine oursuccess or failure in overcoming environmental challenges

21


and achieving sustainable development. Cities provideenormous, untapped opportunities to solve environmentalchallenges, and local governments must and can pioneernew approaches to sustainable development and urbanmanagement. They must also assume the responsibilityand marsh all the resources to address the environmentalproblemsfacingtheir communities (see Toronto Declaration1991).

Although common environmental themes unite theworld's communities, the communities of the developing(Southern) world face distinctly different challenges thanthose faced by the communities ofth e developed (Northern)world. From the perspective of sustainable development,the basic problem with Northern cities is that they areunsustainable, whereas the basic problem with Southerncities is that they are underdeveloped. Most Northern citydwellers are adequately housed and fed, but they meettheir needs by consuming at rates the planet cannot affordand polluting at rates the planet cannot tolerate. MostSouthern city dwellers cannot meet their basic needs forfood, clean water, clean air, fuel, transport and anenvironment free of disease-causing agents. While thisdichotomy is not entirely clear cut i.e., there is poverty inmany Northern cities, and many Southern cities livebeyond their means in terms of consumption of naturalresources such as firewood and water it h elps illuminatethe essential challenge of urban sustainability both Northand South: meeting basic needs without depleting ordegrading environmental capital (see Holmberg, Bass,and Timberlake 1991).

The role of the cities of the industrial world deservesmuch more scrutiny in the context of human settlementsand the environmental crisis, precisely because their impacton the world's changing ecosystems is so enormous.Although some of our cities may appear to be sustainable,

22


"The reality with which we must come to terms is that theworld is not bountiful enough to support this kindofbehaviourby the world's present human population of5 billion, let alonethe 10 billion we might have before the population levels off1...) The challenge for human settlements policy is not toreplicate the rich country patterns in today's poor countries.The challenge is to design and manoge human settlements insuch a way that all the world's people may live at a decentstandard based on sustainable principles."

White and Whitney 1990

analysis of the "ecological footprint" of industrial citiesshows that they "appropriate" carrying capacity (seeWackernagel 1991) not only from their own rural andresource regions but also from "distant el sewheres" (Rees1992) in other words, they "import" sustainability.Furthermore, the cities of the industrial world, with theirinadequate urban policies and technology, set the standardto which city managers in low-income countries aspirelow density single family dwellings, cars, expressways,waste creation, air conditioning and profligate water use(see White and Whitney 1990).

The focus of this book is on the postwar pattern ofWestern urban development, as typified by many NorthAmerican (i.e., Canadian and US) cities and towns. Manyideas mentioned briefly in this chapter are elaborated insucceeding chapters.

MostNorth American cities were builtusing technologieswhich assumed that abundant and cheap energy and landwould be available forever. Communities therefore grewinefficiently, and became dependent on lengthy distributionsystems. Cheap energy influenced the construction of ourspacious homes and buildings, fostered our addiction tothe automobile, and increased the separation of ourworkplaces from our homes (see Environment Council ofAlberta 1988).

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Urban sprawl is one legacy of abundant fossil fuel andour perceived right to unrestricted use of the private carwhatever the social costs and externalities. Per capitagasoline consumption in US and many Canadian cities isnow more than four times that of European cities, and over10 times greater than such Asian cities as Hong Kong,Tokyo, and Singapore. The biggest factor accounting forthese differences in energy use appears to be not he sizeof cars or the price of gasoline, but the efficiency andcompactness of land use patterns (see Newman andKenworthy 1989). One conclusion of a study prepared forthe US Government was that"sprawl is the most expensiveform of residential development in terms of economiccosts, environmental costs, natural resource consumption,and many types of personal costs 1...1 This cost differenceis particularly significant for that proportion of total costswhich is likely to be borne by local governments" (RealEstate Research Corporation 1974).

Other local and regional consequences of sprawl, such ascongestion, air pollution, jobs-housing location "imbalance,"and longer commuting times are now commonly recognized.Yet, until recently, few researchers acknowledged that theland use pattern of North American cities also has seriousglobal ecological ramifications. For example, residents ofmost Canadian cities annually produce about 20 tons ofcarbon dioxide per capita, placing Canada among the topthree or four nations in terms of per capita contribution topotential climate change. In contrast, citizens ofAmsterdam produce only 10 tons of carbon dioxide percapita per year Sprawl, exclusionary zoning and lowdensity account for much of this difference. According torecent research at the International Institute for AppliedSystems Analysis, if North American cities modelled futuredevelopment on cities like Amsterdam, future carbondioxide emissions here would only be half as much as

24


"Sprawlsville is flawed because it over-emphasizes the private,individualized world at the expense of our commons. Itprovides for private splendour in our houses and backyardsand in our cars, but public squalor in our air and water, atthe urban fringe as it falls under the subdivision's bulldozer,in the global environment due to the greenhouse effect, in thefeeble attempts at community which characterize our suburbs,and in our public transport, which is allowed to run downand become vandalized."

Newman 1991

"The current round of suburban growth is generating a crisisof many dimensions: mounting traffic congestion, increasinglyunaffordable housing, receding open space, and stressfulsocial patterns. The truth is, we are using planning strategiesthat are forty years old and no longer relevant to today'sculture. Our household make-up has changed dramatically,the work place and work force have been transformed, realwealth has shrunk, and serious environmental concernshave surfaced. But we are still building World War IIsuburbs as if families were large and had only onebreadwinner, as if jobs were all downtown, as if land andenergy were endless, and as if another lane on the freewaywould end congestion."

Calthorpe 1989

current gloomy projections now indicate (see Alcamo 1990).The postwar pattern of Western urban development is

not only ecologically unconscionable but economicallyinefficient and socially inequitable. In contrast, sustainabledevelopment implies that the use of energy and materialsbe consistent with production by such "natural capital"processes as photosynthesis and waste assimilation(seeRees 1990a,b). To some authors this implies increasingcommunity and regional self-reliance to reduce dependencyon imports (see RAIN 1981, California Office ofAppropriateTechnology 1981, Morris 1982). The benefits would be

25


reduced energy budgets, reduced material consumption,and a smaller, more compact urban pattern interspersedwith productive areas to collect energy, grow crops, andrecycle wastes (see Van der Ryn and Calthorpe 1986).

Cities with low "automobile dependence" are morecentralized; have more intense land use (more people andjobs per unit area); are more oriented to non-auto modes(more public transit, foot traffic, and bicycle usage); placemore restraints on high-speed traffic; and offer betterpublic transit (see Newman and Kenworthy 1989). Thissuggests a new approach to transportation and land useplanning in North America. In the absence ofcomprehensive planning, transportation has, almost bydefault, guided land use. Instead, land use planningshould guide transportation, and transportation should bedesigned to accommodate and support planned growth,inducing the needed changes in urban form (see Cervero1991; Replogle 1990).

The ideal urban form for a particular locale will dependto some extent on the nature of the energy supply options:for example, higher densities make most efficient use ofdistrict heating and public transport networks, whilelower densities may make solar energy more viable. Thelocation, gross density and form of new developmentshould therefore be determined in conjunction withprograms for energy supply and conservation technologies(see Owens 1990). This principle is illustrated by a recentSan Jose, California study which compared developmentpressures with or without a "greenbelt" to constraindevelopment. Without it, 13,000 exurban homes would bedeveloped which, compared to an equivalent number ofunits downtown and along the transit corridor, wouldrequire at least an additional 200,000 miles of autocommuting plus an additional three million gallons ofwater every day, as well as 40 percent more energy for

26


The City as Ecosystem"In this century, the city has been imagined bysociologists, planners, and engineers as a bazaar, aseat of political chaos, an infernal machine, a circuit,and, more hopefully, as a community, the humancreation 'par excellence.' Fhese different ways ofthinking about cities, their social forces, their marketbehaviours, their reliance on materials and processesfrom the natural world, both shape and constrain theprogrammes and policies that local governments putforward to serve the needs of urban people.The city can also be imagined as an ecosystem. Such

a concept provides a tool to understand the complexrelations between human activities and theenvironment, and how communities can organisetheir activities to both meet human needs and benefitthe environment [...]Like a natural system such as a pond or forest, an

urban ecosystem transforms energy (human labour,capital, fossil fuels) and materials (timber, iron, sand& gravel, information, etc.) into products that areconsumed or exported, and into by-products. Innatural systems by-products are recycled. We havedesigned and managed our cities so that these by

often go unused as wastes. The impact ofhuman activity on the environment can be highlightedby chartingthe dynamics of the system -the movementof materials and people, the flows of energy andcapital, the locations where energy is stored orexpended, the rates at which wastes are generatedand recycled. By looking at the city as a whole, byanalyzing the pathways along which energy andpollution move, we can begin to see how humanactivities create and direct pollution into local,regional, and global ecosystems. We can also see howthese activities can be reorganised and reintegratedwith natural processes to increase the efficiency ofresource use, the recycling of 'wastes' as valuablematerials, and the conservation of energy."

(Brugmanrs and Hersh 1991),)

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A [typical North American] city of 100,000 people imports200 tons of food a day, 1000 tons of fuel a day, and 62,000 tonsof water a day 1...] it dumps 100,000 tons of garbage a yearand 40,000 tons of human waste a year."

. Morris 1990

heating and cooling (see Ycsney 1990).Another study, by Montgomery County, Maryland, found

that continued growth in an automobile-dependent patternwould produce traffic congestion levels high enough tochoke off economic development. However, an anticipateddoubling of population and employment could beaccommodated without excessive traffic problems if mostnew growth were clustered in pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly centres focused on an expanded rail transit andbusway system. Through such strategies, the share ofCounty work trips made by non-auto alternatives coulddouble to 50%, resulting in only half the level of energy useand air pollution compared to the sprawled, automobilestrategy (see Replogle 1990).

Such studies demonstrate that the pattern of growth ismore important than the amount of growth in determiningthe level and efficiency of resource use and trafficcongestion.

Australian researcher Peter Newman notes (1990) that"the most unsustainable form of settlement yet developed

the low density suburb has been a relatively recentphenomenon, motivated by a strong anti-urban Anglo-Saxon sentiment and facilitated by the automobile. Socialorganisation for ecological sustainability will need toreverse this settlement pattern." His analysis of settlementpatterns and sustainability suggests that sustainablesettlements require making cities more urban and makingthe countryside more rural.

Making cities more urban can be accomplished by "re-

28


Local Governments for a Sustainable Future"Local governments have been timid to act in the faceof overwhelming evidence of global environmentaldecline. While resources at the local governmentlevel have been scarce, they have been even moreinhibited by a narrow and ineffectual conception ofthe domain of local government concern. The resulthas been a lack of mobilization to address globalproblems that are largely rooted in local, day-to-dayactivity. Indeed, it is the world's industrial cities thatproduce most of the world's solid and liquid wastes,consume most of the world's fossil fuels, emit themajority of ozone depleting compounds and toxicgases, and give economic incentive to the clearing ofthe world's forests [...)Fortunately, in the face of global challenges, many

local governments have started taking singlehandedinitiatives to address the root causes of environmentaldecline. From recycling systems and traffic reductionprograms to local bans of CFCs and city-to-city ThirdWorld developi.lctnt partnerships, local governmentsare serving as laboratories for policy invention in theenvironmental aren:. [...]While broad policy parameters are being formulatedat the international level, local governments aredeveloping the thousands of concrete changes inec,aomic, political and social behaviour required toforestall an environmental crisis. The concreteinnovations that they are testing are providing modelsfor national level policies and programs."

(from "Call to a World Congress of LocalGovernments for a Sustainable Future," United

Nations Environment Program, September 5-8, 1990)

urbanising" city centres and sub-centres; re-orientingtransport infrastructure away from the automobile;removing subsidies on the automobile; and providing a

29


The Failure of the Conventionai Urban Model"By the 1960s, the traditional main street, which hadbeen set in and was the center of a particularneighbourhood, built on a human scale andhaphazardly accommodating shopping, businessesand homes, came to be regarded as passe. The waveof the future was to be a city where the variousactivities of human life were to be compartmentalized,physically separated from one another; a city designedwith the car in mind. In place of the main street wasto be the suburban shopping mall, set in the middle ofthe asphalt square that serves as a temporary restingspot for the automobiles the customers had no choicebut to use. Many urban residential neighbourhoods,with what was seen as a disorderly mix of architecturalstyles and streetscapes that did not fit the planners'logic, were to be demolished wholesale, to make wayfor the erection of uniform towers, cut off from thestreet by walls, berms and open space masqueradingas landscaping.It is now generally conceded that the quality of

urban life can suffer seriously in cities built entirelyupon this model because of dependence on theautomobile, the loss of diversity and public placesbuilt on a human scale, and the consequentmultiplication of areas where pedestrians fear totread. These cities aren't very efficient, either, becausecommuters spend a tremendous amount of time andenergy, and cause enormous pollution, by constantlyhaying to drive on congested streets."

(Globe and Mail Editorial 1991)

more public-oriented urban culture, assisted by attractiveurban design (townscapes, streetscapes, malls and squares)and by "traffic calming" measures to facilitate bicycle andpedestrian use of residential areas and major roads. Makingthe countryside more rural can be accomplished by meanssuch as protecting and encouraging sustainable agriculturein rural areas and moving towards bioregionalism (e.g.,air- and watershed management) as the basis of localgovernment boundaries and responsibilities.

30

Figure la: Creative Development

Site A Before Development

Reprinted with permission from lheCunterforltural Nla,s.allux.qt,./UnivermLyolMa,bachuse1.1.5at Amherst, from the Center's Demo Manual, by It I). l'aro, rt ul, Dealing Milt Change in theConnecticut River Valley: A Design Manual fin- Conserutzuon and Development

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Figure lb: Creative Development

-V446- --

A., Val.".

_011116,, soh-,

74- NO>-*43

..'''',

.( :./.. '..740.4

<-"....f- ----2 7',' ..c

II I I or IT-7.

Site A After Conventional DevelopmentRepnnted with permission from theCenterforRunil Masuchusett,../UniverbayerMasaehusett.sat Amherst, from the Center's Dcsgn Manual, by R Yarn. vt al, Dealing With Change in theConnecticut Ricer Valley: A Design Manua/1%1r Cow:emotion and Deuelopment

32

Figure lc: Creative Development

..,,

" t 4: Pi ,

1111P7100111" Itt,

"YamAK). . 11

Site A After "Creative Development"Reprinted with permission from theCenterforlturalMassachusetts/Dniversityoril. ,achusettsat Amherst, from the Center's Design Manual, by It I). Vitro, et al. Dealing With Change in theConnecticut River Valley: A Design Manual for Congeroation and Deuelnprnenl.

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Yaro et al (1988) have developed practical planningstandards which rural New England towns can adopt toprotect their distinctive character and accommodateeconomic growth. Their drawings ofactual sites in westernMassachusetts show each site before development, afterconventional development and after"creative development"(Figure 1). In both schemes, the same number of unitshave been added. The most critical difference is that theconventional approach dramatically alters the land usepattern (e.g., agricultural lands lost to suburban sprawl),while the creative approach absorbs growth withoutdestroying future options (e.g., agricultural "capital"remains intact).

Norwood (1990) illustrates a similar concept within thesetting of a typical suburban block (Figure 2). An existingsingle-family neighbourhood, with under-utilized backyards, garages, attics, basements and bedrooms, has beentransformed into an "urban cooperative block." Variationson this theme are increasingly popular in new privatemarket developments. This concept could be: organizedaround one or more small or home businesses; designed to"recycle" obsolete corporate/industrial parks, shoppingcentres, and office complexes; or, as shown here, thecentre of a "village cluster" typical of Danish cohousingcommunities, with a community house, common backyards, parking, and resources. Many forms of ownershipare possible: a condominium corporation, a non-profitcorporation with resident control, a limited equitycooperative, a community land trust or a mutual housingassociation. Economic advantages include loweringhousing costs through creating additional infill units and/orbedrooms, renting rooms and units, and allowing cottageindustries or home businesses. By,i m proving affordability,this model has the potential of serving a diversified andintergenerational cross-section of the population.

34

4

Figure 2 An Urban Cooperative Block

a

Nc;'

b

A traditional development (a) corn pared to an urban "villagecluster" (b) which could include a community house, commonback yards, common parking, and common resources.

Reprinted with permission from the Shared Living Resource Center, u non-profit organizationdedicated tocreatingsupportive shared living communities that integrate housing with cooperativeliving, ecological design ant; affordability. Shared Living Resource Center, 2375 Shattuck Ave.,Berkeley, CA 94704,415/548.5508.

Figure 3 A Sustainable City Vision

--'

a

This emphasizes mixed-use zoning, pedestrian-, bicycle-and transit-friendly streets, renewable energy sources,and urban greenery.

Prom a drawing by Diane Sella u, rispraited a Ilh permIsiiinn Rum Ruin NI PO Box 30097,

Eugene, OR 97403, so3x,s3- 1504.

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Rethinking Urban Transport"What would the future look like if cities were notdominated by cars? The very heart of a city would bereserved for people on foot and passengers arrivingby metro or trolley. Proceeding outward from thecenter, streets would become the shared domain ofpedestrians, cyclists, trolleys, and buses. Slowautomobile traffic would be allowed beyond the city'sdensest core, but convenient bus and rail services -running between stops placed within walking orcycling distance of most points - would offer a fasterway to get around. Express public transport routeswould link outlying areas to each other and to thedowntown. Car parking would be progressively lessrestricted as you moved away from the city center.People would make most short trips by foot or on a

bicycle, and longer ones by walking or biking totransport stops, then continuing by bus, metro, ortrolley. Many long drives between cities would bereplaced by train trips. Cars would be used mainly fortrips for which these other modes are inconvenient,such as the transport of loads of things or groups ofpeople, travel at odd hours when public transport isrunning infrequently, and some recreational outings.The challenge of creating an alternative transport

future is ultimately a political one. As elected officialsin most societies are well aware, many people continueto support the policies that have nurtured overrelianceon cars - from driving subsidies, to tax benefits, toexpansion of parking lots and roads. Even moreresistance to change lies in the colossal power of theautomobile and road lobby.But as the enormous problems caused by excessive

dependence on the automobile continue to plaguecities, a political transformation may occur. Indeed,people around the world are beginning to see that thecosts of depending on cars are already outweighingthe benefits. If cities are to achieve the dream ofclean, efficient, reliable transportation once promisedby the automobile, they will have to steer towardsustainable alternatives."

(Lowe 1991)}

37

4


Figure 3 illustrates a similar concept, but this time thesetting is in a downtown core. Many ideas for urbansustainability are illustrated in this drawing, such asmixed-use zoning; streets devoted to walking, cycling, andpublic transport; heavy reliance on renewable energysources; rooftop gardens and greenery; and separate "waste"containers for compost and trash. Note the integration ofwork and home, which reduces the need for travel. Asdescribed earlier, a recent San Jose, California studycompared the impacts of 13,000 units of this kind ofdevelopment downtown and along the transit corridor toan equivalent number of exurban homes. It found that thekind of development pictured here saved at least 200,000miles of auto commuting plus an additional three milliongallons of water every day, and required 40 percent lessenergy for heating and cooling (see Yesney 1990).

Calthorpe's "Pedestrian Pocket" is another variation onthis theme, at the level of a compact neighbourhood. The"Pedestrian Pocket" is defined as a balanced, mixed-usearea within a quarter-mile or a five-minute walkingradiusof a transit station. The functions within this 50 to 100acre zone include housing, offices, retail, day care,recreation, and parks. Up to two thousand units ofhousing and one million square feet of office space can belocated within three blocks of the transit station usingtypical residential densities and four-story officeconfigurations (see Kelbaugh 1989).

Figure 4 brings the discussion to the level of the urbanregion, using the city of Berkeley, California asan example.Although these maps may at first appear to show thehistory of Berkeley, they actually demonstrate a sustainablefuture development pattern for this urban region. Thefirst map in this set shows Berkeley and its town andneighbourhood "centers." These centres were selected as acompromise between the "ideal" centres according to the

4 38


A Sustainable City Vision"[A] sustainable city [...] thinks of itself whole, moveswith change, and plans for permanence. Above all,this implies an acceptance of responsibility andnurturing of solutions at the local level: conservingindigenous resources and managing them forsustained yield; fostering local production to meetmore of local needs; designing political systems tosupport decision-making at the lowest possible level;and, everywhere, encouraging low-cost, communityself-help strategies that empower people to helpthemselves. The vision is still a distant one. It mayrequire nothing less than a reorientation of our values.But doing such things, a city will survive and endure.Pieces of such a vision have already begun to appear:

neighbourhoods that have experimented with integralfood, energy and waste systems; cities that have builtenergy conservation into their street design, zoningand building codes; urban regions that are assessingthe levels of growth and development that can besupported by their air- and watershees; whole statesthat are being studied to determine their ability tobecome self-reliant in food production. Make nomistake about it, the transition has begun.But, as yet, no major community has come forward

with a new image of itself that integrates all theseideas and uses that image to build its future."

(RAIN 1981)

natural features of the landscape such as ridgelines andsteep slopes and the existing centres. Over time, urbandevelopment is concentrated near these centers whilesurrounded by non-urban lands. Once again, the keyfeature is the pattern of urban growth.

These drawings demonstrate a "nodal" rather than a"centralized" vision a network of smaller, compactcommunities surrounded by non-urban land. As the citygrows, and its "centers" become increasingly compact, thesurrounding land can be reclaimedas open space, forests,agricultural land, and wildlife habitatto simultaneouslybenefit people and the environment.

39

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Figure 4a (Reprinted with permission from Ecocily Berkeley )

Berkeley and its Centres

r -,"The underlying concept behind drawing these circlesis simply that distance requires energy and time totraverse. The greater the distance people have totravel, the higher the use of resources and the greaterthe production of pollution and waste of time....

\., .1

4J

40


Figure 4b (Reprinted with permission from Ecocity Berkeley )

Berkeley, 15 to 50 Years Hence

I... Therefore, we should build relatively compactcenters. These areas will then work well with anypublic transit connecting them to other relativelyhigh-use areas....

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1


Figure 4c (Reprinted with permission from Ecocily Berkeley )

-C11. .....


... Within and between the spots of higher activitypeople can find it easy and pleasant to walk andbicycle. 'This pattern of 'spots' of development isbased on the size of the human body and the speed ofwalking....

(-) -11- 42


Figure 4d (Reprinted with permission from Ecocity Berkeley)


...It contrasts sharply with 'strip' (one-dimensional orlinear development) and 'sprawl' (two-dimensionalor flat development) created by and for things thatweigh 10 to 40 times as much and travel up to 50 timesas fast: automobiles." (Register, 1987)

..)

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Local Governments for Sustainable Communities"Despite being centres of industry and commerce,many cities display extreme poverty andenvironmental degradation. In high-incomecountries, as older industrial towns decline and innercity districts decay, the less educated, the poor andthe elderly find themselves trapped and sometimeshomeless in places where services are disappearingand crime rates are high. Ethnic minorities,immigrants, and the disabled sufferdisproportionately, the victims of a growing equitygap [---]Cities can provide high-quality living for all their

inhabitants at sustainable levels of consumption. Thepoverty suffered by the minority of urban dwellers inricher nations and the majority in poorer nations canbe drastically reduced without a large expansion inconsumption. In both instances, more effective andrepresentative local governments, and more far-sighted national governments are required."

(IUCN 1991),

INITIATIVES

Worid Congress of Local Governments for aSustainable FutureThe world's local governments are represented throughthe International Union of Local Authorities (IULA), whichconsists of 56 national associations of local government in34 nations, as well as hundreds of individual localgovernments and local government institutes. InSeptember 1989, the U.S.-based Center for InnovativeDiplomacy (CID) which was leading an internationalcampaign to have cities ban nnd phase-out chemicalcompounds that are depleting the ozone layer initiated

44


discussions with IULA about creating an internationalenvironmental agency to serve local governments. At thesame time, CID interviewed more than 100 localgovernment officials from 20 countries to get their input onthe idea. A few months later, the United NationsEnvironment Programme, Regional Office for NorthAmerica, joined the discussions. These three institutionsjointly resolved to establish the International Council forLocal Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) at a WorldCongress of Local Governments for a Sustainable Future.

On September 5-8, 1990, more than 400 local governmentleaders from 41 nations gathered for an unprecedentedandhistorical meetingattheUnitedNations. The delegatesrepresented the range of world communities from mega-cities like Mexico City and Los Angeles to smallcommunities of indigenous people in the Amazon Basin.Most delegates represented cities of medium size, withpopulations from 200,000 to 2 million people the placeswhere most of the world's human population live theirdaily lives.

The World Congress delegates discussed the need tointegrate environmental factors into all aspects ofmunicipal management (including procurement,investment, budgeting, and environmental impactassessment) and to see waste as a resource of the future.They recognized their ability to mobilize participation andcollaboration for environmental protection (for example,by transforming school systems into centers forenvironmental ethics). As well, they recognized the valueboth of local partnerships (for example, with privateindustry to reduce CPC emissions) and global partnerships(such as North-South municipal partnerships betweenCalgary, Canada and Daciing, China, and between PaloAlto, USA and Oaxaca, Mexico).

The Congress also discussed the need to understand and

45


manage urban environments as ecological systems; takecharge of the structure of our municipalities, rather thanletting them grow and sprawl in uncontrolled fashion; tolook for indigenous solutions to local environmentalproblems; decentralize energy production and distribution;and reintegrate native species into the urban environment.

In the numerous strategy sessions, the Congress askedthat the International Council for Local EnvironmentalInitiatives serve as a clearinghouse for innovative policies,strategies and techniques for local environmentalprotection; facilitate international partnerships amongmunicipalities; provide technical assistance; providefinancial assistance for specific pilot projects; and representlocal government interests and concerns in the process ofthe 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development.

Sustainable Cities ProjectThe cities ofSan Jose and San Francisco, California, andthe city ofPortland, Oregon, together with representativesfrom the State of Washington and Lawrence BerkeleyNational Laboratory, teamed up to develop a far-sightedstrategy to increase the overall efficiency and sustainabilityof their communities. The project, begun in 1988, wassupported by the US Departments of Energy and of Housingand Urban Development. The primary objectives of theproject were to conserve the natural environment while"reshaping" the built environment. Specific attention forthe natural environment focused on energy conservationin buildings and transportation, conservation of water andurban forest resources, and the improved management oftoxic materials, solid wastes, sewage and urban runoff.Efforts for the built environment addressed a wide rangeof life extension procedures complemented byrehabilitation and reuse initiatives. Reshaping effortsincluded innovative management procedures and

16

t1 t)


incentives to limit the spread of urban sprawl, encouragecenter city activity, and reduce vehicle commuting.

The project's efforts were initiated in the self-interest ofeach participating city, rather than addressing national orinternational concerns with environmental quality. Ratherthan isolate the "environment" from overall communitygoals, the project integrated environmental concerns intoobjectives for a community's economic and cultural vitality.Significantly, the project was not designed to requiresubstantial capital investment, but rather to emphasizethe improvement of local management techniques,regulatory provisions and land development incentives torest-lope traditional patterns ofconsumption, developmentand employment into more efficient and sustainablepatterns. (see Zelinski and Broun 1989)

RESOURCES

THE INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL FOR LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL

INI'HATIVES (ICLEI) was established at the World Congressof Local Governments for a Sustainable Future at theUnited Nations in September 1990. ICLEI's NorthAmerican headquarters opened in Toronto in September1991:

The International Council for LocalEnvironmental Initiatives

New City Hall, East Tower, 8th floorToronto, Ontario M5H 2N2Tel: 416/392-1462 Fax: 416/392-1478

TILE UNITED NATIONS CENTRE FOR HUMAN SETTLEMENTSSUSTAINABLE CITIES PROGRAMME was launched in 1990 toaddress the environmental implications of rapidurbanization. Six megacities in Asia, Africa, Latin America,and Eastern Europe will initially participate in thisprogramme, which aims to strengthen local capacity to


plan, coordinate, and manage environment-developmentinteractions in the framework of broad-based participatorysystems. It also promotes integrated development plans

and sector investment strategies. For more information,

contact:Mr. M. Hildebrand, ChiefTechnical Co-operation DivisionUNCHS (Habitat)PO Box 30030Nairobi, Kenya

THE MEGA - CITIES PROJECT is a network of professionals

and institutions in the world's largest cities, committed topromoting urban innova' ions for the 21st century. Its

focus is reducing poverty and environmental degradation,and encouraging popular participation. Mega-cities are

cities with over 10 million inhabitantsby 2000 there willbe 23 of them. The North American mega-cities are New

York, Los Angeles, and Mexico City. The project givesparticular attention to urban innovations that empowerwomen. For more information, see the special issue of

Cities on "Urban Innovation for the 21stCentury" (Volume

7, Number 1, February 1990) or contact:Dr. Janice Perlman, DirectorMega-Cities Project4 Washington Square NorthNew York UniversityNew York, NY 10003Tel: 212/998-7520 Fax: 212/995-3890

MARCIA D. LOWE, Shaping Cities: The Environmentaland Human Dimensions (Washington, D.C.: Worldwatch

Institute, Paper 105, 1991). This paper provides anoverview of urban environmental planning issues in cities

around the world, with considerable attention to thechallenges facing Third World cities. The future growth of

cities "can either recognize the limits of the natural

48


environment, or destroy the resources on which currentand future societies depend; it can meet people's needsequitably, or enrich some while impoverishing orendangering others." It concludes with a framework forurban land use policy which emphasizes adequateinformation, regional cooperation, and strong supportfrom national governments.

ORGANIZATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION ANDDEVELOPMENT (OECD), Environmental Policies forCities in the 1990s (Paris, OECD, 1990). This reportexamines various existing urban environmentalimprovement policies, proposes ways and means to improvepolicy coordination with regard to urban environmentalimpacts, and describes policy instruments available tonational, regional and local governments. It also assesseslocal initiatives in three areas of concern: urbanrehabilitation, urban transport and urban energymanagement, and proposes policy guidelines forimprovement in these areas. The report emphasizes theneed to develop long-term strategies, adopt cross-sectoralapproaches, facilitate cooperation and coordination, enablepolluters to absorb environmental and social costs throughfiscal and pricing mechanisms, set and enforce minimumenvironmental standards, increase the use of renewableresources, and encourage and build upon local initiatives.Several descriptions of urban environmental policies andprograms in OECD countries are included.

RICHARD STREN, RODNEY WHITE, AND JOSEPH WHITNEY,

editors, Sustainable Cities: Urbanization and theEnvironment in International Perspective (Boulder,CO: Westview Press, 1991). Based on a 1990 colloquiumat the University of Toronto, this volume brings togethercomprehensive studies of th e urban experience in the U.S.,Canada, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Japan,Southeast Asia, China and Hong Kong, Africa, and Latin

49

Toward Sustainable. Communities

America. The chapters examine the meaning of sustainabledevelopment in a specific region, the growth and structureof urban systems, the effects of possible climatic changeson urban areas, and the political environment withinwhich cities operate. Chapters conclude with policyproposals for increasing sustainability.

URBAN ECOLOGY, Report of the First InternationalEcocity Conference (Berkeley, CA:Urban Ecology, 1990).At the First International Ecocity Conference in 1990,over 700 attendees from around the world gathered inBerkeley, California to discuss urban problems and submitproposals toward the goal of shaping cities upon ecologicalprinciples. Over 80 sessions addressed th e broad spectrumof ecocity concerns. The Second International EcocityConference is in Adelaide, South Australia in 1992.Available from:

Urban EcologyP.O. Box 10144Berkeley, CA 94709Tel: 415/549-1724

SIM VAN DER RYN AND PETER CALTHORPE, editors,Sustainable Communities: A New Design Synthesisfor Cities, Suburbs and Towns (San Francisco: SierraClub, 1986). Architects Sim Van der Ryn and PeterCalthorpe's seminal volume grew out of an intensive week-long workshop with thirty leading innovators in ecologyand community design. It includes contributions frombiological designer John Todd, economist David Morris,planner Clare Cooper-Marcus, businessman Paul Hawken,bioregionalist Peter Berg and agriculturalists David Katzand Fred Reid.

Hawken postulates that the shift to a post-industrialeconomy requires a design shift from consumption towardefficiency, i.e., doing more with less. Katz argues that thepost-industrial suburb will be more site-specific and rely

50


more on local people and local intelligence rather thanstandard formulations from afar. Reid argues for diversityin transportation options, notingthat lighter, more efficientautos are only an interim step towards diversity in landuse planning, with more emphasis on clustering, density,and mixed-uses.

Cooper-Marcus notes our existing land use patterns arebuilt on outdated notions of the nuclear family with onewage earner (as much as on outdated notions ofcheap oil,land and water), and that the shift toward a serviceeconomy should mean more work opportunities in or closeto residential neighbourhoods and greater accessibility topublic transport. Morris argues that cities andneighbourhoods will gain greater economic and politicalindependence as local self-reliance provides cheaper andmore stable services than can be provided by largecentralized industries or government (e.g., utilities). Toddargues that the sustainable settlement can reintegratetoday's "producer" and "consumer" roles at home andelsewhere, with the household, through its design,producing some of its own food, energy, and evenemployment on site, rather than being merely a place ofconsumption.

Despite a wide range of expertise and opinion, thecommon perspective of these authors is characterized by

an emphasis on energy efficiency, stressing passive solarheating and cooling; encouraging local food productionand reliance on local resources; and fostering creation ofon-site jobs and neighbourhood stores to revitalizecommunities and eliminate wasteful commuting. Thesephysical layouts, in turn, encourage social interaction byclustering dwellings and creating common-use areas andshared facilities, while increasing security and stressingappropriate scale.

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ReferencesALcAmo, J.M., "Compact City Design as a Strategy to Cut

Dangerous Air Pollution," presented to the First InternationalEcocity Conference. Berkeley, CA: Urban Ecology, March29-April 1, 1990.

BRUGMANN, J. AND R. HERSH, Cities as Ecosystems:Opportunities for Local Government (Toronto: ICLEI, 1991),draft.

CALIFORNIA OFFICE Or APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGY(CALOAT), Working Together: Community Self-Reliance inCalifornia (Sacramento: California Office of AppropriateTechnology, 1981).

CALTiloRPE, P., "Introduction: A Reverse Definition," in D.Kelbaugh, ed., The Pedeatrian Pocket Book: ANew SuburbanDesign Strategy (New York: Princeton Architectural Press,1989).

CERVERO, R. 1991. "Congestion Relief: The Land UseAlternative," Journal of Planning Education and Research10(2): 119-129.

CONNELL" G.E., Cha.ir, National Round Table on theEnvironment and the Economy (NRTEE), letter to the PrimeMinister, in A Report to Canadians (Ottawa: NRTEE, 1991).

ENVIRONMENT COUNCIL OF ALBERTA. Environment By Design:The Urban Place in Alberta, ECA88-PA/CS-S3 (Edmonton:Environment Council of Alberta, 1988).

Globe and Mail, "The Fight for Humane Cities" (Editorial),November 4, 1991, p. A22.

HOLMI3ERG, J., S. BASS, NND L. Tim liKiti\ KK, Defending theFuture: A Guide to Sustainable Development (London:International Institute for Environment and Development/Earthscan 1991).

INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL PORLOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVES,

Congress Report: World Congress of Local Governments for aSustainable Future (Cambridge, MA: ICLEI, 1990).

INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE (IUCN),TIIE UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PRouRANIATE (UNEP), andTILE WORLD WIDE FUND FOR NATURE (WWF), Caring for theEarth:A Strategy for Sustainable Living (Gland, Switzerland:IUCN/UNEP/WWF, 1991).

KELBAUGII, D., ed., The Pedestrian Pocket Book: A NewSuburban Design Strategy (New York: Princeton

52


Architectural Press, 1989).LOWE, M.D., "Rethinking Urban Transport," in Brown, L.

R., et al, State of the World 1991: A Worldwatch InstituteReport on Progress Toward a Sustainable Society (NY/London:W.W. Norton & Co., 1991), pp. 56-73.

LOWE, M.D., Shapin,f Cities: The Environmental and HumanDimensions (Washington, D.C.: Worldwatch Institute, Paper105, 1991a).

MORRIS, D., Self-Reliant Cities: Energy and theTransformation of Urban America (San Francisco: SierraClub Books, 1982).

MORRIS, D., "The Ecological City as a Self-Reliant City," inD. Gordon, ed., Green Cities: Ecologically Sound Approachesto Urban Space (Montreal: Black Rose Books, 1990), pp. 21-35.

NEWNIAN, P., "Social Organization for EcologicalSustainability: Toward a More Sustainable SettlementPattern," in P. Cook, ed., Social Structures for Sustainability,Fundamental Questions Paper No. 11 (Canberra: Centre forResource and Environmental Studies, Australian NationalUniversity, 1990).

NEWMAN, P., "Sustainable Settlements: Restoring theCommons," Habitat Australia, August 1991, pp. 18-21.

NEWMAN, P.W.G. AND J.R. KENWOWNIY. Cities andAutomobileDependence (Brookfield, VT: Gower Technical, 1989).

NORWOOD, K., "The Urban Cooperative Block," ThePermaculture Activist VI (4), November 1990.

ORGANIZATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT(OECD), Environmental Policies for Cities in the 1990s(Paris, OECD, 1990).

OWENS, S.E., "Land Use Planning for Energy Efficiency," inCullingworth,J.B. ed., Energy,Land, and Public Policy (NewBrunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 1990), pp. 53-98.

TilE EDITORS OF RAIN, Knowing Home: Studies for a PossiblePortland (Portland: RAIN, 1981).

REAL. ESTATE RESEARCH CORPORATION. The Costs of Sprawl,Volume I: Detailed Cost Analysis (Washington, DC: USGovernment Printing Office, 1974).

REEs, W.E., "Sustainable Development and the Biosphere:Concepts and Principles," Teilhard Studies No. 22(Chambersburg, PA: Anima Books for the American Teilhard

53 b


Association, 1990a).REES, W.E., "The Ecology of Sustainable Development,"

The Ecologist 20(1):18-23, 1990b.REES, W.E., "Ecological Footprints and Appropriated

Carrying Capacity: What Urban Economics Leaves Out,"presented to Globe '92, Vancouver, British Columbia, March18, 1992.

REGISTER, R., Ecocity Berkeley:Building Cities for a HealthyFuture (Berkeley, CA: North Atlantic Books, 1987).

REPLOGLE, M., "Sustainable Transportation Strategies forWorld Development," presented to the World Congress ofLocal Governments for a Sustainable Future, United Nations,New York, September 7, 1990.

SIREN, R.,R. WI LITE, AND J.WIIITNEr,eds., Sustainable Cities:Urbanization and the Environment in InternationalPerspective (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1991).

Toronto Declaration on World Cities and Their Environment(Toronto: World Cities and Their Environment Congress ofMunicipal Leaders, August 28, 1991).

UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRANINIE, "Call to a WorldCongress of Local Governments for a Sustainable Future,"United Nations, New York, September 5-8, 1990.

URBA.N ECOLOGY, Report of the First International EcocityConference (Eerkeley, CA: Urban Ecology, 1990).

VAN DERRY?', S. AND P. CALTHORPE, Sustainable Communities:A New Dcaign Synthesis for Cities, Suburbs, and Towns (SanFrancisco: Sierra Club Books, 1986).

WACKERNAG El., M., "Assessing Ecological Sustainability: ABackground Paper On Indicating the Health andSustainability of a Community By Measuring ItsAppropriated Carrying Capacity," unpublished paper(Vancouver: UBC Task Force on Planning Healthy andSustainable Communities, 1991).

WIIITE, R. AND J. WHITNEY, "Human Settlements andSustainable Development: An Overview," (Toronto:University of Toronto Centre for Urban And CommunityStudies; draft prepared for the Colloquium on HumanSettlements and Sustainable Development, June 21- 23,1990).WORLD COMNHSSION ON ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT

(WCED), Our Common Future (New York: Oxford UniversityPress, 1987).

54

PART TWOSustainable Community Tools

Part I explored the meaning of sustainable developmentand its implications for communities. Parts II and III area "toolbox"these chapters include planning tools, practicalinitiatives, and associated resources which have helpedmunicipal and local governments move toward sustainablecommunities. While not every tool will "fit" every community,many of them will fit quite well.

If local governments think and act creatively, they canmake tremendous progress toward sustainablecommunities. The "tools" which follow emphasize the roleof local initiative and innovation in the movement towardsustainable communities.

Events such as the World Congress of Local Governmentsfor a Sustainable Future, held at the United Nations in1990, demonstrate how much is offered by these tools andhow far we have come in such a short time. From recyclingsystems and traffic reduction programs to local bans ofCFCs and city-to-city Third World developmentpartnerships, local governments are serving as laboratoriesfor policy invention in the environmental arena. Theconcrete innovations that they are testing are providingmodels for national level policies and programs.

Since the powers of municipal and local governmentsvary considerably, proponents of sustainable communityinitiatives must research their issues and fashion an

55 t ) 1


approach which works within the specific legal frameworkof their jurisdiction. For example, a creative municipalsolid waste management bylaw will have to fit the specificmunicipal situation as well as the legislative framework ofthe province or state.

56

Atmospheric Change and Air Quality

3


"Given the uncertainty associated with the effects ofatmospheric change, should decision-makers act now or waitfor more information? Global warming and the destructionof the ozone layer are essentially irreversible processes. If wewait to see the proof of these phenomena, the costs of dealingwith changes in agriculture, forestry, and weather patternswill be much greater than if we act now to start reducing thelikelihood of these events occurring."

City of Vancouver 1990

There are three key areas of atmospheric change thatconcern local governments: local air quality, ozone layerdepletion, and potential climate change (e.g., globalwarming). Local air quality obviously varies according tolocal conditions, but shares causes and solutions withbroader atmospheric change issues. Ozone layer depletionand climate change are discussed below.

Many scientists believe that the context for thinkingabout sustainable development for the next several decadeswill be global atmospheric change. Put simply, we arechanging the composition of the earth's atmosphere. Ifthe change continues at current rates, the world's weathermay be significantly altered by the middle of the nextcentury.

Climate ChangeGlobal warming is one possible consequence of atmosphericchange. In essence, we might be giving the planet a feverby increasing the Earth's natural "greenhouse effect." We

57b


know from personal experience that a fever allowed to riseunchecked poses serious health risks to the brain, theimmune system, and many other key bodily functions.Likewise, an unchecked global fever poses serious healthrisks to food production systems (irrigation, growingseasons, crop failures, etc.) and many other key social andecological functions that human civilization depends upon.

Although atmospheric change is a complex technicalissue, most local decision-makers require only a few basicconcepts in order to comprehend its implications at thecommunity level and to design community strategies toreduce the threat of atmospheric change.

The greenhouse effect refers to heat retention in theearth's atmosphere. There has always been a naturalgreenhouse effect; without it the earth would be too cold forlife. The problem now is what scientists call the enhancedgreenhouse effect; in the last several decades we havedumped additional quantities of "greenhouse gases" intothe atmosphere which greatly increase its heat retention.

For the majority of North American local governments,the most significant greenhouse gases to address arechlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), carbon dioxide, and methane.

Ozone Layer DepletionScientists now believe that CFCs and other ozone-depletingcompounds are largely responsible for the deterioration ofthe ozone layer that shields the Earth from the sun'sharmful ultraviolet rays. These gases also contribute tothe greenhouse effect, lingering 60-100 years in theatmosphere and, molecule for molecule, trapping 20,000times more heat than carbon dioxide. Because it takes solong for ozone depleting chemicals to reach the atmosphere,the ozone depletions now being observed are actually theresult of releases prior to the 1980s. Most CFCs andrelated chemicals are still on their way up.

58

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Ozone Layer Depletionin the upper layer of the Earth's atmosphere, thestratosphere, is a thin shield of ozone that limits theamount of ultraviolet radiation that can reach theEarth's surface. Depletion of the ozone layer causesan increase in ultraviolet radiation, which isexpectedto result in higher incidences of skin cancer, cataracts,immune system disorders, damage to crops and plantlife, and destruction of marine phytoplankton.Ozone layer destruction is caused primarily by therelease of a group of human-made chemicals knownas halocarbons. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), halons,and chlorocarbons including methyl chloroform andcarbon tetrachloride drift up to the stratospherewhere they destroy ozone molecules for up to 100years. They also contribute to the greenhouse effect.Ozone depleting chemicals are used as coolantmaterials in refrigerators, and in building andautomobile air conditioners. They are also used asthe blowing agent for foam products such as seatcushions, insulation, and foam containers and theyare used as cleaning solvents in the computer,aerospace, and metal products industries. Halon fireextinguishers and hospital sterilants also use ozonedepleting chemicals.

(see Local Government Commission 1990)

In 1987, 32 nations signed an international agreementto limit the production of CFCs. This agreement, knownas the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete theOzone Layer, was an important first step, butunfortunatelyeven eliminating CFC production and use by 2000, asagreed to in London in the 1990 revision of the Protocol, isnot sufficient to halt further destruction of the ozone layer.Recent reports suggest that damage to the ozone layer isaccelerating and that ozone levels are dropping by some 8

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BEST COPY AVAILABLE


percent per decade over North America (see Stolarski et al1991).

For this reason, many local governments are calling forstricter actions. Making fast progress toward eliminatingthe release of ozone depleting chemicals is important sincetheir ozone depleting capacity lasts for so long.

Carbon DioxideCarbon dioxide lingers for 100 years in the atmosphereand accounts for about half of the greenhouse effect.Carbon dioxide is fully integrated into our daily activitiessince it is released largely from fossil fuel combustion andfrom burning forests and plants. While deforestation mayhave contributed as much as 40% to the increase of carbondioxide earlier in the century, 80% of today's carbondioxide emissions are from fossil fuels coal, oil, andnatural gas and these will continue to be the mostsignificant source (see Bolin 1986; Rees 1989).

On a per capita basis, Canada and the U.S. are amongthe world's largest consumers of fossil fuels and producersof carbon dioxide. For example, despite its relatively smallpopulation (0.5% of the world's population), Canada isresponsible for fully 2% of global greenhouse emissions.Other industrialized countries such as Japan and theU.K., with comparable standards of living, produce onlyhalf as much carbon dioxide per capita as do the U.S. andCanada (see Flavin 1990). If North Americans are to helpin reversing climate change, we must reduce our carbondioxide emissions and contribute to the development ofcleaner and more energy-efficient technologies.

Reducing atmospheric carbon dioxide emissions mayrequire major long-term commitments and socialreorganization. Later chapters on transportation, landuse, energy, and urban ecology are all directly concernedwith the chal lenge of reducing ourcarbon dioxide emissions.

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MethaneMethane is released from rotting organic matter suchas bogs, wetlands, and landfills. Local governmentscan construct methane gas collection systems fortheir landfills. When collected, methane can also beused as an energy source for the landfill or sewageplant, or sold to other users.

The US Environmental Protection Agency has estimatedthat merely to stabilize atmospheric concentrations ofCO2 at the current level, carbon emissions must be cut by50-80 percent by the middle of the next century. A recentglobal action plan calls for the governments of all high- andmedium-energy consuming countries to reduce their carbondioxide emissions by 70% by 2030. Scientists andpolicymakers meeting in Toronto in June 1988 offered ashort-term goal: cutting them by 20 percent by 2005 (seeFlavin 1990; IUCN 1991; Toronto Conference Statement1988). Yet while international bodies and nationalgovernments struggle to formulate policies to achieve thisgoal, it is at the community level where most of thesepolicies will be implemented.

In the face of such challenges, many local governmentshave started developing initiatives to address the rootcauses of environmental deterioration and to contributesolutions toward a sustainable future. They recognizethat net fiscal, economic, and ecological benefits will accrueto those who get their environmental house in order.

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Global Warming as a Municipal Issue"In 1990 the United Nations Intergovernmental Panelon Climate Change, a panel of world-renownedscientists, concluded it was certain that 'emissionsresulting from human activities are substantiallyincreasing the atmospheric concentrations of thegreenhouse gases [...] resulting on average in anadditional warming of the Earth's surface.' Althoughthe timing and impacts of the warming trend are notfully understood, sufficient evidence is now available,the Panel reported, to indicate that the warmingtrend could have very significant consequences. Theseinclude:

regional shifts in food production;loss of forests and natural terrestrial ecosystems;rising sea levels;large regional changes in water resourceavailability;increased risks to coastal cities and lowlandcommunities from storm surges.

Even a nominal rise in temperatures may bemagnified in cities, where asphalt, concrete, and blackroofing. tar absorb solar radiation, producing heat,and air conditioning blows out hot air. This 'heatisland effect' facilitates the formation of ground levelozone, degrades local air quality, harms human health,and creates stresses on urban forests. Urban watersupplies may also be at risk, as reservoirs dry upduring more frequent periods of drought, and saltwater from rising seas intrudes into the groundwatersupplies of coastal cities.The major 'greenhouse gas' forcing the rise in global

temperatures is carbon dioxide (CO2), producedlargely through the burning of fossil fdels for energyuse. The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has

G2


risen about 25 percent since pre-industrial times andis continuing to rise at the rate of 0.5 percent annuallydue to human activities.Scientific concern about global warming culminated

at the Second World Climate Conference in October1990 in agreement about its causes and potentialeffects, and possible measures to slow down the rateand reduce the ecological risks of warming.Conference participants agreed that:

without action to reduce emissions of greenhousegases from human activities, global warming mayreach 2 to 5 C°, and sea levels may rise 30 to 100centimetres over the next century;

a continuous world-wide reduction of net CO2emissions of 1-to-2 percent per year would stabilizeatmospheric concentrations of CO2 by the middle ofthe next century;

many studies conclude that technical and cost-effective opportunities exist to reduce CO2 emissionsby at least 20 percent by 2005 in industrialized nations;

these nations must implement reductions evengreater than those required, on average, for the globeas a whole, to allow for increased emissions fromdeveloping countries.[...] Cities, among the most energy-intensive

ecosystems on the planet, are major producers of CO2.As over half the world's population will live in urbanareas by 2000, the reduction of fossil fuel use in citieswill be vital to the implementation of an internationalclimate change convention. Furthermore, many ofthe actions necessary to reduce CO2 emissions -licensing, building codes, land use planning, zoning,transit, and transportation plans - fall under thejurisdiction of municipal or regional governments."

(ICLEI 1.991)

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Public Transportation and Greenhouse Gases"It is now a political necessity to draw up strategiesfor reducing greenhouse gases by 20% or 30% sometime over the next 10-15 years. Substantial cuts arepossible [...] yet in nearly all reports transport incities is seen as the really difficult area in which tomake reductions.[Data from a study of 32 major world cities show that]those [...] with the highest public transport utilization(and these are virtually all rail-based systems) havethe lowest greenhouse gas emissions. This is importantas it is sometimes claimed that if we are going to usemore public transport then it is not much better thanthe automobile when it comes to emissions per capita.However, this is because simplistic assumptions arebeing made about changing from one mode to theother. It is not just a matter of one trip by car beingreplaced by one trip on public transport. Once a modeis provided that can adequately compete with theautomobile, then a range of other changes also occur.Only by considering these kinds of changes is itpossible to do justice to the full benefit of rebuildingour cities around non-automobile modes.[The study data show that] the cities with highest

CO2 emissions have the greatest provision for theautomobile in terms of roads and car parking.The data also show that the cities with the lowest CO2emissions have the slowest moving traffic; this goesagainst the often stated theory that free-flowing trafficsaves fuel and reduces emissions due to greater vehicleefficiency. A more realistic explanation is thatcongestion does indeed reduce vehicle efficiency butit also facilitates other modes, and most of all it keepsa city from sprawling and hence building in extratravel distances. The conclusion has been applied inthe US, where the Environmental Protection Agencyhas now requested all new highway applications toconsider the effect of increased vehicle miles of travel(VMT) on emissions from new highways, not just theeffect of improved vehicle efficiency. This is animportant step in recognizing the need for cleanercities and not just cleaner cars.In short, electric rail-based cities are clearly the way

we should be heading in a greenhouse future."(Newman 1991V

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TOOLS

Total Emissions Model for Integrated Systems (TEMIS)Th e Total Emissions Model for Integrated Systems (TEMISModel) is a tool for assessing local CO, sources and likelyimpacts of CO, reduction options. The TEMIS modelestimates emissions of relevant gases based upon energyuse. It is an "integrated systems" model in that totalenergy impacts of an action are assessed. For example, inconsidering the energy impact of recycling aluminiumversus reusing glass bottles, the TEMIS model wouldestimate energy use and resultant emissions fromextraction of raw materials to transporting cans or bottlesto smelters or processing plants for recycling. The TEMISModel is presently being further developed by the U.S.Department of Energy for use in national energy policydevelopment in the United States. The Oko-Institut inDarmstadt, Germany author of the model has agreedto provide access to the model for simulations of proposedCO2reduction strategies throughout Phase I of the UrbanCO2 Project (see Resources below and ICLEI 1990)

INITIATIVES

Bans on Ozone-Depleting CompoundsNewark, New Jersey and Irvine, California (seeResources) have passed comprehensive bans on the use,sale and manufacture of ozone-depleting compounds withintheir jurisdictions. Their by-laws:

prohibit the use, sale, and manufacture of nearly allozone-depletingcompounds, except in the manufactureof drugs and medical devices and when militaryspecifications call for them; andrequire all service stations and repair shops to captureand recycle CFCs.

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CFC RecyclingMontreal collects CFCs found in discarded refiigeratorsand air conditioners. Municipal employees pick ap theappliances and send them to a company that stores theCFCs in sealed tanks. The recycled CFCs are used inrepairing old appliances that still use the product (seeVille de Montreal 1991).

Stratospheric Protection AccordTwenty-four North American municipalities includingLos Angeles andTorontojoined together in a StratosphericProtection Accord. They have agreed to ban the local useof ozone-depleting substances by early 1992 unless notechnically feasible alternatives exist by then, and torequire the recovery and recycling of CFCs from productssuch as refrigerator-coolant units (see Starke 1990).

Carbon Reduction TargetsIn 1990, Toronto made a commitment to reduce the city'snet CO2emissions by 20 percent, relative to the 1988 level,by the year 2005. By "net" emission reduction, the city'sSpecial Committee meant some combination of directemissions reductions and creation of an offsetting "carbonsink" (e.g., financing reforestation in Southern Ontario orCentral America). In 1991 the Toronto Special Committeerevised its position, arguing that the city can reduce itsgross carbon dioxide emissions by a full 20% without theneed for an offsetting carbon sink. They outlined a set ofstrategies to achieve this target while still accommodatingup to 20 percent growth in the number of people living andworking in the city. The report includes strategies formeasuring and allocating CO2 emissions reductions,electricity use, natural gas use, district heating and cooling,building, transportation, urban forestry, energy efficiency,education and advocacy (see Resources).

Vancouver's Task Force on Atmospheric Change

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recommended in June 1990 that Vancouver commit itselfto achieving the following three targets:

1) A complete phase out of all uses of productscontaining ozone-depleting chemicals within theCity by the year 1995;

2) Immediately reducing emission levels of sulphurdioxide and methane; and

3) A 20% reduction in 1988 level carbon dioxideemissions by the year 2005; and bringing all relatedatmospheric pollutants within federally determinedacceptable levels.

To achieve these targets, the Vancouver Task Forceproposed a set of 35 far-reaching recommendations in theareas of transportation, land use, energy conservation andefficiency, and administrative organization (see City ofVancouver 1990). Vancouver City Council approved thereport's recommendations in October 1990.

Ottawa, Ontario's Official Plan includes City Council'sstated objective to reduce carbon dioxide emissions 50%bythe year 2005 by increasing non-auto transportation,regulating polluting development, improving energyefficiency, planning land uses to reduce distances andvehicle trips, and improving the urban forest (see City ofOttawa 1991). While the Ottawa Plan is admirable inmany respects, the goal of reducing carbon dioxideemissions 50% by 2005 may be over ambitious.

Airshed Quality Management"In early 1989, an extensive three stage programme tosubstantially improve air quality vic, adopted for themetropolitan area of Los, Angeles, California. Theprogramme's first stage (1989-93) includes tighteningrestrictions (at a cost of $2.8 billion per year) on the use ofprivate automobiles and on pollution-causing industrialand household activities. During its second stage (1993-

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Alfonso Cipres Villareal, head of the Mexican EcologistsMovement, said his organization plans to put up 10 booths onstreet corners around Mexico City to sell clean air. Thirty-second shots of oxygen will sell for about Cdn."

Reuter 1991 )

98), all diesel buses, 70 per cent of freight vehicles, and 40per cent of private automobiles will be required to convertto cleaner fuels, with an additional 50 per cent reductionof industrial and consumer-related emissions. Tha finalstage of the programme anticipates the total prohibition ofgasoline fuels in automobiles by the year 2007 aprohibition that assumes the availability of new [perhaps]unknown, technologies emerging as viable commercialalternatives to gasoline fuelled vehicles. A key to thesuccess of the plan is a 'redirection' of development patterns,employment and housing locations, and a substantialreduction in travel from homes to employment centres.This 'redirect ion' mustbe led co-operatively by communitieswithin the Los Angeles metropolitan area.

For especially significant environmental problems, localgovernments have the ability and the will to take equallysignificant corrective actions. Mile a major incentive forlocal action may be provided through national standards,the actions themselves cannot be taken by the nationalgovernment alone. The Los Angeles (South Coast AirQuality District) plan is the most drastic, comprehensiveand expensive effort to improve air quality ever drawn uplocally in the United States. While specific action s proposedwere not mandated by the Federal government, courtdecisions in response to the region's non-compliance withFederal air quality standards were a major factor in thedevelopment of the local plan. Implementation of the planwill be a local responsibility." (OECD 1990; see also SCAG1989; SCAQIVID 1989)

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RESOURCES

CITY OF ToRom-o, The Changing Atmosphere:Strategies forReducing CO,Emissions,Volume One:Policy Overview, Volume Two: Technical Volume(Toronto: City of Toronto, Special Advisory Committee onthe Environment, Report Number Two, March 1991).Available from:

Maria Mandarino, Committees SecretaryCity Clerk's Department, City Hall100 Queen Street WestToronto, Ontario IVI5H 2N2Tel: 416/392-6745

CITY OF VANCOUVER, Clouds o f Change: Final Reportof the City of Vancouver Task Force on AtmosphericChange (Vancouver: City of Vancouver, 1990, 2 Volumes).After public consultations based upon its research,Vancouver's Task Force on Atmospheric Change publishedits two-volume Clouds of Change report in June 1990.Volume One explains the causes of global and localatmospheric change, the known and probable effects ofatmospheric change, and the role of the City in acting toprotect public health by reducing the hazards posed byatmospheric change. The report sets forth a framework foraction based on targets to eliminate or reduce emissions ofozone-depleting chemicals, carbon dioxide and relatedpollutants. Thirty-five major recommendations arepresented regarding administrative organization,transportation planning and traffic management, landuse planning, energy efficiency, public health, a regionalcarbon dioxide tax, urban reforestation, waste reductionand recycling, leadership by example (e.g., procurementpolicies), and public involvement and education. VolumeTwo is a set of model and example by-laws from otherjurisdictions which are referenced in the report. Vancouver

G9


City Council approved the report's recommendations inOctober 1990. Available from:

Planning DepartmentCity of Vancouver453 West 12th Ave.Vancouver, B.C. V5Y 1V4Tel: 604/873-7344

THE INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION FOR LOCALENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVES (ICLEI), The Urban CO2Project: Form ulating Municipal Strategies to Reducethe Emission of Greenhouse Gases (Toronto. ICLEI,1991). ICLEI established The Urban CO, Project to helpmunicipal governments develop effective strategies toreduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The Project isdesigned to tap into already existing resources andexpertise to:

develop a municipal policy framework for CO,reduction, including analytical and modelling tools forassessing its technical and economic feasibility;assess the cost, equity, employment, and institutionalimplications of reducing CO, emissions by 60 percentfrom present levels over the next 25 years, or 2 percentannually, in urban areas; andencourage wider municipal interest and action onglobal warming by facilitating the growth of a networkof local governments concerned with the issue

For more information, contact:Phil Jessup, DirectorThe Urban CO2 ProjectThe International Council for Local

Environmental InitiativesNe' City Hall, East Tower, 8th floorToronto, Ontario M5H 2N2Tel: 416/392-1462 Fax: 416/392-1478

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KAI MILLYARD, A Preliminary Carbon DioxideInventory for the City of Ottawa (Ottawa: FOE, 1992).This reportattempts to inventory carbon dioxide emissionsnot only from city operations but from the entiremunicipality. Although the focus is on Ottawa, appendicesdescribing the methods used to ascertain these figuresmay be useful in estimating carbon dioxide emissions inother jurisdictions. Available from:

Friends of the Earth251 Laurier Ave. WestOttawa, Ontario KW 5J6Tel: 613/230-3352

Irvine, California's 1989 ordinance "Governing theManufacture, Distribution, Sale and Recycling of ProductsWhich Utilize Ozone Depleting Compounds" went intoeffect July 1, 1990. Irvine is a major center of aerospace,computer, and hi-tech manufacturing, and the ordinancewas estimated to affect between 400 and 500 businesses inthe community. Knowing the ordinance was coming,Irvine's businesses began reducing their emissions evenbefore the measure took effect. During 1988 and 1989, thelarge users of CFCs in Irvine reduced their emissions byapproximately 46c,, and city officials expected furtherreductions in 1990. For more information, contact:

Michael S. BrownManager of Environmental AffairsCity of Irvine, Box 19575Irvine, CA 92713Tel: 714/724-6000

ReferencesBOLIN, B "How Much Carbon Dioxide Will Remain in the

Atmosphere?" i n B. Bolin, B. I coos, J. Jaeger, and R. Warrick,eds., The Greenhouse Effect, Climatic Change and Ecosystems(SCOPE 29) (Chichester: John Wiley, 1986)

CITY or OTTAWA, Official Plan Volume I: The Primary Plan

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(Ottawa: City of Ottawa, Final Draft, February 1991).CITY OF VANCOUVER,C/OUdS of Change: Final Report of the

City of Vancouver Task Force on Atmospheric Change(Vancouver: City of Vancouver, 1990, 2 Volumes).

FLAVIN, C., "Slowing Global Warming," in Brown, L.R., etal, State of the World 1990: A Worldwatch Institute Report onProgress Toward a Sustainable obciety (NY/London: W.W.Norton & Co., 1990), pp. 17-38.

INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION FOR LOCAL ENVIRONMENTALINITIATIVES (ICLEI), "The Urban CO2Project," Project Proposal(Cambridge, MA: ICLEI, 1990).

INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION FOR LOCAL ENVIRONMENTALINITIATIVES (ICLEI), The Urban. CO2Project (Toronto: ICLEI,1991).

INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE (IUCN),THE UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT FROGRAMNIE (UNEP), and THEWORLD WIDE FUND FOR NATURE (WWF), Caring for the Earth:A Strategyfor Sustainrthle Living (Gland, Switzerland: IUCN/UNEP/WWF, 1991).

LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION, Model Ordinances:Addressing Ozone Layer Destruction (Sacramento, CA: LocalGovernment Commission, 1990).

NEWMAN, P., "Greenhouse, Oil and Cities," Futures, May1991, pp. 335-348.

ORGANIZATION FOR ECONOMIC COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT

(OECD), Environmental Policies for Cities in the 1990s(Paris: OECD, 1990).

REES, W.E. "Atmospheric Change: Human Ecology inDisequilibrium" TJBC Planning Papers Discussion PaperNo.17 (Vancouver: UBC School of Community and RegionalPlanning, 1989).

REUTER, "Mexico City Street-Vending Machines to SellOxygen," Vancouver Sun, February 8, 1991, p. A8.

SOUTH COASTASSOCIATION OF GOVERNMENTS (SCAG)and SOUTI I

COAST AIR QUALITY MANAGEMENT DISTRICT (SCAQMD), AirQuality Management Plan: South Coast Air Basin (LosAngeles: SCAG/SCAQMD, 1989).

SOUTH COAST AIR QUALITY MANAGEM ENT DISTRICT (SCAQMD),The Path to Clean Air: Attainment Strategies (El Monte, CA:SCAQMD, 1989).

STARKE, L., Signs of Hope: Working Towards Our Common

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Future (NY: Oxford University Press, 1990).STOLARSKI, R.S., P. BLOONIFIELD, R.D. MCPETERS AND J.R.

HERMAN, "Total Ozone Trends Deduced From Nimbus 7TOMS Data," Geophysical Research Letters 18(6): 1015-1018,June 1991.

TORONTO CONFERENCE STATEMENT, "The ChangingAtmosphere: Implications for Global Security" (Toronto:Environment Canada, June 27-30, 1988).

VILLE DE MONTREAL, Montreal: The Sustainable DevelopmentOption (Montreal: Ville de Montreal, 1991).

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Transportation Planning and Traffic Management

4

Transportation Planning and TrafficManagement

As discussed in the previous chapter, the burning of fossilfuels in motor vehicles and the associated release of carbondioxide is one of the prime contributors to atmosphericchange. Beyond this, governments at every level are infiscal crisis and mostly unable to adequately maintain andexpand transportation infrastructure to keep pace withtraffic growth. If we continue our present trends for thenext few decades, we can also expect to see increasingcongestion, longer commuting times, increasing demandsfor shorter work hours to compensate for longer travellinghours, and higher prices due to reduced worker productivity.

Efforts to relieve traffic congestion alone do little toreduce polluting emissions or the amount of fuel consumed.Cities must now stress reduction of singleoccupancy vehicletrips as the only sound way to achieve improved airquality, reduce the energy consumption th atis contributingto atmospheric change, and relieve traffic congestion.

Transportation planning and traffic managementinitiatives are critical for sustainable urban development.These initiatives are usually motivated by goals to reducethe number of automobile trips; increase opportunities fornon-auto transportation including bicycles, walking, rail,buses, and alternative vehicles; and reduce the use ofgasoline and diesel fuel in conventional buses, autos andtrucks.

In general, local initiatives should aim to:encourage transit over personal automobile use by, for

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( --1"Differences in travel behavior arise largely from publicpolicy differences, especially from differences in automobiletaxation. In addition, variations in transit subsidies, landuse controls, and housing programs significantly influencetravel choice, although sometimes only indirectly. The successof public transportation depends more on supportive urbandevelopment and automobile taxation policies than on transitsubsidies."

Pucher 1988 ,

"Culture plays little or no role in travel mode choice. Onecould argue, for example, that extensive bicycle use is part ofthe Dutch culture. But in this context culture is the result, notthe cause, of bicycle prominence."

Kilcoyne 1990,,

"If we really want toga people out of theircars, we need to payattention to land-use planning and pricing. If you addtogether auto subsidies such as free parking and personalcosts of owning and operating a car (insurance, fuel,depreciation, loans and purchase) using a car costs about 40cents a nzile. Between 80-90 percent of people in the Bay Areahave free parking. But it really isn't free. Parking structuresrunabout $10,000 to $20,000 per space. These numbers don'tinclude lot' ter] environmental costs, which run about 3 centsper mile in the San Francisco Bay Area and about 9 cents permile in Los Angeles."

Deakin 1990

example, reducing the subsidies to private vehicles;identify meansfor managingtransportation demands,especially of commuters; andemphasize bicycle and pedestrian networks as validcomponents of a regional transportation strategy.

8

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IEnvironmental Impacts of Transportation

"The environmental impact of transport can beseparated into four main components:

Vehical manufacture Impact on the environmentof resource extraction, andthe pollutants generatedboth at the time ofmanufacture and disposal...

Infrastructure effects Congestion, visualintrusion, severance andconsumption of resources,particularly land.

Vehicular effects The contributions ofdifferent types of vehicles toair, water, noise or visualpollution; their contributionto global warming; generalhealth risks; safety to theuser and non-user; theefficiency with which theyuse resources.

Traffic volume effects [Congestion may not onlyincrease vehicular effectsproportionately, but alsoincrease the effects furtheras vehicle efficiencydimishes.] Providing newinfrastructure toaccommodate increasedtraffic is likely to generatefurther infrastructureeffects. Sometimes the bestsolution may lie elsewhere."

(ACC 1990)

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b +7)


Transport Infrastructure PoliciesA study of 32 major world cities, funded by theAustralian Government, shows that there are veryclear relationships between transport and urban form.Economic factors such as income and gasoline pricesare less important than the direct policy instrumentsof transportation planners and urban planners, suchas the relative provision of infrastructure forautomobiles and rapid transit, or the density ofpopulation and jobs. The data suggest that citytransport patterns would become more sustainable ifthe set of policies excerpted here were adopted."Readers who wish to examine the data upon whichthese policies are based should consult the sourcedocument."

"oftpolicy to restrict the amount of road supply withina city to something around 2 In to 3 m per capita. Thiswould essentially mean curtailing new road projectsthat pass through the city. It would also depend onurban form policies" [(see Land Use chapter). Inparticular, since roughly three qu: iters of city roadmileage is comprised of minor and local streets, thiswould imply a move away from the single familyhouse with a typical wide street frontage in favour ofinnovative family housing which shares road accessmore intensively and needs less roads because of itspublic transport, walking, and bicycling orientation.]

A policy to restrict central city parking to a levelaround 200 spaces or less per 1000 CBD workers. This

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would require a concurrent policy that provides goodpublic transport access and a series of central citypolicies on housing, cultural attractions, urban design,pedestria7 ization and commercial activity that allowsa central city to compete strongly with suburbancentres where easy parking is available.

it policy accepting that average speeds in a city ofaround 30 km /h are adequate. This means rejectingthe notion that fuel is saved by increasing averagespeeds.

A policy that provides a rapid transit option (mostlikely to be rail) which is substantially faster than theaverage traffic speed in the city and together withother improvements slowly builds up public transportin stages so that it provides something more like 20 to30% of total passenger kin. This would be aconsiderable change for many cities where the presentsituation has public transport at less than 10% and insome cities less than 1% (-1

policy that encourages pedestrianization, traffic-calming treatment of streets and bicycle facilities sothat the proportion of work journeys by bicycling andwalking rises to something more like 2i% rather thanits present 5%. Like the others, this policy is not reallycontentious, but is unlikely to be successful unlesswedded to (appropriate urban form policies (see LandUse chapter)]."

(Newman and Kenworthy 1911)

7)


The True Costs of Private Automobile Use and AbuseThe environmental and social costs associated withprivat:. automobile use and abuse span an enormousrange - from government expenditure on highwayconstruction and maintenance to crop and healthdamage from ground-level ozone to traffic- andinsurance-related court activity. Attempting toestimate an overall social cost for the automobile,West German studies found annual total social andother costs in the mid-1980s to range between DM 50billion and DM 110 billion. Adjusting for populationand inflation, this would amount to around $30 billionfor Canada in the early 1990s. The social cost of theprivat, automobile in West Berlin in 1985 wasestimated at DM 0.64 per passenger-kilometre -equivalent to about 65e in Canada today. To recoverthis cost from gasoline taxes would require prices onthe order of $5.00 per litre - about nine times thepresent price.

(see CUI 1991)

TOOLS

Air Quality and Congestion Relief"Transportation demand management (TDM) andtransportation system management (TSM) consist of awide range of measures aimed primarily at improving airquality and relieving traffic congestion. In the process,these strategies can result in energy savings as well.

All too often, transportation planning takes projecteddemand as a given and attempts to satisfy it rather thantrying to reduce it. The goal of TDM strategies is toinfluence people to shift to more-efficient modes oftransportation and to travel during off -peak hours. Some

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b 6


"A re-orientation oftransport priorities involves the followingmajor elements:

Less high speed road servicesMore traffic management and 'traffic calming'Better public transport infrastructureBetter bicycling facilitiesBetter pedestrian facilitiesLess parking in the city centre"

Kenworthy and Newman 1990

strategies attempt to manage transportation demand withregulations and pricing schemes, such as parkingmanagement and time-of-day charges for roads; othersmanage demand by promoting alternative-mode choices,such as ridesharing and telecommuting. In complementaryfashion, TSM strategies aim to affect the supply oftransnortation services. The most successful policiesintegrate supply and demand strategies to create atransportation network that promotes efficient, low-polluting choices." (Gordon 1991)

Speci 'ic TDM/TSM strategies include:parkingmeasures (described elsewhere in this chapter)ridesharinghigh-occupancy vehicle (HOV) facilitiesvariable-pricing schemes (e.g., congestion or time-of-day pricing)telecommutingalternative work schedulesbicycle and pedestrian useinnovative land-use planninginnovative transportation technologies (e.g., traffic-signal synchronization)

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"Approval for a new development can be made contingentupon participation in programs such as ridesharing, flextime,and employee public transport passes 1...] If institutedsystematically, along with even modest parking priceincreases, such measures could shift an estimated 10-15percent of trips in many areas from one-occupant vehicles."

Lowe 1991b

Transportation Control MeasuresTransportation Control Measures include employer-basedtransportation management; improved public transit; park-and-ride lots and fringe parking; parking managementprograms; rideshare (car- and van-pooling) incentives;road pricing (tolls); traffic flow improvements; trip-reduction by-laws; voluntary no-drive days; and workschedule changes. These measures "not only reduceemissions and congestion, but also save energy and money."The U.S. Department of Transportation reviewed 40current transportation control programs and found thatthe most successful combined these elements:

Site-specific planning, including a transportationcoordinator, personalized in-house car-pool matching,priority car-pool parking, transit encouragements, bicyclefacilities and promotions, and flex-time;

Environmental incentives, including tight parkingsupply, moderate to high parking prices, low level ofparkingcost subsidy, little on- or off-street parking nearby,and well-enforced car-pool preferential parking; and

Convenient transportation alternatives, includingfrequent transit service, ample transit capacity, and stablefares. (see US DOT 1989)

Road Pricing StrategiesThere is growing interest in road pricing strategies tocheck the t rend in increased automobile use and its adverse

*


Public Pressure on Transit AuthoritiesIn return for agreeing not to sue to block thereconstruction of a Boston-area interstate highway,the Conservation Law Foundation has convincedtransit authorities to adopt a long-term transportationpolicy that requires the city to construct high-speedtrains to New York, begin 15 mass-transit expansionprojects, add 20,000 parking spaces at commuter railstations, install bus and carpool lanes on commutingroutes, index mass transit fares so that they remaincompetitive with driving, and agree that there willnever be further expansion of any highway intoBoston.

\._(see WW1 1991)

environmental effects, especially in inner city areas. TheSingapore "Area Licensing Scheme," a form of road pricinginstituted in 1975, demonstrated that such schemes can beused successfully for reducing peak hour traffic volumes,reducing single-occupant vehicle traffic, and encouragingbuses and car pools.

More recently, several politically feasible policy measureswere analyzed for Stockholm. Of considerable interestwas an Area Licensing Scheme combined with differentpublic transport subsidy levels. "Four different policieswere evaluated in this context:

1. A decrease in the public transport fare by 50 percent;

2. An area licensing scheme around the inner city ofStockholm;

3. An area licensing scheme combined with a publictransport fare reduction of 50 per cent;

4. An area licensing scheme combined with a publictransport fare increase of 50 per cent.

The area licensing scheme would totally surround the

83


inner city ofStockholm, with approximately 30 checkpointson the cordon line. Because of the geographical location ofStockholm County, the inner city and the road transportnetwork, through traffic would be exempt from toll paymenton certain routes. Atoll fee of25 SK (app. Canadian $4.65)per passenger car per round trip was adopted for analysis,the fee level being based on the achievement ofenvironmental goals.

Each of the transport policy measures was evaluatedaccording to the following criteria:

1. The achievement of the national environmental goalofreduction ofNOx emissions by 30 per centby 1995;

2. Forecasts of NOx and CO emissions from car trafficin Stockholm County and the inner city area and apartial estimate of the environmental costs of caremission based on NOx and CO emission;

3. Changes in the travel pattern by car and publictransport in Stockholm County and the inner city;

4. Changes in the amount of vehicle kilometres travelledin Stockholm County and in the inner city;

5. Changes in the estimates of travel time by car andpublic transport and the average speed on the roadnetwork;

6. Estimation of public transport revenue and tollrevenue.

The analysis of the policy options against the abovecriteria concluded that two policy measures satisfy theachievement of the national en vironmental goal. First, anarea licensing scheme combined with a public transportfare reduction of 50 per cent adequately achieves the 30per cent reduction; and second, an area licensing schemewith no change in the public transport fare almost meetsthis goal. An area licensing scheme combined with apublic transport fare reduction of 50 per cent rankedhighest in all the other criteria except for that of combined

81


revenues generated from public transport and tolls but itgenerates enough revenue to finance the public transportnetwork. An area licensing scheme with no change in thepublic transport fare produces substantially more revenueand if these revenues were allocated to finance the publictransport network (as well as the road network), publictransport ridership would further increase as the result ofthe increase in the level of service of public transport."(OECD 1990; see also Pendakur 1986)

New Approaches to Transportation Analysis"Inefficient transportation and land use patterns broughtabout by excessive hidden subsidies and the failure ofmarket price signals inevitably translate into reducedeconomic competitiveness. Governments at every levelare in fiscal crisis and mostly unable to adequately maintainand expand transportation infrastructure to keep pacewith traffic growth [...

Conventional transportation analysis often disregardsthe potent effects ofurban design changes on transportationdemand and the impact of transportation investments andpolicy on land use patterns I Estimates of trip generation,distribution, and choice are often based on look-upengineering formulas that have been determined from theexisting automobile-dependent environment [...]

Recent advances in geographic information systems(GIS) make possible new approaches to deal with smallscale pattern and urban design factors that influencetravel behavior, such as the quality of the pedestrian andcycling environment, the accessibility of jobs and housingto transit stops, TDAI incentives, parking supply and cost,and the micro-scale pattern and mix of land uses." (Replogle1991)

85


Light RailMore than 300 cities around the world have joined thelight rail revolution. The English-speaking world hasbeen generally slow to take on light rail. A UK studyconcluded that profession al fashion rather than economicswas a major reason the UK had missed the light railrevolution; even there interest now appears to be increasing.

"Started in France and Germany, light rail combines thespeed and comfort of a traditional train with the flexibilityand pedestrian-friendliness of the traditional street car ortram. But it has all the hi-tech electronics and modernmaterials that can solve many of today's urban transportproblems, including:

ground-level access, making it easy for people of allages, even for those in wheelchairs or with a pram;comfortable seats and spaces for hanging bikes andprams;easy movement through people-filled city squares andgrassy-tracks out to suburbs; [...] andfastaccessalongpermanent way areas includingheavyrail lines[...]" (Newman 1991a; see also199113)

Bicycle Transportation: Beyond the "Integration-Segregation" Debate"The city's [Vancouver] Comprehensive Bicycle Plan hasencouraged cycling by recommending improved streetdesign, educating cyclists, and enforcing cyclingregulations.

There is one main drawback to the Bicycle Plan. It caterslargely to those who already cycle. It proposes thatbicycles and cars should travel on the same arterial roads,rather than try to stay apart on separate rights-of-way. Asa result, it has not led directly to a significant increase incycling in the city, nor do we believe it is likely to.

The rationale for the Comprehensive Bicycle Plan

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ti


approach came mainly from a controversial Californiabicycle enthusiast and engineer named John Forester.Unlike most international cycling specialists, Foresterhas argued it is safest to 'integrate' bikes with cars on mainstreets. He believes 'segregated' routes for cyclists causeaccidentS when cyclists and cars meet at intersections.Although Foresterhas not changed his opinion, he recentlyacknowledged that his 'theory' is impossible to prove withexisting quantitative data.

Even if one were to adopt Forester's view that mainroads are safe for everyday cycling, most people still don'tsee it that way. Perceptions are powerful. To encouragemore people to cycle regularly, a network of bicycle routesthat are perceived as safe must be provided.

It would be a daunting challenge for the city to find thespace or finances to build separate bicycle paths. But wedo have a huge network of quiet residential side-streetsrunning parallel to main arteries. They offer the potentialfor a compromise solution that will satisfy both the`integrationists' and the 'segregationists.' We believethese residential streets can provide the basisfora networkofbicycle routes that will be both safe and perceived as safe

leading to a significant jump in cycling." (VancouverBikeway Network Group 1991)

Pike to the FutureThe Toronto City Cycling Committee argued that theCity's 1991 Plan should strive for a well-balanced, diversetransportation system and that serious traffic reductionschemes can only be successful if the alternatives aremade more attractive than driving. Here is a summary oftheir proposals.

"1. Set realistic targets and develop strategies forreducing automobile trips and increasing transit,bicycle and walking trips in the City Li

87


2. Encourage the developmentofprograms that expandthe range of mode choice for commuters.

3. Encourage the development of road design andmaintenance standards which reduce the risk ofaccidents and injuries to cyclists.

4. Establish a network of exclusive bicycle lanes andpaths, available from within one kilometre from anypoint in the City, so that cyclists never have to travelmore than one kilometre in mixed traffic to a bikelane or path.

5. Encourage the development of bike paths in andalong the hydro and rail corridors, abandoned raillines, and other linear right-of-ways.

6. Encourage the development of a bicycle ring-routeencircling the city [...]

7. Establish a policy requiring an appropriatepercentage of the City's annual roads budget to beset aside for energy-efficient or non-polluting modesof transportation, and that all new road constructionor road widening proposals must include strategiesto encourage energy-efficient and non-pollutingmodes of transportation.

8. Encourage increases in transit and bicycle ridershipby providing secure, covered bike parking at allsubway and [transit] stations, providing bike routesto and from stations, and actively promotingcombined bike-transit trips.

9. Encourage strategies which improve cycling andsurface transit together, while at the same timereducing the convenience of driving, such as byproviding bus-bike lanes on major bus routes.

10. Encourage strategies that use the existing roadsmore efficiently by recycling automobile dominatedspace for transit and bike lanes, and wider sidewalks.

11. Replace on-street car parking spaces in retail strips

88


with bus or bike lanes, and/or wider sidewalks.12. Encourage the development and evaluation of

neighbourhood 'green streets,' on which pedestriansand cyclists have priority, and motor-vehicles arerestricted to bicycle and pedestrian speeds.

13. Close certain arterial roads to cars on Sundays toprovide safe opportunities for non-pollutingrecreation and travel in the City.

14. Provide secure, covered bike parking, and shower/change rooms for bike commuters in all newdevelopments. Provide bike parking in all newsidewalk construction, at parks and recreationfacilities, in City-owned parking lots, and at publicbuildings.

15. Provide wide curb lanes, by reducing the insidelanes to ten feet, whenever a road is resurfaced orthe lane markings are repainted.

16. Require all development proposals to includestrategies for minimizing automobile use andencouraging transit and bicycle use.

17. Introduce a permit system for motorists who want todrive in the Central Area, and apply the revenuesgenerated by it towards transit, cycling, andpedestrian amenities."

(Toronto City Cycling Committee 1990)

Trip Reduction BylawsTrip reduction bylaws (TRBs) are designed to reducesingle-occupant vehicle trips. This is a summary of amodel TRB being developed in Vancouver, B.C.

"Applicable To: All employers of 25 or more employees,all employers in non-exempt designatedcommercial districts, commercialbuildings of 25,000 gross square feet or

89 ,,


more, and any multi-tenant building orgroup ofbuildings on one site with 100 ormore employees.

Objectives: To reduce peak hour trips and increasethe number of people to vehicles from 1.3to 1.75.

Requirements: Employers and contractors are requiredto implement a trip reduction program,includingappointmentofa transportationcoordinator and any reasonablecombination of commute alternativeprograms designed to achieve therequired target.The City is required to monitor and reportannually on the success of the tripreduction programs, by administrationand analysis of employee surveys. TheCity is also required to support tripreduction activities by gathering anddisseminatingmaterial and providing carpool and van pool matching services.

Enforcement: Failure to comply would enable the Cityto impose an effective trip reductionprogram or fine. Fines are to be kept ina Trip Reduction Fund for improvementof public transit and for educationprograms on commute alternatives."

(City of Vancouver 1990)

98,

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INITIATIVES

Trip Reduction BylawsMontgomery County, a suburb of Washington, D.C., hasinstituted both developer requirements and a Ride ShareOrdinance. Developers must prepare a ten year tripreduction plan that includes elements such as personalizedridesharing assistance, shuttle van services, transit passsubsidies and other measures. The Ride Share Ordinancerequires new employers to achieve a specified increase intransit use by their employees; penalties are exacted ifgoals are not met. This ordinance has achieved a 31.7%increase in the number of carpools and a 59.6% increase intransit commuters within just one year. Other communitiesthat have adopted similar ordinances include Bellevue,Washington, and atleast 37 cities and counties in California(see Local Government Commission 1990; Cal DOT 1990).

Regulation XV of the South Coast Air QualityManagement District in Southern California requiresall work sites with 100 or more employees to implement aridesharing program and to increase the organization's"average vehicle ridership" to a specified target. Aftermore than a year of experience, the first evaluation of theprogram's results show that there has been a small butsignificant increase in average vehicle ridership, and acorresponding decrease in commuting by single-occupantvehicle. Most of the initial change appears to be fromincreased carpooling, while the use of compressed workhours and walking and bicycling also increased. (see

Giuliano et at 1991)

Automobile RestrictionsBudapest bans motor traffic from all but two streets in thedowntown area during particularly polluted spells. InMexico City and Santiago, one-fifth of all vehicles are

91

99


kept off the streets each weekday based on their license-plate numbers. Florence has turned its downtown into apedestrian mall during daylight hours (see French 1990).

Atleast 11 Italian cities, includingRome, Milan, Naplesand Turin, have imposed alternate-day driving rules onhigh-pollution days. Fines range from approximately $50Cdn for driving with the wrong plate to $1000 for alteringplates. On a single day in December 1991, police in Romeissued a record 12,983 such citations. In January 1992 theItalian Government abolished all the bans, saying citiesdid not have the power to impose them, and leaving it toregional governments - the Italian version of Canadianprovinces - to act (see Associated Press 1991; Montalbano1992).

Road PricingIn February 1990 Oslo, Norway implemented a toll system.Oslo motorists are charged NKr 10 (US $1.50) to passthrough one of the 18 gantries set up around the centralbusiness district. Prepayment coupons costing NKr 180(US $27) for 20 trips or NKr 2,200 ($330) for an annualpass are also available. Coupons need to be displayed inthe windshield. Prepayment lanes are enforced by anumberplate video surveillance and a 1:20 spot check todeter"sneak drivers." There were reps, tedly some 100,000subscribers to the prepayment system in the first fewmonths (see PIA 14(6), June 1990).

Parking MeasuresParking Offsets

"Several cities have found that parking programs pay ...]Sacramento, California grants developers a 5% reductionin required parking for providing bicycle facilities, 15 %for providing marked car/van-pool spaces, and 60% forpurchasing transit passes for tenants of new offices.

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The Concealed Costs of Parking"Ending the widespread employer practice ofproviding free or heavily subsidized parking toemployees is a promising option for relievingcongestion - and air pollution as well. One surveyfound that more than 90% of southern Californiaemployers provide free parking for their employees.A recent survey of 174,000 workers in downtown LosAngeles, an area with some of the region's best transitservice, found that 61% drove to work alone, and 55%received subsidized parking with an estimated marketvalue of $56 to $74 million annually [...] The effect offre parking on driving is significant; by one estimateit it.i:uces more travel than free gasoline would 1...]The concealed costs of parking are surprisingly large.

A recent study by the Transportation Research Boardestimates that residential parking requirements addmore than $600 per year, or $50 per month, to theaverage cost of rental housing- regardless of whetheror how much the residents need or use the parkingfacilities [...]It is important to investigate variations of pricingpolicies which minimize regressive impacts, or todevelop complementary policies which mitigate thoseeffects [...] Studies of employer-paid parking indicatethat middle- to upper-income groups are the principalrecipients of these benefits. Even this is not a criticalfinding since the policy prescription for parking issimply to offer employees the cash equivalent of theparking space, which could be a progressive policy."

(Cameron 1991)

Preferential ParkingPortland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington lead in on-street preferential parking programs for car-pools. Amongthe incentives: poolers are allowed to park downtown all

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Environmentalists Plan Suit To Bloch Fare RiseIn Boston the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF)announced it would sue the Massachusetts Bay TransitAuthority (META) to block a scheduled increase inbus and subway fares until the transit authoritycompletes an environmental impact report assessingthe t » ffic congestion and air quality likely to resultfrom higher fares. The META plans to raise the priceof a subway token from 75e to $1 and a local bus tripfrom 50 to 60 cents, which it estimates would force43,000 commuters off the transit system and into theircars. CLF projects a resultant increase in regionalozone pollution of more than four-tenths of onepercent. The federal Clean Air Act mandates a 3percent reduction in key pollutants. CLF contendsthat increased automobile exhaust will force greateranti-pollution measures by the region's industries.

(see Berg 1991)

day at specific metered locations, are exempted fromhourly parking limits and meter fees, and enjoy spacesclosest to building entrances.

Parking PricingThe [Federal] Government increased its parking rates forfederal employees in Ottawa, resulting in a 23 percentreduction in employees driving to work, a 16 percentincrease in transit ridership among federal employees,and an increase in ayerage vehicle occupancy from 1.33 to1.41 passengers.

Preferential high-occupancy vehicle pricing strategiesare also highly effective. Differential parking rates paidby the employer are applied, with two-person car-poolsgetting a 50 percent reduction, three-person car-pools 75percent, and van-pools 100 percent. Montgomery County,Maryland has achieved over 75 percent use of high-

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occupancy vehicle spaces. Seattle has achieved 95 percenthigh-occupancy vehicle use in public spaces and 35 percentin private spaces." ( Totten 1989)

Free or Inexpensive TransitExperiments with eliminating systemwide fares inTrenton, New Jersey and Denver, Colorado in the late-1970s found that the costs of doing so were high relative tobenefits. Based on experiments in Seattle, Portland(Oregon), Syracuse, and Salt Lake City, free fareprograms limited to the downtown core have generally hadbetter resalts. Seattle has had the most success. (seeCervero 1990)

Bicycle TransportationUnder a program called Bycyklen (City-Bike),Copenhagen plans to re-establish itself as a bicyclist'scity by allowing residents and visitors to borrow bikes freeof charge. Riders may borrow a City-Bike by inserting a20-krone coin (about Cdn $3.20) in one of hundreds ofspecial bike racks to be installed all over the city butconcentrated in the downtown area. The bike can bereturned to any rack and the coin will be refunded. Planscall to have 3,000 bikes available when the program is infull operation in spring of 1992. (see Vancouver Sun 1991)

Measures to make bicycling a better transportationalternative are currently under consideration in severalNorth American cities. Palo Alto and Davis, California;and Bordeaux, France are "bikeable" cities where servicesand safety for bicycles are provided on a level comparableto that for automobiles. Montreal has built a 130-kilometrenetwork of bicycle paths covering the whole city. (see Villede Montreal 1991)

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Figure 5

lituJrtakil\

, I No continuouscurb

22 Pnvate access

3 returned

.._ Benches aroundlighting columns

- 8

r. .....

4 Vaned streetpaving rnaterialS

5. Pnvale footways

6. Bends in roadwayto reduce speed

7. Empty parkinglot. praCe 10 Sit Of

Way

8 Nearby benchasand play objects

9 Plants in front ofbuilding facades

10 No continuousroadway markingon pavement

11. Trees

-. 12 12. Clearly markedparking lots

13. Bottleneck toreduce speed

14. Plant tubs

15. Play spacefrom facade tofacade

16. Obstacles tonrevent parkin°

The Dutch coon erf, or "living yard," is a form of trafficcalming. Cars are forced to navigate slowly around carefullyplaced trees and other landscaping.

Source: Royal Dutch Touring Club.

10 1

96

BEST COPY AVAILABLE


Traffic Calming.For more than two decades Dutch cities like Delft,Groningen, and Maastricht have calmed traffic bychanging the layout of the residential street, transformingit into a woon erf, or "living yard." In the woon erf, cars areforced to navigate slowly around carefully placed trees andother landscaping. Since motor traffic cannot monopolizethe entire breadth of the street, much of the space becomesmore open to walking, cycling, and children's play.Automobiles are free to enter the woonerf, but only as"guests," while non-motorized traffic has priority.Experience with traffic calming has shown that it is mosteffective if widely implemented, so that motor trafficproblems are not simply diverted to nearby streets. Traffichas been calmed on over 30% of residential roads inMaastricht.

West Germany's similar Verkehrsberuhigung ("trafficcalming") schemes multiplied into the thousands sincethey were started in the seventies. Originally intended forresidential areas, the technique is now spreading overwhole cities. Traffic calming greatly improves the qualityof life in neighbourhoods where it is implemented, and sois gathering popularity in many countries, includingltaly,Japan, Australia, Sweden, and Switzerland. Suchrestraints are so well-received in Denmark that localresidents themselves are often willing to pay for themeasure. In the US, Berkeley is experimenting with a"slow streets" system.

Traffic calming is not just a set of engineering techniquesit is also a community process, a way to reclaim streets

into more attractive public spaces. Wherever traffic calminghas been conducted on a large scale the urban area hasfound, contrary to many economists' predictions, that thelocal economy has improved. This appears to be becausepeople like to come to attractive, green cities; businesses

97


.N\What Are We Transporting?Transportation is a communications issue; often whatis carried is nearly invisible, at the very leastintangible. We move paper, and we move peopleabout in order to move paper. The Postal System is anexample of an arrangement that employs internalcombustion engines and human backs to lug aroundinformation, an essentially weightless commodity.

(see RAIN 1981)2

like to locate in cities with a high-quality urbanenvironment; car access is not banned but it is notfacilitated; and other modes are generally facilitated. ( seeLowe 1991a; FOE/UK n.d.; Newman 1991)

Traffic CellsSaarbriichen, the capital of West Germany's Saarland,alongthe French border, has a population ofabout 200,000.Saarbrucken now has plans which call for the entiremunicipal area to be a 30 km-per-hour zone, although aspeed limit of 50 km/h will still apply on certain "pricrityroads" chosen according to their importance for traffic.The aim of this effort is to achieve the greatest possiblerestraint of traffic and to reduce accident figures, especiallyin residential areas, and mainly to reduce the number ofaccidents involving children, old people and bicyclists. Itis anticipated that the 30 KPH speed limit will alsostabilize traffic flow and thus result in a significantreduction of noise and exhausts in the residential areas.According to calculations performed by the MunicipalOffice of the Environment, the emissions released by cartraffic alone now amount to between 50,000 and 60,000tons of carbon dioxide. ( see Leonhardt

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TelecommunicationsPortland's seven neighbourhood offices, several Citybureaus and the Center for Urban Studies at PortlandState University (PSU) are talking to each other viacomputers. The system enables the Office ofNeighborhoodAssociations, neighbourhood offices, the Bureau ofCommunity Development, the Planning Bureau, and PSU'sCenter for Urban Studies to exchange information aboutneighbourhood issues, meetings, mailing lists, resources,and statistics. (see City of Pcrtland ONA 1990)

Transit MarketingIn Frankfurt, Germany transit operators have signedcontracts with municipal administrators and private firmsto allow their respective commuters free access to publictransportation. The city and the employers consider thesubsidized tab as a job benefit. The city led the way bysigning an agreement to reimburse the regional transitauthority for the issue of "job ticket" flash passes to all26,000 municipal employees. The contract has been inforce since May 1991 and is costing the city approximatelyUS $8 million per year. The public employees union optedto drop its demand for an increase in a supplementalallowance to enable the city to fund the initiative out ofcurrent revenues.

The Phoenix, Arizona bus system has introduced a"transit credit card" which allows passengers' employersto be billed monthly for actual transit usage. The magneticstripe Bus Card Plus is issued to employees of participatingemployers who fall under a count- imposed mandate toreduce by at least 5% commuter t. ips of single occupantvehicles. The order, imposed for air quality reasons,affects all companies with more than a hundred employeesata single work site. Employer contributions and em9loyeepayroll deductions defray the monthly cost of the system

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Toward Sustcinable Communities

at specific firms. Employees are generally charged a fixedmonthly fee through payroll deductions and the employersubsidizes the rest. Before the new system was installed,companies (or employees) paid $27 for a monthly pass,regardless of the number of trips taken. With Bus CardPlus, the company is only charged for trips actually takenup to the cost of the monthly pass. (see PIA 15 (9),September1991)

Freiburg, Germany (pop. 172,000) introduced a publictransit "environment pass" in 1985 which has since beenadopted by more than 30 German communities. Freiburg'scity council authorized the transit authority to lowerseason pass fares from the equivalent of US $34 to $22 amonth to give people an incentive to switch from their carsto public transit in order to protect the environment.During the first year, ridership increased by as much as23%; between 3,000 and 4,000 car owners switchedpermanently to the Freiburg streetcar system, and ticketrevenues increased while expenditures remained constant.Revenues and ridership continued to increase in succeedingyears, with more than 350,000 passes sold in 1988, about100,000 more than in the first year. The upward trendcontinues. An agreement with the transit authority ofneighbouring Basel (Switzerland) allows mutualacceptance oftheir respective envi ron men t passes. (see PIA14 (6), June 1990)

The Swiss ski resort community of Zernzatt has addedtwo solar buses to its municipal fleet of battery-operatedelectric buses. Private vehicles are banned in the mountainresort. The solar buses get about half of their battery-stored energy from roof-mounted solar collectors. Theircost, about US $285,000, was shared equally between thelocal administration and the rail line which brings touriststo the mountain community. (see PIA 14 (9), September1990)

108 100


((The car is] "a voracious beast which disfigures our cities.HRH Prince Charles 1991

German transit authorities in Hamburg and Frankfurthave negotiated flash transit passes forhotel guests. Guestsof one chain are offered art unlimited two-day transit passgood for all public transit in the city when they check in.The subsidized arrangement, negotiated between the hotelchain and the local transit authority, aims to make it easyfor out-of-town hotel guests t ,e the city's transit systemand leave their cars in the hotel garage or athome. (see PIA14 (3), March 1990)

In thePhiladelphia area, the Delaware Valley RegionalPlanningCommission'scommuterbenefitprogram enablesemployers to distribute tax-free transit vouchers, worth$15 a month, which employees can use to buy tickets,tokens, or passes on all public transit systems in the area,including Amtrak. (see Epstein and Driscoll 1991)

RESOURCES

CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATIONA Directory

of Trip Reduction Ordinances Second Edition(Sacramento: Division of Tran sportation Planning, 1990).Available from:

Cal tran s DOTPTechnical Assistance Bra ichPO Box 942874Sacrameno, CA 94274-0001Tel: 916/324-3692 or 322-9015

D. HOPE AND D. YAciruK,CommunityCycling Manual:A Planning and Design Guide (Ottawa: CanadianInstitute of Planners, 1990). Available from:

Canadian Institute of Planners

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404-126 York StreetOttawa, Ontario K1N 5T5

Crry OF VANCOUVER, Clouds of Change: Final Reportof the City of Vancouver Task Force on AtmosphericChange, Volumes I & II (Vancouver: City of Vancouver,1990). Volume H contains a model trip reduction by-law.Available from:

Planning DepartmentCity of Vancouver453 West 12th Ave.Vancouver, B.C. V5Y 1V4Tel: 604/873-7344

DEBORAH GORDON, Steering a New Course:Transportation, Energy, and the Environment(Cambridge, MA: Union of Concerned Scientists, 1991).Gordon argues that the pollution, congestion, and damageto health caused by our dependence on motor vehicles arethe hidden costs of our transportation system. As thesecosts continue to mount, we will pay them increasinglywith our time, health, and welfare. In this report the Union ofConcerned Scientists makes bold recommendations forpolicymakers seeking to ameliorate a host of problemsassociated with the US transportation sector. Issuesaddressed include greenhouse gases and other airpollutants, alternative transportation fuels, ultra-fuel-efficient vehicles, innovative transportation strategies,and public-policy options and recommendations.Comprehensive and well referenced, this book is atremendous esource. Highly recommended. Available from:

Union of concerned Scientists26 Church StreetCambridge, MA 02238Tel: 617/547-5552

PETER NEWMAN AND JEFFREY KENWORTHY, Cities and

Automobile Dependence: An International

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Sourcebook (Brookfield, VT: Gower Technical, 1989).Based on extensive research, this landmark study examinesurban form, transport and energy use in thirty-two citiesin North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. The datacover approximately 100 parameters for 1960, 1970 and1980 and include parking, car ownership and use, roads,congestion, public transport, modal split and energyconsumption; city form is characterized by central, innerand outer area population and employment data. Thestudy confirms that the shorter distances inherent inmedium- and high-density urban areas correspond withmuch more walking and cycling. For example, in the WestEuropean cities in the study with an average of some 85people and jobs per hectare more than 21% of workerswalk or cycle to work. By contrast, in the study's U.S. andAustralian cities, with about 20 people and jobs per hectare,only 5 percent of workers walk or cycle to their jobs.

LOCAL SOLUTIONS TO GLOBAL POLLUTION, "BicycleLegislation in U.S. Cities." A packet of various cities'bicycle programs and policies. Available from:

Local Solutions to Global Pollution2121 Bonar St., Studio ABerkeley, CA 94702Tel: 415/540-8843 Fax: 415/540-4898

MICHAEL CAMERON, Transportation Efficiency:Tackling Southern California's Air Pollution andCongestion (Boulder, CO: Environmental Defense Fundand Regional Institute of Southern California, 1991). Thefirst report of a joint project to investigate economicallysensible solutions to Southern California's vexing air andtransportation problems. Available from:

National Transportation ProgramEnvironmental Defense Fund1405 Arapahoe AvenueBoulder, CO 80302 Tel: 303/440-4901

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PUBLIC INNOVATION ABROAD promotes "the internationalexchange of practical experience in dealing with commonproblems at the state, county and city levels ofgovernment."Particularly good on transportation and recyclinginitiatives. Available from:

International Academy ofState and Local Governments444 North Capitol Street, N.W., Suite 3--1Washington, D.C. 20001Tel: 202/638-1445 Fax: 202/638-5109

THE TORONTO CITY CYCLING COMMITTEE, "Bike to theFuture: A Vision for a Bicycle-Friendly Toronto,"(Toronto: City of Toronto Cycling Committee, 1990).Elaborates the set ofproposals summarized in this chapter.Available from:

The Toronto City Cycling Committee19th Floor, East Tower, City HallToronto, Ontario M5H 2N2Tel: 416/392-7592

Transportation: An International Journal Devotedto the Improvement of Transportation, Planningand Practice devoted a special issue (Volume 17, No. 2,1990) to Transportation Demand Management (TDM).TDM consists of efforts to induce behavioural changes onthe part of travellers in order to maximize efficiency in theuse of existing transport systems. Examples of TDMprograms include employer subsidies of monthly transitpasses in lieu of employer-provided parking facilities,encouragement of carpooling and vanpooling throughfinancial incentives and preferential parking, andencouraging"telecommuting." Robert Cervero's article on"Transit Pricing Research: A Review and Synthesis" isessential reading. If your library doesn't have it, thejournal is available in microform from:

UMITel: 800/521-0600 toll-free in U.S.

112104


Tel: 313/761-4700 collect from Alaska and MichiganTel: 800/343-5299 toll-free from Canada

Individual articles are available from:UMI Article Clearinghouse300 North Zeeb RoadAnn Arbor, MI 48108

THE INSTITUTE FOR TRANSPORTATION AND DEVELOPMENT

POLICY, established in 1985, is a non-profit organizationdedicated to promoting economically and environmentallysustainable global transportation policies and programs,particularly those that serve the needs of the poor. ITDPparticipates in a variety of projects concerning developingcountries and international agencies. For example, ITDP'sBikes Not Bombs project sent some 2,100 bicycles to avariety of bicycle development projects in Nicaragua in1990. In 1985 the "Torld Bank issued a 400-pagetransportation sector study on China which did not evencontain the word "bicycle" and produced an UrbanTransport Policy paper which implied that bicycles werepart of the problem and not a solution. ITDP'sTransportation Alternatives Project, which campaigns toinfluence the World Bank to focus on sustainable transportprinciples, is showing some preliminary signs of success.In the U.S., ITDP helped organize the Campaign for NewTransportation Priorities, a coalition of environmental,labour, and citizen organizations which advocates increasedfederal funding for energy-efficient, environmentally-safealternatives to automobile dependence.

Institute for Transportation and Development Policy1787 Columbia Road, N.W.Washington, DC 20009Tel: 202/387-1434 Fax: 202/387-1450Telex: 155-217-437, Attn: MobilityE-mail via PeaceNet, Attn: Mobility

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. Toward Sustainable Communities

MONTGOMERY COUNTY PLANNING DEPARTMENT, MARYLAND-

NATIONAL CAPITAL PARK AND PLANNING COMMISSION,Comprehensive Growth Policy Study,Volume II (SilverSpring, MD: Maryland-National Capital Park and PlanningCommission, 1989). This document describes how a set ofalternative future growth scenarios were constructed andthe results of applying two computerized impactassessment simulation models, TRAVEL and FISCAL, tothe alternative growth scenarios. Available from:

Maryland-National Capital Park and PlanningCommission

8787 Georgia AvenueSilver Spring, MD 20910-3760Tel: 301/495-4600

Also available from the above address is a short paper byMichael Replogle called "Com puter Tran sportation Modelsfor Land Use Regulation and Master Planning inMontgomery County, Maryland,"Transportation ResearchRecord 1262 (1990). This paper discusses the ways inwhich transportation models have been used for planningand growth management in Montgomery County, anddescribes preliminary work in combining GeographicInformation Systems (GIS) technology with conventionalregional transportation models. The paper describes thedevelopment of tran sportation models to support planningefforts such as reducing the ratio between jobs andhouseholds, clustering employment, providing a new lightrail system connecting major regional centers, and bicycle-and pedestrian-friendly infrastructure improvements. Themodels show that much higher levels of urbanization couldachieve acceptable levels of traffic congestion, and thatGIS may be the best tool for dealing with transportationbehaviour variables where the variance in the data withinzones exceeds the variance between zones.

14.106


Family Transportation ExpendituresAccording to the Institute for Transportation and theEnvironment, many American families now spendmore money on transportation than on food. Withtransportation expenditures at about 25%ofhouseholdincome, young families are often advised by banks tosell a second auto in order to qualify for a mortgage.Meanwhile, although most urban automobile tripsare for distances of under five miles, our inefficienttransportation infrastructure dictates that only oneor two percent of our journeys are made by bicycle.

THE INSTITUTE FOR TRANSPORTATION AND THEErsrvirtoNmENT, incorporated in January 1991, has themission of providing research, education and networkservices to concerned citizens, to environmental andcommunity groups, to public agencies and to the media.Although its efforts focus on the Puget Sound region, theInstitute is also committed to national transportationreform. The Institute intends to publish an annual journalof opinion and analysis on transportation andenvironmental matters.

Institute for Transportation and the Environment85 E. Roanoke StreetSeattle, WA 98103Tel: 206/322-5463

ReferencesASSOCIATED PRESS, "Traffic Controls Heeded Not By Hot-

Blooded Commuters," Vancouver Sun, December 27,1991, p.D18.

ASSOCIATION OF COUNTY COUNCILS (ACC), ASSOCIATION OFDISTRICT COUNCILS, and ASSOCIATION OF "IETROPOLITANAUTIIORITIES, Environmental Practice in Lo c.. rZovernment(London: Association of District Councils, 1990).

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BERG, M., "Environmentalists Plan Suit To Block FareRise," The Patriot Ledger (Quincy, MA), July 25, 1991, p. 28.

CALIFORNIA DEP .TMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, A Directory ofTrip Reduction Ordinances, Second Edition (Sacramento:Division of Transportation Planning, 1990).

CAMERON, M., Transportation E ffic iency :Tackling SouthernCalifornia's Air Pollution and Congestion (Boulder, CO:Environmental Defense Fund and Regional Institute ofSouthern California, 1991).

CANADIAN URBAN INSTITUTE (CUI), "Cities Without Cars"(Toronto: CUI, 1991).

CERVERO, R., "Transit Pricing Research: A Review andSynthesis," Transportation 17:117-139, 1990.

CITY OF PORTLAND, OFFICE OF NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS(ONA), Press Release, January 9, 1990.

CITY OF VANCOUVER, Clouds of Change: Final Report of theCity of Vancouver Task Force on Atmospheric Change(Vancouver: City of Vancouver, 1990).

DEMON, E., "Auto Disincentives, Transit Incentives," inUrban Ecology, Report of the First International EcologicalCity Conference (Berkeley, CA: Urban Ecology, 1990).

EPSTEIN, L.R. AND R.W. Ditiscom., "Clearing the Air,Muddying the Water," Planning 57(8):24-25, August 1991.

FRENCH, H.F., "You Are What You Breathe," Woridwatch,3(3): 27-34, May-June 1990

FRIENDS OF THE EARTH (FOE/UK), Traffic Calming inResidential Areas (London: FOE, n.d.).

GRJLIANo, G., K. HWANG, D. PERRINE, AND M. WACIIS,"Preliminary Evaluation of Regulation XV of the SouthCoast Air Quality Management District," unpublished paper,1991.

GORDON, D., Steering a New Course: Transportation, Energy,and the Environment (Cambridge, MA: Union of ConcernedScientists, 1991).

HRH PRINCE CI inni.Es, quoted by Reuter in Vancouver Sun,May 3, 1991, p. A7.

HOPE, D. AND D. YACIIUK, Community Cycling Manual: APlanning and Design Guide (Ottawa: Canadian Institute ofPlanners, 1990).

KENWORTI I Y, J.R., AND P.W.G. NEwmAN,"Cities and TransportEnergy: Lessons From a Global Survey," Ekistics 57(344/

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345):258-268, 1990.K1LCOYNE, R, "Auto Disincentives, Transit Incentives," in

Urban Ecology, Report of the First International EcologicalCity Conference (Berkeley, CA: Urban Ecology, 1990).

LEONIIARDT,W.,"IntegratedUrban and Transport Planningin Saarbriicken," presented to the World Congress of LocalGovernments for a Sustainable Future, United Nations,New York, September 7, 1990.

Lociu, GOVERNMENT COMMISSION, "Model Ordinances forEnvironmental Protection" (Sacramento: Local GovernmentCommission 1990).

LOWE, M.D., "Rethinking Urban Transport," in Brown,L.R., et al, State of the World 1991: A Worldwatch InstituteReport on Progress Toward a Sustainable Society (NY/London:W.W. Norton & Co., 1991a), pp. 56-73.

LOWE, M.D., "Shaping Cities: The Environmental andHuman Dimensions," Worldwatch Paper 105 (Washington,D.C.: Worldwatch Institute, 1901b).

MoNTALBANo, W., "A War on Urban Smog is Running Out ofGas," Los Angeles Times, reprinted in Vancouver Sun,February 1, 1992, p. B6.

MONTGOMERY 'COUTY PLANNING DEPARTMENT, MARYLAND-NATIONAL CAPITAL PARK AND PLANNING COMMISSION,Comprehensive Growth Pol icy Study, ,Volume II (Silver Spring,MD: Maryland-National Capital Park and PlanningCommission, 1989).

NEWMAN, P., "Greenhouse, Oil and Cities," Futures, May1991a, pp. 335-348.

NEWMAN, P., "Suffocate City," Consuming Interest, June/July 1991b, pp. 13-18.

NEWMAN, P. AND J. KENWORTIIY, Cities and AutomobileDependence: An International Sourceboole (Brookfield, VT:Gower Technical, 1989).

NEWMAN, P.W.G., AND J. R. KENWORTIIY, "Transport andUrban Form in Thirty-Two of the World's Principal Cities,"Transport Reviews, 1991, 11(3): 249-272.

ORGANIZATION FOR ECONOMIC Coml :m.1'1os AND DEVELOPMENT(OECD), Environmental Policies for Cities in the 1990s(Paris: OECD, 1990).

PENDAKUR, V.S., "City Center Traffic Restraint Schemes:The Singapore Experience" (Vancouver: UBC Planning

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Papers, CS #14, 1986).Public Innovation Abroad.(PIA), various issues.PUCIIER, J., "Urban Travel Behavior as thk-; Outcome of

Public Policy: The Example ofModal-Split in Western Europeand North America," Journal of the American PlanningAssociation 54(4): 509-520, Autumn 1988.

THE EDITORS oFRAIN,Knowing Home: Studies for a PossiblePortland (Portland: RAIN, 1981).

REPLOGLE, M., "Computer Transportation Models for LandUse Regulation and Master Planning in Montgomery County,Maryland," Transportation Research Record 1262, 1990.

REPLOGLE, M., "Integrating Low and High TechTransportation Strategies," presented to Second AnnualTransportation 2000 Conference, Snowmass, Colorado,October 6-8, 1991.

ROCKY MOUNTAIN INSTITUTE (RMI) Newsletter, Vol. VII,No. 1, Spring 1991.

TorrEN, M., Energywise Options for State and LocalGovernments: A Policy Compendium (Washington, D.C.:National Center for Policy Alternatives, 1989), draft.

THE Tonoyro CITY CYCLING CoNiNirrrEE, "Bike to the Future:A Vision for a Bicycle-Friendly Toronto" (Toronto: City ofToronto Cycling Committee, 1990).

U.S. DEPT. OF TRANSPORTATION (US DOT), Urban MassTransportation Administration Office ofTechnical Assistanceand Safety, "An Assessment of Travel Demand Approachesat Suburban Activity Centers" (Washington, D.C.,U.S. Dept.of Transportation, 1989), cited in Totten 1989.

VANCOUVER BIKEWAY NETwom GROUP (VBNG),"The BikewaySolution: A Proposal to Vancouver City Council ," (Vancouver:VBNG, 1991).

VANCOUVER SUN, "City of Bikes," Vancouver Sun, October19, 1991, p. El.

VILLE DE MONTREAL, Montreal: The Sustainable DevelopmentOption (Montreal: Ville de Montreal, 1991).

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Land Use and Growth Management

5


To encourage people to use the transportation systemsnore efficiently we need to adopt land use policies whichreduce our needs for transportation and let us meet thoseneeds in more energy-efficient ways.

Our needs for transportation arise directly from the wayland is used in our communities. Through zoning andother techniques, land-use patterns and densities dictatetravel volume, direction, and mode. In Canada and theUS, our dispersed land use patterns are typified by the lowdensity suburb.

Why Los Angeles Still Has Smog"It is no wonder that Los Angeles still has smog morethan 30 years after the battle to reduce it first began- the battle has concentrated on making vehiclescleaner and more efficient, it has done nothing tomake them less needed. The principle that is oftenforgotten here is the Jevons principle. The Jevonsprinciple was first enunciated in 1865 when anassessment was made that improving UK coal-burningefficiency would save coal - Jevons predicted that itwould in fact lead to greater coal use as the efficiencieswould lead to more economic uses for coal. The sameprinciple seems to apply to our present assessment oftransport fuel use. The price mechanism and urbansprawl ensure that for every increase in technologicalefficiency there is a rapid increase in the use ofvehicles."

(Newman 1991a)


The Costs of SprawlA recent Melbourne, Australia study suggests that itis cheaper for cities to pay developers to build neardowntown cores than it is to pay for the costs ofsprawl in terms of infrastructure development andremediating pollution from automobiles. Given itsfindings of lower road, sewer and education costs, thestudy showed a net benefit of Cdn $32,000 for everyhousehold created in downtown rather than suburbanMelbourne. With three million residents spread over2,500 sq km, Melbourne is considering a property taxholiday, bargain prices on city land and density zoningnducementsto lure developers downtown. According

to the Chief Executive of Melbourne's PlanningAuthority,"The net savings would be (Cdn) $130 millionover 20 years for every 8,000 people who movedowntown instead of the suburbs."

(see Neilson 1990; O'Brien 1990)

The problem with the low density land use pattern is notjust its high energy use. Newman (1991b) notes that thissettlement pattern has a complementary set ofenvironmental problems that all stem from its dispersedland use:

High per capita auto emissions (both smog andgreenhouse gases are directly related to the amount ofgasoline used);High per capita water use (e.g., for lawn irrigation);High land requirements in both the block size and theroad system required to service it (road provision ismuch greater in low density areas than in mediumdensity areas);High stormwater pollution from the extra urbanizedland (low density areas have double the stormwaterpollution of medium density areas);

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Misconceptions About Density"Although denser land use could help solve theenvironmental, social, and aesthetic problems ofsprawl, widespread misconceptions about increaseddensity - even moderate density - often preventcommunities from adopting compact land usestrategies. Contrary to popular belief, augmentingthe density of development does not create a harshphysical environment. For example, Copenhagenand Vienna - two cities widely associated with urbancharm and livability - are of moderate density(measured by the number of residents and jobs in thecity, including its central business district and outerareas), with 19 people per acre and 29 people per acre,respectively. By contrast, lowdensity cities such asPhoenix (5 people per acre) often are dominated byunwelcoming, car-oriented commercial strips andvast expanses of concrete and asphalt. People oftenassume that low density ensures more green spaceand easier living -yet with appropriate planning anddesign, dense urban areas can lend themselves togreater vitality, more inviting spaces, and even higheruse of trees and other plants."

(Lowe 1992)

High domestic heating energy due to the lack of ashared insulating effect when buildings are grouped(50% differences are found);Poor recycling rates due to the large cost involved incollection compared to a compact housing system(European cities have four to six times the recyclingrates of North America);High physical infrastructure costs (utilities, pipes,poles, roads, etc.); andHigh social infrastructure costs (cars are required forparticipation in social life).

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Land use planning initiatives are often motivated by therecognition that transportation planning and trafficmanagement initiatives, as discussed in the previouschapter, will eventuallybe thwarted or simply overwhelmedby growth unless accompanied by long-term efforts toreduce the need for travel. Today there is also increasingrecognition that to address problems such as air and waterpollution, energy conservation, and infrastructure costs,land use planning initiatives are essential for movingtoward sustainable communities.

The effectiveness of compact urban development can befully achieved only if governments remove the conflictingincentives posed by other (often national) policies such asartificially low gasoline prices. For example, fuel taxesthat more accurately reflect the true environmental andsocial costs of private vehicle use from the health costs ofair pollution to the military costs of policing the PersianGulf would give an enormous boost to more efficienturban land use and raise revenue for investment in abroader range of transport opi ions (see Lowe 1992).

Despite the absence of supportive national policyframeworks, municipal and local men ts can do agreat deal to create more energy-efficient travel patternsby concentrating activities in specific areas and developinga mix ofland uses in those areas. Our objectives should beto:

create travel patterns that can be effectively served bymore energy-efficient travel modes, such as publictransit, bicycling, and walking; andreduce the average length of daily automobile tripswhere other modes are not feasible.

Comparing Three Urban Structure ConceptsA 1990 study of urban structure concepts for the GreaterToronto Area (GTA) detailed three different ways to manage

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ReurbanizationIn discussing energy-efficient land use, some analystsuse the term reurbanization to refer to increasing theintensity of activity within present urban boundariesand "hardening" the urban fringe (reducing sprawl),th ereby making more effective use of existing services,reducing infrastructure costs, and relieving pressureson adjacent agricultural lands.

"As the Canadian population becomes increasinglyconcentrated into urban areas, it is simultaneously becomingless concentrated within those areas. In other words, ourcities and towns are not just growing in population, but at thesame time they are spreading out and changing their structureinto a looser, more widespread urban pattern."

Richardson 1991

..'"The New York metropolitan region, whose population hasincreased only 5 percent in the past 25 years, has expandedits developed area by 61 percent - consuming nearly one -quarter of the region's open space and farmland."

Lowe 1992

population growth over the next 30 years. The urbanizedarea of the GTA totalled 1,500 square kilometres (590square miles) in 1986. Based on the three urban structures,that area could grow to between 1,890 square kilometres(730 square miles) and 2,400 square kilometres (940square miles) in the next 30 years.

The study estimates that the cost of this growth wouldbe approximately the same for each of the three concepts,about $79 billion, or approximately $23 billion more thanwould be spent on urban services in that period if therewere no population growth. The three urban concepts

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were called Spread, Central and Nodal."The Spread model assumes that existing trends would

continue and growth would occur largely in the suburbanregions, resulting in an urbanized area of some 2,400squarekilometres (940 square miles) by 2021. This conceptwould be characterized by the lowest cost of acquiringparks and open spaces; ready availability of serviced land,with lower risks of sudden price increases; a more extensiveroad system, but increased traffic; and greater duplicationof social services and facilities.

The Central concept would concentrate a great deal ofgrowth in the central, built-up areas. It would result in anarea of 1,890 square kilometres (730 square miles) and theleast encroachment on greenlands; a more efficient andeffective transit system; the lowest levels of air pollutionand energy consumption from vehicle use; the greatestopportunity to reduce pollution of rivers and lakes throughupgrading of existing storm sewers; and better use ofexisting health and education facilities.

The Nodal concept would have approximately the samenumber of residents living outside Metropolitan Torontoin the suburban regions as in the Spread concept, but theywould be grouped in compact communities, or nodes. Thiswould result in an area of approximately 2,124 squarekilometres (820 square miles) in size. This concept wouldlead to greater preservation of green space than theSpread concept but less than the Central concept; a widerrange of community sizes, housing types, densities, andpopulation/employment patterns; expanded crosstownrapid transit; and potential integratingof social services ona community basis." (RCPT'W 1990)

The study found that the Spread concept is the leastcompatible with sustainable development in that it wouldconsume the greatest amount of rural land and relatedagricultural productivity and natural resources, would

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use the mo.3t energy and produce the most air pollutionbecause of its higher travel effort and greater reliance onautomobiles, and would provide less opportunity to enhancestorm-water quality and dispose of toxic soils in central,built-up areas than would be the case for the other concepts.

While the Spread concept is the least risky in terms ofchange from the status quo, it carries the highest long-term risk since it would place greater negative pressureson the environment and on natural resources includingenergy sources and agricultural land.

The Central concept would provide the greatest likelihoodof achieving sustainable development by making the mostefficient use of resources (e.g., land, energy) and placingthe least negative load on the environment. However, itwould require the greatest change from the status quo interms ofpopulation densities and housing types, automotivetravel and transit, and growth management policies/programs, and would require the greatest amount ofgovern ment regulati on in order to divertpopulation growthfrom suburban areas to central, built-up areas.

The Nodal concept would be between the other twoconcepts in terms of its compatibility with sustainabledevelopment and the required level of governmentregulation. It would appear to provide the greatest rangeof choice in terms of population densities and housingtypes, community size and character, suburban anddowntown living stylr s, available range of transportationmodes, and integrated delivery of human services, whilereducing per capita resource requirements and pollutionlevels relative to the Spread concept.

Because the study found that capital costs for the threeconcepts would be roughly the same, the authors concludedthat the choices facing people and governments dependnot so much on cost as on other factors such asenvironmental and economic considerations, lifestyle

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C'The amount of vacant and underutilized land in Portland,'\Oregon was estimated in 1989 at nine times the space neededto accommodate the city's projected growth for the next 20years."

Lowe 1992)

preferences, and the quality of community and individtr .1life. (see IBI Group 1990; RCFTW 1990)

Urban Form PoliciesAs described in the Transportation chapter, an Australianstudy of 32 major world cities shows that there are veryclear relationships between transport and urban form.The data suggest that the primary urban form policytheme for sustainability should be re-urbanizationincreasing the intensity of activity within present urbanboundaries and "hardening" the urban fringeemphasizedmainly in Europe but with even greater application toNorth American and Australian cities, as detailed in thefollowing set of policies. (Readers who wish to examine thedata upon which these policies are based should consultthe source document.)". A policy to increase by stages the intensity of urban

activity overall so that population densities of around 30per ha to 40 per ha and job densities of around 20 per ha areobtained. This will mean an immediate policy ofrestrictingor at least slowing urban development at the urban fringeand concentrating on redevelopment; this consolidationgenerally has the added benefit of considerable capitalsavings due to better use of present urban infrastructurerather than requiring new infrastructure at the fringes.

A policy to build up the central city activity intensity sothat job densities are maintained at more than 300 per haand population densities are built up to over 50 to 60 per ha.The provision of housing in central city areas seems to beharder than providing for jobs, though some outstanding

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successes have been achieved in recent years in Boston,Toronto, and San Francisco.

A policy to build up or maintain the inner area atpopulation densities of 40 to 50 per ha and job densities ofsimilar levels. Most older cities have inner cities withthese densities, although in many cases, particularly inthe US, these have been declining in recent decades.Policies to contain inner city decline appear to have beenrelatively successful in Sydney, Melbourne and Toronto.In newer automobile-dependent cities like Houston,Denver, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth there is enormousdevelopment potential in their inner areas.

A policy to build up outer area urban activity topopulation densities of around 20 to 30 per ha and jobdensities of around 15 per ha. The way that this is mostlikely to be effective in transport and land use terms is (a)to slowly expand the present inner area type of development(i.e., mixed and more intensive) into the outer area, and (b)build up densities around rapid transit routes. For lowdensity cities like Brisbane and Adelaide with present railsystems, and in cities like Los Angeles and Perth which arebuilding new lines, this policy would appear to be ofprimary importance. Washington and Toronto are goodexamples where this policy has made triapr changes intransport and urban form in less than a decade.

[...I The time scale for such changes could possibly begauged from cities like Detroit and LOF Angeles which overa 30 to 40 year period were transformed from beingcompact rail-oriented cities to dispersed automobile-oriented cities." (Newman and Kenworthy 1991)

Tools

Cities and Automobile DependencePer capita gasoline consumption in US and many Canadian

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cities is now more than four times that of European cities,and over 10 times greater than such Asian cities as HongKong, Tokyo, and Singapore. The biggest factor accountingfor these differences in energy use appears to be not thesize of cars or the price of gasoline, but the efficiency andcompactness of land use patterns. Cities with low"automobile dependence" are:

more centralized;have more intense land use (more people and jobs perunit area);are more oriented to non-auto modes (more publictransit, foot traffic, and bicycle usage);placa more restraints on high-speed traffic; andoffer better public transit. (see Newman and

Kenworthy 1989)

Policies for Energy-Efficient Land Use" encouraging greater density through multiple unit

residential developments;integrating work, residence and shopping in mixeduse development;encouraging residential clustering;zoning higher density development along establishedtransit routes;decentralizing commercial and community services toreduce travel distances, creating self-containedcommunities with a better balance betweenemployment and population;controls on outlying shopping centres, stripdevelopment and urban sprawl;encouraging the infilling [development] of existingvacant land in built-up areas;ensuring that major public facilities have provision forwalking and bicycling access to transit;encourage the development of high quality walking

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Garden Suburbs"---7;;;71 Globalrecent Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

study notes that the planning profession has beenheavily influenced by various public health, housing,and environmental movements. Given the remarkablesuccess of these types of neighbourhoods over the lastfour decades, these urban planning principles andpractices have obviously accommodated an acutedemand for millions of detached and semi-detachedground-oriented dwelling units. Ironically, however,while initially relieving the problems oflocal pollutionand urban squalor, the mass implementation of thesegarden-oriented suburban communities hasinadvertently contributed to today's more far-reaching environmental problems.

(see D'Amour 1991)..1

Jobs /Housinu Balance"The job/housing (Jill) balance is a useful developer'stool, although no rule of thumb or actual values areavailable. Basically, when jobs and housing are not inbalance, transportation problems are the likely result.Land-use planners can look at the range of incomesand housing costs to determine how far people haveto move away from their jobs to find housing they canafford. The farther they must move, the morecongestion, energy use, and air-quality problems anarea will have."

(Gordon 1991).)

and bicyclingfacilities, [including development designguidelines to support transportation alternatives toprivate automobile use, such as provision of on-sitelunchrooms, daycare facilities, automated bank tellermachines and other facilities]." (Federation ofCanadian Municipalities, 1990)

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"Striking a 'balance' between jobs and housing is not enough,however, unless the people who work in a given area have theoption ofalso living in that same area. This objective requirespolicies to encourage access by proximity."

City of Vancouver 1990

/*-Population Den3ity and Automobile Travel

Odometer readings taken during biennial autoemissions (smog check) inspections were used tocalculate the annual mileages for five communitieswithin the San Francisco region. The study foundthat doubling residential or population densityreduces the annual auto mileage per capita or perhousehold by 20 to 30 percent. These findings areconsistent with studies in Toronto, Chicago, NewYork City, British cities, and major U.S. urbanizedareas. Most striking were the differences between theSan Francisco areas of Nob Hill (177 households peracre) and Danville-San Ramon (3.8 households peracre). Using the Hertz Corporation's estimates ofauto ownership and operating costs per mile, theaverage Nob Hill area family annually spends nearly$14,000 less on autos, uses 66 percent less gasoline,and emits 14 kg less hydrocarbons, 12 kg less nitrogenoxides, and 98 kg less carbon monoxide than theaverage Danville-San Ramon family.

(see Holtzclaw 1991)

Selective Densification"Attempting to start a city on a path of more disciplined,intelligent and efficient use of land does not implywidespread ruination of established suburban character.Every city has areas which are more suitable toredevelopment and densification than others. The initialgoal in any automobile-dependent city should be to attempt

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to provide denser, more compact housing in selected areas.This will begin to diversify life style options and provide asmall though significant portion of the population withopportunities to live where they are not so dependent oncars. It will also tend to minimize conflicts with establishedinterests while beginning a tradition of denser housingwhich becomes progressively more acceptable as peoplebecome more familiar with it. These areas would typicallyinclude:

underutilized or vacant land in central and innerareas, in particular government-owned land;waste or derelict land due to obsolete uses (warehouses,port installations, railway land, industrial land);residential areas that are run down and ripe forredevelopment ensuring that provision is made inhousing schemes for existing residents to remain butin new dwellings;areas within about 800m or half a mile radius ofrailway stations or significant bus transit terminals;andareas close to sub-regional centres.

In areas of established low density character, densitymay be gradually increased by building an extra dwelling(or perhaps more) on a single-family block withoutnoticeably changing the area's character, though gooddesign is essential." (Kenworthy and Newman 1990)

Rules of Thumb for Land Use PlanningThe US Department of Transportation provides theserules of thumb for land-use planning tools to assisttransportation planning. These numbers for residentialand employment density are quite low in comparison withthe more recent research of Newman and Kenworthy." Residential DensityThe higher the residential density, the higher the transit

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ridership and the shorter the trip length. Result:improved cost recovery and better level of transit service.Two rules of thumb for residential density that promotetransit ridership are: 1) density should exceed 2,400persons per square mile and 2) a minimum of sevendwelling units per acre should be built.

Employment DensityFor significant transit use, there should be at least 50employees per acre of business development (in areaswith over 10,000 jobs). Densities of only 25 employeesper acre result in ridership levels of only 1 percent of allemployees, not enough to sustain transit services. Atdensities of 50-60 employees per acre, an estimated 6-11percent of employees will ride transit.

Development Location and Proximity to ExistingTransit

All too often, access to mass transit and other alternativetransport is a low priority in deciding where to locatedevelopment. Clustering new and existing developmentcreates a concentration of trip destinations. Ideally,activity centers (areas of significant developmentbusiness parks, for example) in urban areas should beplanned at distances of three to six miles from oneanother, allowing for shorter work and shopping trips.The rules of thumb for proximity to transit are asfollows: People can be expected to walk up to 1,000 feetto a bus stop. Those over 45 years of age will not walk asfar; senior citizens will not walk more than 750 feet to atransit stop (steep grades reduce these distances). Thosewith higher incomes are less inclined to walk any distanceto mass transit. Bike&Rides attract cyclists from one-half to three miles away, while Park&Rides draw peoplefrom 1-10 miles away.

Mixed-Use DevelopmentBalanced residential and commercial/industrial

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development in reasonably close proximity can lead to a

reduction in transportation demand. Mixed-usedevelopment offers several benefits: reduced parkingrequirements, more open space, enhanced retail activity,reduced auto traffic, and in creased safety during eveninghours. For greatest benefits, the mix ofhousing shouldmatch the income structure of area employment interms of affordability.

Land-Use Design ConsiderationsPedestrians are more likely to Walk&Ride if transitdelivers them to their front door rather than to a parkinglot they must walk through. Accordingly, newdevelopments should be designed with parking in therear. Provisions for on-sitebus turnouts and passengershelters also encourage transit use. Foot travel isenhanced when connecting complexes provide pedestrianarcades. And, of course, for safety reasons adequate

lighting is critical.Street Layout

Designing transit routes early in the development process

can minimize distances to stations and ensure thatroads will support heavy buses, reducing maintenancecosts. Improved road design can cut costs by reducing

street size. Gridded systems provide the easiestpedestrian access, while cul-de-sacs, popular in suburbandevelopments, restrict transit and pedestrian passageSidewalks, the need for which is often ignored, must be.

provided. They attract pedestrians and provide safety.

For bicycles, wide curb lanes (14 feetminimum), striped

bike lanes, or separate bike paths provide easier andsafer access to transit centers, Bike&Ride lots, freeway-

flyer stops, and major bus stops." (US DOT 1987)

Growth Management"Growth management simply n eansplanningforthe future

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[...] Fundamentally, all growth management systemsinvolve the control of one or more of the familiarcomponentsof land use planning: the rate, location, type, density,amount and quality of development. Unlike traditionalsubdivision and zoning, which are two-dimensional(controlling the use of land and the density of permissibledevelopment), growth management adds and emphasizesa third dimension timing. Managing growth does notmean stoppingchange or closing the doors to new residents.Properly designed and implemented, a comprehensivegrowth management system provides a framework thatenables local governments to balance and accommodatediverse and competing interests while ensuring the qualityof life expected by [their citizens]." (Stone and Freilich 1991)

Zoning Tools"Zoning can encourage development that supportsalternative transportation. A few of the many zoning toolsavailable to land-use and transportation planners include:

planned unit developmentgives developers incentivesto meet pre-determined land-use goalsfloating zoning permits special uses within ajurisdiction in accordance with development criteriabonus or incentive zoning provides developers withbonuses and incentives to achieve increaseddevelopment densitymixed-use zoning requires a wide array of types ofdevelopment aimed at reducing distances betweenhouses and jobsland banking outright purchase of land by the publicsector well in advance of any development to ensureappropriate land usetransit zoning districts targeted development inareas with transit systems already in place." (Gordon

1991)

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"The good news about these and other steps towards urba;\sustainability is that they fit very well together. Moreefficient structuring of urban growth, higher den sities, betteruse of urban sites, and a shift from cars to transit, all worktogether to protect land resources, conserve energy, andimprove air quality.The bad news, of course, is that all this is very difficult to do.You don't need to point out the problems to me, and I certainlydon't need to point them out to you. But they aren't technicalproblems. In a technical sense we know pretty well whatneeds to be done, and how to do it. The problems of achievingurban sustainability arise out of the nature ofour society andthe way it is organized."

Richardson 1991

The Pedestrian Pocket"The Pedestrian Pocket is defined as a balanced,mixed-use area within a quarter-mile or a five-minutewalking radius of a transit station. The functionswithin this 50 to 100-acre zone include housing, offices,retail, day care, recreation, and parks. Up to twothousand units of housing and one million square feetof office space can be located within three blocks ofthe transit station using typical residential densitiesand four-storey office configurations."

(Calthorpe 1989)

Residential Intensification"Residential Intensification" means the creation of newresidential units or accommodation in existing buildingsor on previously developed, serviced land generallyincluding:

creation of rooming, boarding and lodging houses;creation of accessory apartments;conversion of non-residential structures to residentialuse;infill;redevelopment.

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-NN"One of the great mysteries of the American suburb is this:How, with ch low-density development, have we producedsuch extraordinarily high traffic? How have we achieved thetraffic of a metropolis and the culture of a cow town?"

Duany and Plater-Zyberk 1992

Transit-Oriented Developments"Transit-Oriented Developments (TODs) are mixed-useneighbourhoods, between 20 and 130 acres in size, whichare developed around a transit stop and core commercialarea. The entire TOD site must be within an average one-fourth mile walking distance of a transit stop."

TODs offer different types of growth for differentconditions. "Urban TODs" are located at light rail stops orbus transfer stations with an orientation to commercialand job development. "Neighborhood TODs" are locatedon feeder bus lines within 10 minutes travel time fromlight rail stops or bus transfer stations with an orientationto housing, retail and services. "Secondary Areas" oflowerdensity housing, schools, community parks, and commercialand employment uses surround TODs within bikingdistance (one mile) of the transit stop.

"The TOD concept may be applied in four types ofsettings: Infill Areas on vacant parcels surrounded byurban development; Revitalization Areas in urbanizedareas where the quality of development is significantlydeteriorated or the land is underutilized; Reuse Areas forunderutilized retail, office or industrial sites; and UrbanGrowth Areas in essentially undeveloped areas on theperiphery of the developed portions of the county."(Calthorpe Associates 1990)

Traditional Neighbourhood Development OrdinanceGeneral dissatisfaction with existing urban patternsmotivated a group of architects and developers to draw on

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the lessons of the resort community of Seaside, Floridadesigned by "neotraditional town planning" proponentsAndres Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk to devise ageneral system that could be applied to other towns anddevelopments.

An illustrated chart called Traditional NeighborhoodDevelopment Ordinance (TND) lays out very simpleguidelines for site and building design. These include theclose proximity of houses and work places, well-definedpublic spaces, a variety of streets, and strategically placedcivic buildings. The ordinance categorizes these featureson a chart according to the needs of different types ofbuildings for example, what percentage of public landshall be used for governmental versus retail or generaluse, how streets are to be arranged in residential areas,and so on.

The aim of the TND is to foster independence from carsby keeping the neighborhood's needs within walkingdistance. Moreover, by organizing neighbourhoods inways proven to be effective in older North American towns,desirable social objectives automatically fall into place. Asthe ordinance states, "By walking instead of driving,citizens come to know each other and the bonds of anauthentic community are established" (see Taylor 1990).

With increasing attention and publicity, the"neotraditionalists" have also earned their share ofcriticism. For example, Seaside does not employ ecologicaldesign techniques (e.g., passive solar) and infrastructure(e.g., provisions for reducing water consumption, such asrecycling grey water systems or open rainwater drainageswales) (see Okamoto 1991). Seaside's design may reducetraffic congestion but does not reduce automobiledependence; the TND does not in itself create proximity oreven balance between jobs and housing (see MacBurnie1991), The TND is more suitable for a project under single

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"The concept of sustainability is essential to our survival andshould be viewed as the intent and central operating principleof planning 1...]If we are to achieve sustainable development, we will have togo beyond the notion that land is a mere commodity. Land isone of the fundamental components required for thecontinuation of human life. We should now recognize therights of the ecosystem and the species, as well as the rightsof individuals. Clearly, this principle holds numerous,significant implications for planners and land use planning."

Canadian Institute of Planners 1990

ownership than for a typical community trying to workwith several developers (see Knack 1991). And althoughTNDs may be "designed" to encourage a mix of housingtypes and a diversity of income levels, they offer nomechanism to ensure any stock never mind an adequate,permanent stock of affordable housing. Even Duanyadmits that Seaside has in practice become a "resortcommunity" for the wealthy (see Duany 1991).

Access information for the TND is in the Resourcessection of this chapter.

Principles for ecologically-sensitive land useplanning" Expand the definition of land in land use planning to

encompass the ecosystem, and expand the scope ofland use planning accordinglyEstablish ecosystem maintenance and stewardship asimportant values in land use planningUndertake cooperative planning efforts to address thelack of coincidence between ecosystem and municipalboundariesBroaden the assessment criteria, procedures a, .dtechniques used in land use planning to includeenvironmental factors and sustain ability

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considerationsIdentify, protect and maintain key areas and processesin order to maintain ecological integrity." (Greater

Vancouver Regional District 1991)

Advantages of Cluster Housing to SpecificPopulations"In a comparative study of residential satisfaction in a low-density U.S. suburb (Levittown, Pennsylvania) and ahigher-density Swedish equivalent (Vallingby), sociologistDavid Popenoe concludes: 'With the percent of gainfullyemployed women in the U.S. sharply rising, the relativedisadvantages of a Levittown-type environment for theworking woman are increasing. For the woman who can'tafford a second car, who has difficulty making child carearrangements, and who has specialized employmentneeds,Levittown can become a noose around her neck.'

Research shows that one of th e mostfrustrated populationgroups in low-density suburbia is adolescents. Whenyoung people are entering a stage in which they areseeking more and more independence from their parents,they find themselves in an environment where gettingtogether with friends is made difficult by distance, paucityof public transport, separation of housing from shoppingcenters, and so on. In his United States-Sweden study,Popenoe found American suburban teenagers more oftenbored and engaging in vandalism than their counterpartsin Sweden living at higher density with easy access toshops, clubs, public transport, and so on. Teenagers inclustered housing are more likely to find others of the sameage living within walking distance and may have access toshared facilities or hanging-out places where they canspend time together, out of sight of home, yet not far away.

Clustered housing in the inner city allows people toenjoy a green and quiet environment within easy access to

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city jobs. Similar housing on the city's fringes will, ifrepeated often enough, increase overall densities andrender public transport more economical. As land costscontinue to rise, clustered housing permits more dwellingson a given site. As ecological issues of natural drainage,solar access, and community gardens become morepressing, clustered housing permits the more rational useof any given site the best soil saved for food growing,existing woodlot preserved for play or windbreak, naturaldrainage patterns preserved." (Cooper Marcus andSarkissian 1986)

Transfer of Development Rights (TDR)The right to develop a piece of land as allowed by zoningand land use controls is one of the rights that comes withproperty ownership under the "bundle of rights" theory.The ability to sever this right from one piece of propertyand transfer it to another piece of land is the centralelement in a transfer of developmentrights (T'DR) program.This approach allows landowners to get developmentvalue from their land even if they choose not to develop it.All TDR programs include a sending zone, from whichdevelopment rights can be severed, and a receiving zone,which can accept development rights and therefore can bedeveloped more densely. TDR programs preserve or protectsomething in the sending zone, such as farmland, forestland, environmentally sensitive areas, open space, historicbuildings, or landmarks; they can also steer developmentto areas best able to handle it.

At least fifty TDR programs have been established in theU.S. County programs include Montgomery County,Maryland; Collier County, Florida; and San BernadinoCounty, California. Municipal programs include NewYork City; Seattle; San Francisco; and Groton,Massachusetts. (see Heyerdahl 1991)

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Conservation Land TrustsLand trusts are local, regional, or statewide organizationsdirectly involved in protecting imnortant land resourcesfor the public benefit. Land trusts are not "trusts" in thelegal sense, but rather private, non-profit, tax-exemptorganizations, funded largely through membership duesand donations from individuals, businesses, andfoundations. Many refer to themselves as conservancies,foundations, or associations. Some are small and are runsolely by volunteers, while ners manage thousands ofacres and have large, professional staffs.

Land trusts protect land permanently and directly.They accept donations of properties, buy land, or helplandowners establish legal restrictions that limit harmfuluse and development. They protect land that has natural,recreational, scenic, historic, or productive value, dependingon the needs of the community or region. Some preservemany different types of land, while others focus on aparticular area or resource.

Land trusts are usually not adversarial, but workcooperatively with landowners and government agencies.Some own and manage nature preserves, recreation areas,or historic sites. Others monitor the developmentrestrictions they have helped establish, but own no land atall. Some work in partnership with governmentconservation agencies, acquiring critical land that theylater convey to the agencies.

As private organizations, land trusts offerquick response,flexibility, and confidentiality. They may be effectivewhere government action falls short. Land trusts alsoprovide a cost-effective approach to conservation. Theyoften protect land at a cost far below its market value.

Nearly 900 land trusts in the US have protected over 2million acres of farms, wetlands, wildlife habitat, urbangardens and parks, forests, ranches, watersheds, coastlines,

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"It is impossible to halt further development; by prohibitinggrowth in their own jurisdictions, communities merely shiftdevelopment to neighboring areas where controls are looser,and more conducive to further sprawl. More importantly,future development presents an invaluable opportunity toremedy the status quo. If cities do not want to be frozen intheir current automobile-dependent patterns, they need toexploit new growth to their advantage by filling in underusedspace to make the urban area more compact. In sum, citieswould do well to focus their attention on controlling thepattern, not the pace, of growth."

Lowe 199 lb

river corridors, and trails. New land trusts are forming atthe rate ofon e per week. About h alf are operated exclusivelyby volunteers with operatingbudgets of less than $10,000.(see Land Trust Alliance, n.d.; Abberger 1991)

INITIATIVES

Proximity PlanningVancouver's Clouds of Change report makes "access byproximity rather than access by transportation" a centralfocus of city planning.

The City and County of Denver, Colorado areinvestigating the possibility of offering new employees afinancial incentive, in the form of a higher starting salary,to live close to their workplace. The amount of theadjustment would reflect the distance to be travelled andthe relative costs of housing in the city as opposed to themore distant suburbs. (see City of Vancouver 1990;McCulloch 1991)

Energy-Efficient Land Use Planning"Portland, Oregon provides an example of a larger city-region experimenting with land use policies to control

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energy demand in this case within the framework of amandatory State planning goal which requires that landuse should be managed in order to conserve energy. Oneof the main objectives of th e Portland Energy ConservationDemonstration Project, completed in 1977, was to examinethe links between energy saving and urban form. Anenergy zone map, dividing the city into five zones based onrelative energy efficiency, was produced in order to guidenew development to energy efficient locations, and anenergy conservation policy was adopted by the city councilafter extensive public consultation in 1979. It includedcommitments to develop land use policies using densityand location to reduce the need to travel, and to improvethe efficiency of the transport system and reduce itsconsumption of non-renewable fuels. More specificobjectives related to the location of new developments andencouragement of energy efficient transport modes. Thesestrategies were then incorporated into the city's draftcomprehensive plan.

One of the central features of the plan was a 'centers andcorridors' concept, which would involve guiding newdevelopment into centers of existing commercial activityand along major streets (corridors). Emphasis was onenergy conservation through compact high densitydevelopment, using an urban pattern which combinesnucleated centers with high linear densities. In theory,less travel would be required, essential travel would becarried out by energy-efficient modes and higher densitydevelopment would permit more efficient use of fuel forspace heating. During the public consultation phase, theenergy related features of the plan were among the mostcontroversial, winning strongest support fromenvironmentalists, newspapers and heads of localgovernment agencies, and opposition mainly fromdevelopers, industrial and union leaders and the Chamber

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of Commerce. Zoning was unpopular with developmentinterests and landowners, while the emphasis on high-density corridors was opposed by neighborhood groups.Revisions were made to break up several corridors into`development nodes' clusters of commercial activity,surrounded by high-density housing. Any plan which triesto take energy considerations into account at this scale islikely to face intensive lobbying by interest groups, thepower of which must be recognized as a constraint on 'pure'energy-related objectives." (Owens 1990)

Since the early 1970s, the volume of cars entering thedowntown has remained the same, even though the numberof jobs has increased by 50 percent. New development inPortland has been contained inside a regional "urbangrowth boundary" (UGB) surrounding the metropolitanarea. Residential development, in particular, has beenmandated at a high enough density to help support anationally acclaimed public transit system that receivedtop honours from the American Public Transit Associationin 1989-90.

Today 43 percent of all Portland's commuters todowntown ride buses and a light rail system. This transitridership rate is higher than most other U.S. cities its size.For example, Seattle has a rate of 38 percent, Denver 29percent, and Buffalo 25 percent.

"The Portland experience demon strates th at it is possibleto plan for greater energy efficiency in large, establishedurban centers, though it is difficult to establish howeffective the policies will be in the longer term in modifyingthe spatial structure and in reducing energy requirements."(Owens 1990)

Unfortunately, Portland still has traffic woes. Localofficials worry that already congested roads on the westside of town cannot accommodate expected growth in cartraffic. The answer, according to state and regional

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transportation officials, is building a circumferential bypassroad. (see Owens 1990; Kasowski 1991; and Lowe 1991a)

Compact Community PoliciesIn Peterborough, Ontario the Sustainable DevelopmentTask Force argues that Compact Community planningcannot happen without concerted effort by localgovernments, supported by the public at large. Specifically,Official Plans, Zoning By-Laws and local building ordevelopment by-laws should be amended to facilitateintensification." Intensification should be made a core basis of housing

policy in the Official Plan rather than a marginalcomponent of traditional patterns of housing policy.Zoning By-Law matters relating to residential density,clustering, lot size, setbacks, basement apartments.etc., should also be amended to facilitate intensification.Design guidelines or standards (fitting intoneighbourhood character, etc.) should also beestablished.

These policies should be developed with input from abroad range of stakeholders from developers to affordablehousing planners to environmental and communityactivists." (Peterborough Task Force on SustainableDevelopment 1991)

Urban Villages"Urban villages provide a lifestyle with minimal cardependence and the kind of densities which make railhighly viable. The evidence would suggest that those citieswhich have tried to build urban villages have found themto be an extremely attractive lifestyle option. Recentexamples appear to be succeeding and urban villages arenow appearing such as Arabella Park, Zamilla Park andGermering in Munich, Der Seepark in Freiburg and Kista

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in Stockholm. These are nearly all private developmentswith very high popularity. Examples of urban village styledevelopments in North America include False Creek inVancouver, River Place in Portland , Oregon, and MissionBay in San Francisco. The characteristics of these urbanvillages are:

mixed land use, with commercial offices and shops onmain spines, surrounded by residential;high density so that everything within the 'village' iswithin walking and cycling distance;considerable landscaping including gardens on top ofbuildings and on balconies;a mixture of public and private housing with anemphasis on families and hence quite large internal

home spaces;extensive provision for children in good view ofdwellings;community facilities such as libraries, child care, agedcentres and in a few cases small urban farms;pedestrian links with car parks placed undergroundand traffic calming on any peripheral roads;public spaces with strong design features (water, streetfurniture, playgrounds, etc.);a large degree of self - sufficiency for the community butwith good rail links to the rest of the city." (Newman

1991; see also 1991c)

Sustainable Urban Megaproject PlanningA 1990 sustainable development plan for Toronto'sWaterfront Railway Lands (not adopted by the City)included several interesting recommendations in regardto urban megaproject planning:" That the City Council endorse the principles of:

a) minimizing fossil fuel consumptionb) producing no peak drain on Ontario Hydro power

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from the railway lands development [...]That urban design principles maximizing solar accessfor heat and light be developed and included in amodified railway lands plan [...]That the Commissioner of Planning and Developmentin conjunction with the Commissioner of Parks andRecreation report on strategies to maximize shadingwithin the railway lands including rooftop gardens.Such a strategy to be prepared in conjunction withstrategies to maximize solar energy utilization.That landscape designs be developed to maximize thenatural filtering of storm water.That strategies to use 'waste heat' be developedincluding the heating of greenhouses on rooftops or onatriums for food production, air filtration and humiditycontrol [...]That a thorough study of 'solar aquatics' be undertakenin order to develop its eventual application withinrailway lands' development to achieve minimum orzero discharge and plant (including food) production[...]That proximity planning policies including appropriateratios of residential to office space be established forthe railway lands in order to minimize transportationper capita and greenhouse gases.That parking standards be set at an extremely lowlevel for all development and at zero for many buildings.That a complete package of pro-cycling policies beadopted in the new plans [...lThat composting factory space be provided inbasements of some buildings, adequate to process allcompostable waste generated within the lands.Methane by-products to be used locally for energyrequirements [...1That an implementation strategy for the Greenplan be

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developed, to include a team to be composed ofdevelopers' representatives; building industryrepresentatives; environmental, alternativetechnology, and academic s.)ecialists; and civic staffincluding representation from the new EnergyEfficiency Office." (Allen et al 1990)

Land StewardshipThe Regional Municipality of Halton, Ontario hasadvanced land stewardship as the first guiding principlefor land use planning in Halton. "In this regard, we submitthat the ownership rights of land are not absolute and thebest and highest use of land is not an unfailing principleas there are other balancing factors to be considered. Thisis not meant as a denial of property rights, but anaffirmation of a social responsibility.

The duration over which a particular individual hastitles to a piece of real property is but a fleeting moment inthe history of the land. Individual property owners shallbe encouraged to consider themselves as stewards of theland and give proper regard to the longterm environmentalinterests in proposing any change to their land. To bestewards, we have to develop a renewed respect for theland, knowing that the quality of our natural environmentis as much a part of our quality of life as our jobs, wealthand health. The extent to which an individual realizes theeconomic benefit of a land use change should be balancedby the community's desire in preserving the environment orcertain land forms in the landscape. As we said, we intendthis to be a social responsibility and not a challenge toproperty rights [...]

Not only does the suburban form of development, withits attendant auto-dependency, consume land and energy,it also degrades the environment, segregates socio-economicclasses, and reduces our opportunity of being more involved

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locally [...]We should create a more integrated live-work

environment through more compact and people-orientedurban development design [...] We should promote publictransit, develop land uses that will support transit, createcompatible jobs and housing. encourage mixed land uses,selectively increase urban densities, and make our dailyactivity functional without the absolute necessity of theprivate car." (Regional Municipality of Halton 1991)

Residential IntensificationKingston, Ontario created a low-interest loan program in1981 to encourage the conversion of vacant, obsolete secondand third storey commercial space in the downtown areainto residential units. The program, which providesfinancial assistance to property owners within the CBD,was funded by an initial allocation of $250,000 fromCouncil to serve as a revolving fund for future loans. Theprogram's advantages include business benefits todowntown merchants, cost-effectiveness, increasedassessments; downtown revitalization; and easing a tightrental apartment situation.

St. Catharines, Ontario instituted a similar programin 1987, creating a $300,000 revolving fund to provide 8%conversion loans of up to $20,000 per dwelling unit.

The Metropolitan Toronto Planning Department hasestimated that the conversion aspect alone of a residentialintensification program could produce 39,000 new housingunits, the equivalent of 11 years of rental housingproduction (both private and social units). (see MinistriesofMunicipal Affairs and Housing 1989; Kingston PlanningReport 1987; St. Catharines Planning Report 1987;Metropolitan Toronto Planning Department 1987)

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"Commute-sheds" for Jobs-Housing Balance"Southern California has seized on the concept ofbalancing jobs and housing as a means of reducing trafficcongestion and automobile emissions. In 1989, the SouthCoast Air Quality Management District and the SouthernCalifornia Association of Governments, unveiled a planthat combines traditional approaches to air pollutionabatement with strategies to reduce emissions byredirecting residential and commercial development. Theplan establishes subregional 'commute-sheds' that aredesignated as eitherjob-rich or job-poor. Planners estimatethat by redirecting nine percent of new jobs from job-richto job-poor areas and five percent of new housing in theother direction, the number of vehicle-miles travelled perday could be cut by 33.4 million, or nine percent." (APA1991a)

Building Permit AllocationIn Florida, "Key West's 1986 growth managementordinance establishes the number of dwelling units thatstill can be constructed before the island is completelybuilt out. Before the enactment of the ordinance, the cityapproved an average of400 to 500 dwelling units annually.Under the ordinance, the city can allow either sevenpercent of the total units permitted or 300 units per year.Housing permits are allocated on a merit system thatawards points for recreational amenities, landscaping andopen space, design quality, impact on the localinfrastructure, and energy efficiency.

The ordinance also requires that at least 40 percent of allresidential housing units must be constructed as affordablehousing. Affordable apartments have annual rental ratesless than 30 percent of the mectian household income in thecity, while affordable sale units have a sale price that isless than three times the city's median household income

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[...] [Developers] must enter into a development agreementwith the city. Deed restrictions guarantee that the unitwill remain affordable for a period of five to 20 years,depending on the project. In addition, the ordinancecontains provisions for the waiver of impact fees onaffordable units. Developers can obtain waiver credits byoffering the units at prices below those established by theaffordability threshold and by ensuring that the projectwill remain affordable for at least five years. Usually, atleast half of the impact fee is waived for affordable units."(APA 1991b)

RESOURCES

ROBERT D. YARD, ET AL, Dealing With Change in theConnecticut River Valley: A Design Manual forConservation and Development (Amherst, MA: Centerfor Rural Massachusetts, University of Massachusetts atAmherst, 1988). This volume attempts to develop practicalplanning standards which rural New England towns canadopt to protect their distinctive character, while at thesame time accommodating economic growth.SIM VAN DER RYN AND PETER CALTHORPE, editors,

Sustainable Communities: A New Design Synthesisfor Cities, Suburbs and Towns (San Francisco: SierraClub Books, 1986). Recently re-released in paperback, thisis a stimulating collection edited by two forward-lookingarchitects. See annotation in Chapter 2 of this book.

MICHAEL A. MANTELL, STEPHEN F. HARPER, AND LUTHER

PROPST, Creating Successful Communities(Washington, DC:Island Press, 1990). Volume I is subtitledA Guidebook to Growth Management Strategies; Volume His a Resource Guide. These books are particularly useful inregard to agricultural land, wetlands, historic and culturalresources, and open space. They also include useful

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information on easements and conservation restrictions,and on growth management tools and techniques.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY PLANNING DEPARTMENT, MARYLAND-

NATIONAL CAPITAL PARK AND PLANNING COMMISSION,Comprehensive Growth Policy Study, Volume I(SilverSpring, MD: Maryland-National Capital Park and PlanningCommission, 1989). Summarizes the major conclusions ofa far-reaching technical study of congestion, affordability,policy-making and growth management. A good model,available from:

Maryland-National Capital Park and PlanningCommission

8787 Georgia AvenueSilver Spring, Maryland 20910-3760Tel: 301/495-4600

SAMUEL N. STOKES, ET AL, Saving America'sCountryside: A Guide to Rural Conservation(Baltimore: John Hopkins University Press, 1989). Thisbook was written for the U.S. National Trust for HistoricPreservation. It focuses on protecting the entire spectrumofa rural community's resources natural, historic, scenic,and agricultural. Twenty-eight recent case studies aredocumented. The chapter on land protection techniquesthat local governments can use is particularly valuable.

DOUG KELBAUGH, ED., The Pedestrian Pocket Book: I,New Suburban Design Strategy (New York: PrincetonArchitectural Press, 1989). This little book documents adesign charette with architect Peter Calthorpe at theUniversity of Washington in 1988, testing Calthorpe's"Pedestrian Pocket" concept on a site next to a proposedrapid transit line. It shows that strategic interventionscould affect the structure, legibility, and sense of place insuburbia. It contends that finite centers of community areachievable, and that affordability, traffic decongestion,open space, mixed population, and mixed use are all

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mutually compatible.ALEX KRIEGER, ed., Andres Duany and Elizabeth

Plater-Zyberk: Towns and Town-Making Principles(NY: Rizzoli International Publications, 1991). Based onan exhibition at the Harvard University Graduate Schoolof Design in 1990, this volume consists of architecturalplans and drawings woven together with essays by designtheorists Alex Krieger, Leon Krier, William Lennertz,Patrick Pinnell, and Vincent Scully, Jr. As proponents of"neotraditional" town planning, Duany and Plater-Zyberkadvocate designing suburban subdivisions in the mannerof towns. They also challenge zoning conventions andwrite design codes that favour traditional patterns ofplacemaking. Duany and Plater-Zyberk are widely knownfor their design of the resort community of Seaside, on theFlorida panhandle. This volume appears to be the firstbook-length treatment of their ideas.

TheTraditioncdNeighborhoodDeveloprnentOrdinance(TND) discussed earlier in this chapter is available from:

Duany & Plater-Zyberk Architects2949 Coconut AvenueCoconut Grove, FL 33133

MICHAEL N. ColtsErr, A Better Place to Live: NewDesigns for Tomorrow's Communities (Emmaus, PA:Rodale Press, 1981). Village Homes, Michael and JudyCorbett's 70-acre (28 ha), 270-unit solar subdivision inDavis, California is a pioneering example of sustainabilityby design which has received considerable attention. Thedevelopment incorporates a wide range of innovativemeasures in a plan which satisfies three basic conservationobjectives: reduction in total energy consumption, efficientuse of energy, and conversion to renewable energy resourceusage. The five main characteristics exhibited by thissubdivision and neighbourhood design are: intensive landuse, prominent use of solar energy, functional landscaping

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(e.g., trees were selected for maximum summer andminimum winter shading), energy-efficient transportation(all roads end in cul-de-sacs, making it faster to walk thandrive from one area to another; a comprehensive greenbeltpathway is tied into the City bikeway network), andinvolvement of residents. The Corbetts attempted tofacilitate "sense of community" through physical design,by establishing a homeowners association to participate indevelopment and management decisions, and by becomingVillage residents themselves. Michael Corbett later becamemayor of Davis.

THE REAL ESTATE RESEARCH CORPORATION'S (1974)massive study for the US Government on The Costs ofSprawlstill stands as a classic. Three community types wereanalyzed: the "low density sprawl" community (entirelysingle-family homes, 75 percent in traditional grid patterntypical of suburban development); the "combination mix"community (20 percent of each of five types of dwellings,half in planned unit developments, half in traditionalsubdivisions); and the "high density planned" community(40 percent highrises, 30 percent walkups, 20 percenttownhouses, and 10 percent clustered single family homes,all clustered together into contiguous neighbourhoods). Amajor conclusion of the study was that sprawl is "the mostexpensive form of residential development in terms ofeconomic costs, environmental costs, natural resourceconsumption, and many types of personal costs... This costdifference is particularly significant for that proportion oftotal costs which is likely to be borne by local governments."

THELAND TRUSTALLIANCE is the US national organizationof land trusts. Founded in 1982, the Alliance providesspecialized services, publications, information, and trainingfor land trusts and other conservation organizations, andworks for public policies that advance land conservation.The Alliance recently published Starting a Land Trust: A


Guide to Forming a Land Conservation Organization(Alexandria, VA: Land Trust Alliance, 1990). For moreinformation, contact:

The Land Trust AllianceSuite 410900 Seventeenth Street NWWashington, DC 20006Tel: 202/785-1410

TURTLE ISLAND EARTH STEWARDS (TIES) is a BritishColumbia-based international non-profit organization thathelps place lands and forests in trust using the "landstewardship trust" model. TIES hosted the first WestCoast Land Trust Conference in April, 1991. TIESpublishes a quarterly newsletter and has introduced anon-profit real estate service to bring together privateland owners, people seeking fellowship or community, andthird party investors, financiers and philanthropists toestablish land stewardship trusts. Access:

Turtle Island Earth StewardsBox 39077 Point Grey RPOVancouver, B.C. V6R 4P1Tel: 604/736-9221 Fax: 604/736-9218

ReferencesAI3BERGER, W., "Growth Management Through Land

Acquisition," in DeGrove 1991.ALLEN, G., ET AL, "Greenlands: A Sustainable Development

Plan for Toronto's Waterfront Railway Lands," submitted tothe City of Toronto, October 21, 1990.

AMERICAN PLANNING AssocualoN (1991a), "Solving TrafficWoes by Balancing Jobs and Housing," in DeGrove 1991.

AMERICAN PLANNING Assocumos (1991b), "Taming theExclusionary Effects of Growth Controls," in DeGrove 1991.

CALTHORPE ASSOCIATES, in association with MINTIER &ASSOCIATES, "Transit-Oriented Development DesignGuidelines," prepared for Sacramento County Planning &Community Development Department, November 1990.

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CALTIIORPE, P., "Pedestrian Pockets: New Strategies forSuburban Growth," in Kelbaugh 1989.

CANADIAN INSTITUTE OF PLANNEns,Reflections on SustainablePlanning 'Ottawa: CIP, 1990).

CITY OF VANCOUVER, Clouds of Change: Final Report of theCity of Vancouver Task Force on Atmospheric Change(Vancouver: City of Vancouver, 1990).

COOPER MARCUS, C. AND W. SARKISSIAN, Housing as if PeopleMattered: Site Design Guidelines for Medium-Density FamilyHousing (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986).

ComEr, M.N., A Better Place to Live: New Designs forTomorrow's Communities (Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press, 1981).

D'AmouR, D., "The Origins of Sustainable Developmentand Its Relationship to Housing and Community Planning,"Sustainable Development and Housing Research Paper No.1 (Ottawa: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation,1991).

DEGROVE, J.M., ed., Balanced Growth: A Planning Guidefor Local Government (Washington, D.C.: International CityManagement Association, 1991).

Dunicv, A., "Reinventing the Suburb," presentation to theUrban Development Institute, Pacific Region, Vancouver,B.C., September 24, 1991.

DUA.N'Y, A., AND E. PLATER-ZYBERK, "The Second Coming ofthe Small Town," The Wilson Quarterly (Winter 1992),reprinted in Utne Reader No. 51, May/June 1992, pp. 97-100.

FEDERATION OF CANADIAN MUNICIPALITIES, A Guidebook onTransportation Energy Management (Ottawa: Federation ofCanadian Municipalities, 1990).

GbnnoN,D., Steering a New Course: Transportation, Energy,and the Environment (Cambridge, MA: Union of ConcernedScientists, 1991).

GREATER VANCOUVER REGIONAL DISTRICT (GVRD), "CreatingGreater Vancouver's Green Zone" (Burnaby, B.C.: GVRD1991).

HEYERDAIIL, B., "TDRs: An Innovative Approach to GrowthManagement," in DeGrove 1991.

HOLTZCLAW, J., "Explaining Urban Density and TransitImpacts on Auto Use," presented to State of CaliforniaEnergy Resources Conservation and DevelopmentCommission, Docket No. 89-CR-90, January 15, 1991.

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IBI GROUP, "Greater Toronto Area Urban StructureConcepts StudySummary Report," prepared for the GreaterToronto Coordinating Committee (Toronto: IBI Group, 1990).

KAsowsm, K., "Oregon: Fifteen Years of Land-UsePlanning," in DeGrove 1991.

KELBAucH, D., ed., The Pedestrian Pocket Book: A NewSuburban Design Strategy (New York: PrincetonArchitectural Press, 1989).

KEN'WOIM ir, J.R., AND P.W. G. NEWMAN, "Cities and TransportEnergy: Lessons From a Global Survey," Ekistics 57(3441345):258-268, 1990.

KINGSTON PLANNING REPORt April 15, 1987, Item No. 213,File 60.73.70.

KNACK, R.E., "Tony Nelessen's Do-It-YourselfNeotraditionalism,"Planning 57(12): 18-22, December 1991.

KRIEGER, A., ed.,A ndres Duany andElizabethPlater-Zyberk:Towns and Town-Making Principles (NY: RizzoliInternational Publications, 1991).

LAND TRUST ALLIANcE,"Land Trusts" (Washington, DC: LandTrust Alliance, n.d.).

LOWE, M.D., "Portland Bypasses Progress," Worldwatch4(5), Sept/Oct 1991a, pp. 9, 30.

LOWE, M.D., "Shaping Cities: The Environmental andHuman Dimensions," Worldwatch Paper 105 (Washington,D.C.: Worldwatch Institute, 1991b).

LOWE, M.D., "City Limits," Worldwatch 5(1), Jan/Feb 1992,pp. 18-25.

MACBURNIE, I., "Reconsidering the Dream: Towards aMorphology for a Mixed Density Block Structure in Suburbia,"paper presented to Colloquium on Sustainable Housing andUrban Development, Institute of Urban Studies, Universityof Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Manitoba, November 16, 1991.

MANTELL, M.A., S.F. HARPER, AND L. Pao PST, CreatingSuccessful Communities (Washington ,DC: Island Press,1990,2 volumes).

MCCULLOCII, J.A.W., "Overview ofInternational Conferenceon Cities and Global Change" (Toronto, June 1991), preparedfor "World Cities and the Environment" Conference, Toronto,August 25-28, 1991.

METROPOLITAN TORONTO PLANNING DEPARTMENT, PolicyDevelopment Division, "Housing Intensification,"

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Metropolitan Plan Review Report No. 4 (Toronto: PlanningDepartment, 1987).

MINISTRIES OF MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS AND HOUSING, "Land UsePlanning for Housing" (Toronto: Ministry of GovernmentServices, 1989).

MONTGOMERY COUNTY PLANNING DEPARTMENT, MARYLAND-NATIONAL CAPITAL PARK AND PLANNING COMMISSION,Comprehensive Growth Policy Study, Volume I (Silver Spring,MD: Maryland-National Capital Park and PlanningCommission, 1989).

NEILSON, L., "Economic Perspective on BetterUrban Space,"presentation to Globe '90 Conference, Vancouver, B.C., March20, 1990.

NEWMAN, P., "Social Organization for EcologicalSustainability: Towards a More Sustainable SettlementPattern" in P. Cook, ed., Social Structures for Sustainability,Fundamental Questions Paper No. 11 (Canberra: Centre forResource and Environmental Studies, Australian NationalUniversity, 1990).

NEWMA.N, P., "Greenhouse, Oil and Cities," Futures, May1991a, pp. 335-348.

NEWMAN, P., "Suffocate City," Consuming Interest, June/July1991b, pp. 13-18.

NEWMAN, P., "Urban Villages Concept for the '90s,"Presentation to ECODESIGN Conference, RMIT, Melbourne,Australia October 18-20, 1991c.

NEWMAN, P.W.G., AND J. R. KENWORTIIY, "Transport andUrban Form in Thirty-Two of the World's Principal Cities,"Transport Reviews, 1991, 11(3): 249-272.

O'BRIEN, F., "Toward a Greener, Cleaner Planet and a NewEnvironmental Perspective," Canadian Building, May 1990.

OKAMOTO, P., "The Neo-Traditionalists: Peter Cal thorpeand Andres Duany/Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk," The UrbanEcologist, Fall 1991.

OWENS, S.E.,"Land Use Planning for Energy Efficiency," inCullingworth, J.B., ed., Energy, Land, and Public Policy(New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 1990), pp. 53-98.

PETERBOROUGH TASK FORCE ON SUSTAINAI3LE DEVELOPMENT,Report of the Task Force on Sustainable Development for thePeterborough Area ( Peterborough, Ontario: Task Force on

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Sustainable Development, 1991).REAL ESTATE RESEARCH CORPORATION, The Costs of Sprawl,

Volume I: Detailed Cost Analysis (Washington, DC: USGovernment Printing Office, 1974).

REGIONAL MUNICIPALITY OF HALTON (Ontario), LandStewardship & Healthy Communities: A Vision for the 90'sand Beyond, Official Plan Review Report B4 (draft), January1991.

RICHARDSON, N., "Sustainable Development and Land UsePlanning," presentation to Association of Municipal Clerksand Treasurers of Ontario (AMCTO) and IntergovernmentalCommittee on Urban and Regional Research (ICURR)Management Symposium, "Implementing SustainableDevelopment in Municipalities," Hockley Valley, Ontario,May 8-10, 1991.

ROYAL COMMISSION ON TI I E FUTURE OF TI I E TORONTO WATERFRONT

(RCFTW), D. Crombie, Commissioner, Watershed (Toronto:RCFTW, 1990).

ST. CATHARINES PLANNING REPORT July 22, 1987, Item No.433, File 60.80.1.

STOKES, S.N., ET AL, Saving America's Countryside: A Guideto Rural Conservation (Baltimore: John Hopkins UniversityPress, 1989).

STONE, K.E. AND R.H. FREn.icii,"Writing a Defensible GrowthOrdinance," in DeGrove 1991.

TAYLOR, M., "Mashpee Commons and Seaside," in UrbanEcology, Report of the First International Ecological CityConference (Berkeley, CA: Urban Ecology, 1990).

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION (US DOT),Encouraging Public Transportation Through Effective LandUse Actions, DOT-1-87-35, 1987, cited in Gordon 1991, pp.160-161.

VAN DER RYN, S. AND P. CALTIIORPE, eds., SustainableCommunities: A New Design Synthesis for Cities. Suburbsand Towns (San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1986).

YARD, R.D., et al, Dealing With Change in the ConnecticutRiver Valley: A Design Manual for Conservation andDevelopment (Amherst, MA: Center for Rural Massachusetts,University of Massachusetts at Amherst, 1988).

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Energy Conservation and Efficiency

6


"It has been calculated that increasing energy efficiency alonecould reduce carbon dioxide emissions in several high-incomecountries by between 1% and 2% per annum. On this basisthe United States could readily cut its emissions by 60% bythe year 2050."

IUCN 1991}

Currentpractices for the development, conversion and useof energy resources especially the burning of fossil fuels

contribute to global warming, acid rain, health dangersthrough air pollution and residuals deposition, anddepletion of natural resources. These problems alreadyexert significant negative worldwide economic,environmental and social impacts.

Furthermore, if the less developed countries increasetheir consumption to match that of the industrializedworld, global stocks of petroleum will drop perilously lost(see Frosch and Gallopoulos 1989). Energy demand anduse is a major contributor to the degradation ofenvironmental resources, requiring far-reaching and far-sighted new management strategies if sustainable globaldevelopment is to occur.

Urban areas in Canada and the US are significant usersof energy. Local as well as senior governments shouldencourage energy conservation, energy efficiency, and ashift away from fossil fuels in favour of renewable fuelsources.

Energy conservation reduces utility bills, saving moneyfor local government and for the consumer. Conservation

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Energy Tenninnlogy"Energy conservation" refers to changes in personaland organizational behaviour that result in lowerenergy consumption. "Energy efficiency" refers totechnological changes that allow us to do what wealready do while using less energy. "Energysub stitution" refers to using the most environmentallyappropriate source of energy to do a necessary activity.

Slowing Global WarmingAccording to a US Environmental Protection Agencystudy, energy efficiency and renewable energy sourcescould play a major role in helping to slow andeventually stop global warming. If nations took fulladvantage of opportunities to improve energyefficiency, global fossil-fuel use and carbon dioxideemissions would grow slowly, if at all. And if, inaddition, renewable energy sources were developedto their full potential, fossil-fuel use an d carbon dioxideemissions could be cut well below today's levels,eventually approaching the 50-80 percent reductionnecessary to stabilize the global climate.

(see US EPA 1989)

measures are far more cost-effective than building newpower plants. Money spent on conservation stays in thelocal economy and helps develop local business.

As described in earlier chapters on transportation andland use, energy conservation should be an explicit objectiveof urban design. Conservation strategies can also betargeted at the residential, commercial and industrialsectors where large energy savings in lighting, heating,ventilating and air conditioning systems are possible (seeOECD 1990; Local Government Commission 1990).

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"Buildings in industrial countries typically devour 35-50percent of national energy budgets, mostly for space heatingand cooling, water heating, refrigeration, lighting, andcooking."

Lowe 1991.,

Renewable Energy Sources"Renewable energy sources are often regarded asnew or exotic, but in fact they are neither. Until quiterecently, in historical terms, the world drew most ofits energy from the sun, either directly from sunlightor indirectly through the natural processes thatgenerate winds, rivers, and plants... The advantagesof renewable energy sources - particularly wind,solar, and biomass (plant) energy - are, if anything,more compelling today than ever before. Thetechnologies that have been developed, ranging fromwind turbines and photovoltaic cells to liquid fuelsderived from biomass, are of startling versatility.Most produce little or no pollution and hazardouswastes. Drawing entirely on domestic resources, theyare immune to foreign disruptions like the 1973 Araboil embargo, and since their 'fuel' - sunlight - is free,they provide a hedge against inflation caused by thedepletion of fossil-fuel reserves. Their developmentwould almost certainly result in a net increase inemployment, as renewable-energy industriesgenerally require more labor, per unit of energyproduced, than coal, oil, and natural-gas industries."

(Brower 1990)

More than flue- sixths of all U.S. coal consumption occursin'Nelectric power plants. Two-thirds of all sulphur dioxideemissions and almost one-third of carbon dioxide emissionsin the United States result from the operations of coal and oil-fired power plant boilers."

OECD 1990

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Too Ls

City Energy PoliciesCity energy policy can promote more effective land use,energy efficiency, mass transit, and conservation ofresources at the local level. To promote urbansustainability, cities can:" Set examples as model energy consumers in the

operation of municipal facilities, vehicle fleets, andmass transit systems.Plan, finance, and operate energy-efficientinfrastructures for major water, waste water, andsolid waste management systems.Regulate and plan for energy use through local landuse policies that affect the patterns of residential,commercial and industrial development.Promote policies that improve air and water quality.Enforce the energy efficiency standards of buildingcodes more stringently.Institute energy efficiency service programs (such asweatherization or appliance efficiency) aimed at variouscommunity sectors.Educate local residents and businesses by providinginformation on energy-efficient technologies, serviceproviders, and financing opportunities.Adopt site standards for renewable and alternativeenergy resources.Use renewable resources such as solar, geothermal,hydroelectric, biomass, and wind at City-ownedfacilities 1...]Advocate and facilitate the development andimplementation of energy policies and programs byutilities and other levels of government." (City of SanJose 1991)

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Least Cost Utility PlanningLeast Cost Utility Planning (LCUP) has been implementedin a number of cities in the US. LCUP for electricitysupplies is a concept that allows the consideration ofinvestments for energy conservation and demandmanagement on an equal footing with investments for newgenerating capacity. Itformally treats energy conservationas an alternative energy source (what Amory Lovinscalls"negawatts" rather than "megawatts"), and will supportassessments of non-conventional decentralized smallergenerators to substitute for large central generating plants.Applications of this concept require close co-ordinationamong utility regulators, individual utilities and localgovernments. To ensure effectiveness, LCUP programscommonly combine technical support and financialincentives for energy efficiency improvements that aretargeted to residential, commercial and industrialconsumers.

Movements to implement principles of least costplanning are in process in the majority of US state utilityregulatory commissions. Although there is vvide recognitionof the potential benefits of LCUP, for the vast majority ofUS electric utilities, conservation is not a "profit making"endeavour. Major efforts to define utility incentives forLCUP and to address questions of stability, reliability andequity are currently in progress. (see OECD 1990)

District Heating and CogenerationDistrict heating pipes hot water or steam generated at acentral facility to each building in a neighbourhood orcommunity. The source is often a business (e.g., hospital,university, hotel, or factory) that has its own cogeneratingsystem. Cogeneration systems make electricity and steamtogether with one-third less fuel than is needed to produceeach on its own; they are also well- suited to sophisticated

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Dense Development and Solar EnergyDenser development does not necessarily hamper thepotential for using solar technologies in buildings.With design ingenuity, passive solar systems could becompatible with densities of up to 50 dwellings perhectare, or three times the number permitted byzoning codes in many North American suburbs.

(see Owens 1990)}

pollution control equipment. District heating requires acertain level of density to be effective. For example, in theUK, 44 dwellings per hectare is considered the minimumdensity for economical operation. (see Lowe 1991)

Solar Access OrdinancesMany local governments have adopted and implementedsolar access ordinances. The ordinances provide andprotect solar access to the south face of buildings duringsolar heating hours, taking into account latitude,topography, microclimate, existing development, existingvegetation and planned uses and densities. Solar accessordinances may include, but are not limited to, standardsfor:

(a) 'The orientation of new streets, lots and parcels;(b) The placement, height, bulk and orientation of new

buildings;(c) The type and placement of new trees on public street

rights of way and other public property; and(d) Planned uses and densities to conserve energy,

facilitate the use of solar energy, or both. (see OregonRevised Statutes 1989)

Comprehensive Energy PlansSome municipal comprehensive plans are required toinclude an energy plan. In the state of Vermont, the

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energy plan must include an analysis of energy resources,needs, scarcities, costs and problems within themunicipality; a statement of policy on the conservation ofenergy, including programs, such as thermal integritystandards for buildings, to implement that policy; astatement of policy on the development of renewableeneru resources; and a statement of policy on patternsand densities of land use likely to result in conservation ofenergy. (see Vermont Statutes Annotated 1989)

Solar Reflection"Cities can [...] counteract the heat island effect by mixingasphalt with light-coloured sand, which reflects heatinstead of retaining it, and by encouraging the use oflighter-coloured paints and building materials. Intemperate climates, the gains from lighter surfaces insummer are significantly greater than any correspondinglosses in winter, because the amount of solar radiation inwinter is much smaller; the US National Academy ofSciences has estimated that strategic use of white surfacesand vegetation could save $2.6 billion in energy costs."(Lowe 1991)

INITIATIVES

Least-Cost Utility PlanningUncertainty about the future cost of regional hydro powerelectricity, concern over the environmental impacts ofbuilding large scale hydroelectric power dams, the 1973OPEC crisis, and citizen opposition to nuclear powerprompted the City of Seattle, Washington to conduct amajor study to define its energy alternatives. "Energy1990" included sophisticated load forecasts based oneconomic models and defining a menu of (non-generating)alternatives to serve future load growth. Results from this

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first"least-cost" planning study in the region recommendeda strong emphasis on conservation and indicated thatfuture loads could be met without participation andsubstantial investment in the development of two newnuclear generating plants. Seattle has established by CityCouncil Resolution the goal of reducing the need to expandor develop new generating faciliti es through conservation.With leadership from Seattle's Mayor, Council and citizencommittees, the city and its municipally-owned utilitynow produce a biennial Strategic Corporate Plan to guidecost-effective and environmentally-sensitive electric powerprovision (see OECD 1990).

Energy Efficiency TargetsIn April 1990, the City of Portland, Oregon adopted anenergy policy with the goal of "increasing energy efficiencyin all sectors of the City by 10 percent by the year 2000 soas to enhance the livability, economic strength and well-being of the City's residents and businesses and reduceenvironmental problems, such as air pollution andemissions that contribute to global warming." The policyspecifies that the City will advocate energy efficiency,promote energy efficiency in city-owned buildings and inresidential buildings, promote energy efficiency throughland use regulations, encourage energy efficiency incommercial and industrial facilities, provide energyefficient transportation, research and supporttelecommunications as an energy efficiency strategy,promote conservation as the energy resource of first choice,and promote waste reduction and recycling(City of Portland1990). The city's Energy Office has already helped toweatherize more than 5,500 apartment units, and plans tocomplete 2,500 more by the end of 1992. It has alsoassisted over 1,300 of the city's poorest families toweatherize single family homes (see ICLEI 1991).

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Energy Conservation Retrofit OrdinancesSan Francisco, California enacted a comprehensiveresidential energy conservation retrofit ordinance in 1982,which has already resulted in the retrofitting of over25,000 residential units. The San Francisco ordinancerequires all existing residential buildings, includingapartment buildings, to be brought up to an energyconservation standard at the time of sale. The cost of theconservation measures can be included in the financing ofthe residential unit. Cost-effective conservation measuresrequired by the ordinance include ceiling insulation,weather-stripping, a water heater insulation blanket, low-flow showerheads, caulking and sealing of major cracksand joints, and insulation of heating and cooling ducts.Additional measures are required of multi-family units.San Francisco also has a commercial energy conservationretrofit ordinance, which is estimated to save San Franciscobusinesses over $50 million in energy costs after the firstfive years (see Local Government Commission 1990).

Local Energy Supply ConceptIn reaction to the oil price shock of the 1970s, theSaarbriicken public utility company, StadtwerkeSaarbriicken, initiated a Local Energy Supply Concept in1980. The program is based on a few simple premises:reduce energy consumption, exploit energy better throughdistrict heating and through innovative technologies, andfocus on renewable energy sources. Some 40,000 homesare now supplied with district heating rather thanindividual heating, "at almost no cost to the environment."Stadtwerke Saarbriicken also set up the largest privatelyused photovoltaic system in Europe, as part of theircampaign to develop "solar power from the roofs ofSaarbriicken." Saarbrucken (pop. 128,000) enables citizensto sell back to its municipal utility excess power generated

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by solar rooftop installations. The city has offered to "buyback" solar power from individual suppliers at about 15US cents per kilowatt hour. The local public utility willreward homes that install rooftop solar collectors by"sharing" its monopoly on power production. The subsidyscheme in effect underwrites part of the cost of householdsolar conversion. Loans are also provided, through a localpartner savings bank, for any household improvementsrelated to energy efficiency, energy conservation, or waterconservation.

Since 1980 Saarbrucken has achieved substantialemissions reductions with respect to NOx (34%), SO2(76%), and CO2 (15%). With continued effort to developphotovoltaics and further expansion of the district heatingnetwork, Saarbrucken expects to reach the target calledforbytheToronto Conference on the ChangingAtmosphere,namely a 20% reduction in CO2 emission sby 2005, 10 yearsearlier. Perhaps more significant is that this goal will beattained without nuclear energy (see Leonhardt 1990;PIA14(4), April 1990; ICLEI 1992).

District Heating and CogenerationHelsinki, Finland's district heating program has usedcogeneration to reduce Helsinki energy demand to 30% ofearly 1970s levels (see Helsinki Energy Board 1989).

WeatherizationSeattle provides free home weatherization inspectionsand advice, plus low-interest loans for weatherization.The city has also developed a list of qualified weatherizationcontractors who are authorized to do the work and to bepaid from low-interest loans. Encouragement to participatein cost-effective conservation efforts is also provided toself-motivated customers through city-sponsorededucational and pilot programs (see OECD 1990).

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Energy Audits and LoansPublic utilities in the German state of Schleswig Holsteinare providing households with free energy audits and lowinterest loans for the purchase of energy-saving domesticappliances. Households that can demonstrate lower energyconsumption with their 1991 bills over their 1990 bills willget an "environment bonus" of DM 50 (US $35) (see PIA15(5), May 1991).

Sacramento, California's Municipal Utility Districtpromotes audits and arranges complete residentialefficiency upgrades for their customers. Utility stafftarget the program to neighbourhoods through personalcontact in church group meetings, ratepayer groups, andother avenues. Interested homeowners sign up on the spotfor an energy audit. The utility arranges the audit, and theinspector recommends an appropriate package ofmeasuresto improve efficiency. This typically includes improvedinsulation, weatherstripping, insulating the hot watertank, installing cornpat,t, 9norescent fixtures andreplacement of electric resistance heating with a heatpump. For simply agreeing to the audit, the utilityprovides the homeowner free of charge with compactfluorescent light bulbs, a high performance showerhead,and 2 trees which, when planted, will reduce airconditioning energy requirements. If the customer decidesto proceed with the full package, the utility arranges forone of the various qualified private contractors to come in

and do the work. Part of the cost is an outright grant(about $800) from the utility, and the rest of the cost(typically $3400) is put on the customer's hydro bill,amortized over 15 years. This extra charge on the powerbill is less than the immediate reduction in energy costs, sothe customer comes out ahead with lower power bills (seeMillyard 1992).

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Municipal Energy Conservation CampaignsThe municipal utility in Osage, Iowa conducted a successfulenergy conservation campaign which included sendinginfrared photos of energy leakage to each home in thetown. The utility's efforts have saved the citizens of Osage$1.2 million annually.

Research and pilot programs in Seattle are under wayin conjunction with small private industrial plants to buildenergy conservation into their manufacturing equipmentand processes. Several industrial firms have participatedin pilot projects to retrofit for energy efficiencies, and ti,znmonitor such equipment as motor drives, heating andcooling systems and lighting (see OECD 1990).

Solar Oven CookbookThe municipal utility in Sacramento, California publisheda solar oven cookbook to promote solar cookingand therebyreduce air conditioning in overheated kitchens.

RESOURCES

CENTER FOR RENEWABLE RESOURCES, Renewable Energyin Cities (NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1984). This booksupplies some of the information needed to develop localenergy plans and policies based on the use of energyconservation and renewable energy technologies. Itprovides technical information to help city energy officialsdiscriminate between appropriate and inappropriatetechnologies and options; explains constraints andopportunities with respect to land use patterns, buildingstocks, energy supply and distribution networks, andsocial and economic conditions; and examines the linksbetween energy and housing, employment, and economicdevelopment.

REG LANG AND AUDREY ARMOUR, Planning Land toConserve Energy: 40 Case Studies From Canada and

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the United States (Ottawa: Lands Directorate,Environment Canada, 1982). Although the case studies aredated, this volume contains a wealth of useful information.The case studies are in five categories: community energyprofiles, municipal plans and policies, new communities andresidential development, non-residential land use, and landuse and development controls.

THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION, a Californiaorganization providing technical assistance to localgovernments, is developing energy efficiency guidelinesfor cities in the areas of land use, transportation, solidwaste recycling, and energy conservation in buildings.

Local Government Commission909 12th Street, Sacramento, CA 94814

THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN INSTITUTE (RMI) is a non-profitresearch and educational foundation which fosters theefficient and sustainable use of resources as a path toglobal security. Founded by energy policy analysts Amoryand Hunter Lovins in 1982, RMI is particularly strong inrenewable energy and conservation, and in demonstratingthat understanding interconnections between resourceissues can often solve many problems at once. RMI's workis focused in five areas agriculture, economic renewal,energy, security, and water and it carries on internationaloutreach and technical exchange programs. RMI alsopublishes an excellent quarterly Newsletter.

Rocky Mountain Institute1739 Snowmass Creek RoadOld Snowmass, CO 81654-9199Tel: 303/927-3851 Fax: 303/927-4178

ReferencesBRowER,M.,Cool Energy:The Renewable Solution to Global

Warming (al mbridge, MA: Union of Concerned Scientists,1990).

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CENTER FOR RENEWABLE RESOURCES, Renewable Energy inCities (NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1984).

CITY OF PORTLAND ENERGY OFFICE, "Draft Portland EnergyPolicy," City Heat 2:1, Winter 1990, pp. 1-8.

CITY OF SAN JOSE, Sustainable City Strategy 1991-1992(San Jose, CA: City of San Jose, Office of EnvironmentalManagement, 1991).

FROSCH, R.A. AND N.E. GALLOPOULOS, "Strategies forManufacturing," Scientific American 261(3): 144-152,September 1989.

HELSINKI ENERGY BOARD, District Heating (Helsinki: HelsinkiEnergy Board, 1989).

INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL FOR LOCAL. ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVES

(ICLEI), The Urban CO, Project (Toronto: ICLEI, 1991).INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL FOR LOCAL ENVI RONMENTAL INITIATIVES

(ICLEI), "Energy Conservation/Finance: Saarbrucken,Germany," Case Study No. 4 (Toronto: ICLEI, 1992).

INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE (IUCN),THE UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME (UNEP), andTIIE WORLD WIDE FUND FOR NATURE (\VWF), Caring for theEarth: A Strategy for Sustainable Living (Gl and, Switzer] and:IUCN/UNEP/WWF, 1991).

LANG, R. AND A. ARMOUR, .Planning Land to Conserve Energy:40 Case Studies From Canada and the United States (Ottawa:Lands Directorate, Environment Canada, 1982).

LEONHAROT, W. (Chairman of the Board of Directors,Stadtwerke Saarbrucken AG, West Germany), "LocalConcepts for the Reduction of CO2," presentation to theWorld Congress of Local Governments for a SustainableFuture, United Nations, New York, September 7, 1990.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION, "Model Ordinances forEnvironmental Protection" (Sacramento, CA: LocalGovernment Commission, 1990).

LOWE, M.D., "Shaping Cities: The Environmental andHuman Dimensions," Worldwatch Paper 105 (Washington,D.C.: Worldwatch Institute, 1991).

MILLYARD, K., "A Preliminary Carbon Dioxide Inventory forthe City of Ottawa" (Ottawa: Friends of the Earth, 1992).

OREGON Revised Statutes, Title 20, Chapter 215. ORS @215.044 (1989).


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OWENS, S.E., "Land Use Planning for Energy Efficiency," inCullingworth, J.B., ed., Energy, Land, and Public Policy(New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers, 1990), PP. 53-98.

Public Innovation Abroad (PIA), various issuesUS ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (US EPA), Policy

Options for Stabilizing Global Climate, Report to Congress,1989 (draft), cited in Brower, 1990.

VERMONT Statutes Annotated, Title 24, Part 2, Chapter117, Subchapter 5 @ 4382 (1989).

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Solid and Hazardous Waste Reduction and Recycling

7Solid and Hazardous Waste Reduction andRecycling

Most North Americans generate about five pounds of solidwaste each day 90% of which ends up in landfills. Smallwonder that many urban areas are running out or haverun out ofland disposal sites for solid wastes. Furthermore,high capital costs, public opposition to site selection, anduncertainties concerning the risks aF. ;ociated withemissions make incineration alternatives difficult toimplement. To deal with solid wastes, waste reductionand recycling strategies will require major initiatives inmany communities (see OECD 1990).

Solid wastes which are not recycled contribute toincinerator emissions or to the production of methane inlandfills. Either way, they contribute to atmosphericpollution. Much of these wastes are in the form ofnondegradable, nonreturnable, and nonrecyclable foodand beverage packaging. Househ old organic wastes whichare not composted also contribute to the production ofmethane. In addition, our garbage represents the energyequivalent of millions of wasted barrels of oil and othernonrenewable natural resources.

Local governments need to develop comprehensive wastereduction strategies, focusing first on source reduction,then on reuse and recycling. Only when these approachesare exhausted should local governments turn to other, lessenvironmentally sound alternatives.

Hazardous and toxic materials in the waste stream arealso a great concern in many communities. Urgent action

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"Although the exact ingredients oflocal garbage vary by placeand time, the experts say our garbage consists of about 65%commercial wastes and 35% residential wastes. About 37%of the average waste streamis made up of paper and cardboard,26% is yard and food wastes, 10% is glass, 10% is metals, 8%is plastics, and the remainder is miscellaneous wastes...Packaging materials account for a third of the volume of ourwaste."

Local Government Commission 1990

is needed to reduce the amount and increase the recyclingof hazardous waste and to ensure the proper disposal ofwhat is left. This has prompted some local governments toprovide businesses with technical assistance to reducetheir hazardous and toxic wastes.

An essential part of a comprehensive waste reductionstrategy is a procurement policy to purchase recycled and/or reusable products (see Chapter 12).

TOOLS

"Designing for Total Recycling'Waste' is not waste until it's wasted.Recyclers handle discards, not wastes. Recyclerssometimes waste things, but their ultimate goal is towaste nothing.Recycling manages the supply of discards, not wastes.The term 'waste management' should be reserved forthe garbage disposal industry.Recycling is a form of disposal.Gaining access to the disposal fee is the key to unlockingrecycling's potential.All of what is now garbage can be sorted into twelvebroad categories of recyclable material (see below).To plan a discard management system in whichrecycling is the preferred disposal technology, begin

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with a composition study to establish the proportionand volume of each of the twelve master categories.Each locality should do composition studies, andresultsshould be made public and shared. Observationalstudies that sort and weigh are preferable to 'desktopstudies' that import data from other localities or useesoteric methodologies.A comprehensive recycling system is one in whichthere are opportunities to recycle all twelve of themaster discard categories. Recycling systems shouldnot be called comprehensive until all twelve of themaster categories are provided for.The twelve master categories provide a way to estimateprogress toward the goal of total recycling.We will move toward total recycling in incrementalsteps, not all at once.Banning and precycling (source reduction) are validand useful tools for achieving the goal oftotal recycling.

The Twelve Master Categories for Recycling1 Reusable goods, including but not limited to intact or

repairable home or industrial appliances; householdgoods; clothing; intact materials in demolition debris,such as lumber; building materials such as doors,windows, .;abinets, and sinks; business supplies andequipment; lighting fixtures; and any manufactureditem or naturally occurring object that can be repairedor used again as is.

2 Paper, including but not limited to newsprint; ledgerpaper; computer paper; corrugated cardboard; andmixed paper.

3 Metals, both ferrous and nonferrous; including but notlimited to cans; parts from abandoned vehicles;plumbing; fences; metal doors and screens; and anyother discarded metal objects.

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In a 1989 survey of 100 licensed renovation firms, it wasdetermined that during a 12 month period, over 8,000 re-usable items were sent to landfill sites: [these included] 711kitchen sinks; 455 bathtubs; 570 refrigerators; 3,777 interiordoors; and 2,611 exterior doors. There are "ens of thousandsof licensed renovation firms across Canada plus countlessinformal operations adding to these numbers on an ongoingbasis."

D'Amour 1991

4 Glass, including but not limited to glass containersand window glass.

5 Textiles, including but not limited to nonreusableclothing; upholstery; and pieces of fabric.

6 Plastics, including beverage containers; plasticpackaging; plastic cases of consumer goods such astelephones or electronic equipment; and tires.

7 Plant debris, including but not limited to leaves andcuttings; trimmings from trees; shrubs; and grass.

8 Putrescibles, including garbage; animal, fruit, andvegetable debris; and offal.

9 Wood, includingbutnotlimited to nonreusablelumber;and pallet':.

10 Ceramics, including rock; ceramic; brick; and concrete.11 Soils, including but not limited to excavation soils

from barren or developed land; and excess soils fromyards.

12 Chemicals.13 (Garbage this category is reserved for unrecyclable

mixtures of recyclable materials.)" (Knapp 1990)

Source Reduction Strategies for Local GovernmentsVariable Can Rate (higher rate for more garbage cans)Second-Hand, Consignment, and Repair Shops (changezoning to encourage)Salvage Yards: Berkeley's salvage yard is connected

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Solid and Hazardous Waste RJduction and Recycling

IOne Way to Reduce Packaging Waste

Half the food served by one major fast food chain isconsumed inside restaurants where there is no needfor disposable packaging of any sort, polystyrene orpaper. Switching to china cups and plates for tableservice would immediately eliminate packaging wasteby 50 percent.

(see Balcom 1990)

to its transfer station. The refuse workers removesalvageable materials like furniture, buildingmaterials, etc. from the tipping floor and independenthaulers are encouraged to go to the salvage yard firstto lighten their load. This reduces both the fee theypay at the transfer station and the amount of wastesent to the dump.Plastics and Packaging Reduction Laws (seeMinneapolis description under Initiatives). Also,require that food eaten on the premises be served inwashable reusables rather than disposable products.Taxes or fees on disposables: most U.S. cities can't dothis, but counties can.Public Education: Berkeley's "Precycle" campaignencourages people to consider waste before they buy.Taxes or fees on disposal of large appliancesGovernment and large office facility programs: two-sided copying; washable dishes in cafeterias and coffeerooms; air or cloth rather than paper towels dryers;including durability in purchasing standards for tiresand other products (see Skinner 1990).

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Three Forms of Recycling"The best form of recycling occurs when we re-use theoriginal product. Refillable bottles, cloth diapers,refurbished appliances save virtually 100 percent ofthe energy, pollution, and materials required to makethem in the first place and the savings multiply witheach reuse. Recycling materials into their originalform is a second-best strategy. Recycling glass intoglass, or newsprint into newsprint, saves 20 to 95percent of the energy, water, mining wastes, and airpollution consumed or produced to process theproduct from virgin materials [...] The worst form ofrecycling transforms a material into a secondaryform. Glass into `glassphalt' for roads, paper intocompost, plastic bottles into park benches do little toavoid the need to extract new materials and thus dolittle to reduce pollution."

(Morris 1989)

Pollution PreventionIn the US, state governments have led the transition topollution prevention. Several states have passed lawswhich rest on a simple argument: the use of every toxicchemical should be reduced or eliminated. These new lawsbypass debates over acceptable levels of toxicity and therisks of specific exposure levels or releases; they neitherrequire risk assessments nor establish thresholds forchemical exposure. Instead, they set up reporting andplanning responsibilities for firms that handle specifiedtoxic substances. Many of the laws set a statewide goal forstemming the use of toxic chemicals or the amount ofhazardous wastes generated, but they leave it up to firmsto design their own "facility plans" for how to meet thegoals. In other words, the plans give firms the responsibility

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to reduce the use of toxics."These laws stretch the boundaries of pollution

prevention in several significant ways. First, they focus onchemicals in use rather than on wastes. Second, firmsmust set goals and make plans, not just comply with anemissions limit. This emphasizes creativity and innovativetechnology. Third, the laws encourage continuousimprovement, riot simply reaching a regulatory thresh old."(Geiser 1991)

Toxics use reduction foreshadows the idea of sustainableindustry by focusing on materials policy as much as onenvironmental or waste policy. The "precautionaryprinciple" contrasts with policies that simply seek to keeprisks to a supposedly manageable level. "Precaution shiftsthe burden of proving safety from those who would protectthe environment, to those who would release chemicalsinto it. And lika toxics use reduction, it bases decisionsabout releases on available options, not on theenvironment's assimilative capacity. The new adage is'When in doubt, don't throw it out'." (Geiser 1991)

Toxics Use ReductionThere is only one effective way to prevent toxiccontamination: by reducing th e use ofhazardous substancesand the generation of hazardous wastes at the source ofproduction. This can be accomplished through strategiessuch as:

Shifting to a product where the manufacturing processrequires less production of hazardous waste;Substituting a less hazardous substance as part of theproduction process;Conserving the use of hazardous substances by usingmore efficient housekeeping practices;Designing new processes and equipment that result inless waste production;

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Recycling hazardous waste, preferably at the sitewhere it is produced

Three basic strategies are available to local governmentsto help industries reduce the amount of hazardous wastethey produce: educational programs, technical assistanceprograms, and regulatory programs. (see LocalGovernment Commission 1990)

INITIATIVES

Waste Reduction TargetsIn 1988 Seattle adopted a resolution establishing a goal ofreducing solid waste in the City by 60% by 1998 withintermediate goals of 40% by 1991 and 50% by 1993 (Cityof Seattle 1988). Recycling, composting, and avoidingwaste production are noted as the primary wastemanagement strategies. The resolution outlines specificprograms and a time line for implementation. Seattle alsooperates a municipal compost operation and provides binsand training to homeowners for backyard composting.

Packaging RestrictionsIn 1989 Minneapolis placed severe restrictions on foodand beverage packaging including national brandsoriginating at retail food establishments. "The Counciltherefore finds that the minimization of nondegradable,nonreturnable and nonrecyclable food and beveragepackaging f...] is necessary and desirable in order to reducethe City's waste stream, so as to reduce the volume oflandfilled waste, to minimize toxic by-products ofincineration, and to make our City and neighboringcommunities more environmentally sound places to live."(Minneapolis Code of Ordinances 1989)

Although the ordinance was initially opposed by theMinnesota Grocers Association and the Council for Solid

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Waste Solutions (a plastics industry group), it was passedunanimously by city policymakers. Rather than battle theordinance, the plastics industry chose to work with localofficials. The Council for Solid Waste Solutions offered tosponsor a six-month pilot recycling program to prove thatplastics recyling was possible. The program impressedcity environmental leaders, who now believe that recyclingis a realistic option for certain products. As a result, theban will notbe as sweeping as originally proposed. However,to meet the new law's guidelines, an actual recyclingsystem must be operating. McDonald's clamshellcontainers, for instance, have always been technicallyrecyclable, but no one was actually doing it in Minneapolisprior to the new law (see Minneapolis Code of Ordinances1989; Bulletin of Municipal Foreign Policy 1991).

Municipal Garbage CompostingAs part of its waste reduction strategy, in 1991 Portlandopened the first municipal garbage composting facility inthe U.S. The facility is capable of handling 185,000 tons ofgarbage a year (see ICLEI 1991).

Hazardous Waste ReductionThe California cities of Hayward, Santa Monica andBerkeley haVe staff wh o provi de businesses with technicalassistance to reduce their generation of h azardous waste(see Skinner 1990).

Santa Monica distributes brochures to targeted smallbusinesses which outline specific waste reductionmeasures. These include information for vehicle andequipment repair shops, machine toolers, the printedci'cuit board industry, metal finishing industry, generalcommercial printers, commercial dry cleaners, paintformulating industry, photographic processors, andautomotive painting businesses.

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Seven of North Carolina's POTWs (Publicly OwnedTreatment Works) help industries reduce their regulatedwastes by providing in-depth technical assistance to localcompanies through on-site waste reduction consultationsas a routine part of compliance inspections (see LocalGovernment Commission 1990).

Comprehensive Resource Recovery and UtilizationFor a humbling perspective on even the most ambitiousNorth American recycling programs, consider this Chineseexample from Shanghai.

"The Shanghai Municipal Environmental Administrationserves a 150 square-kilometre city (Shanghai) and 6035square kilometres of suburbs and rural areas around thecity core with a total population of some 12 million. Since1957, ithas developed a St.....te complex retrievingmaterialsand marketing the reclaimed products and now has some29,000 full-time and many more part-time employees.

A network of 502 purchasing stations and 1500purchasing agents in rural areas acquire material forreclamation or recycling and are paid on commission.Twenty-six integrated recycling centres reclaim or recyclematerial from industrial and consumer wastes and anetwork of sales departments and retail shops sellreclaimed products.

Among the materials recovered from wastes are ferrousand non-ferrous metals, rubber, plastics, paper, rags,cotton, chemical fibres, animal bones, human hair, brokenglass, glass bottles, old machine parts, chemical residuesand waste oil. The company has subsidiaries for copperrefining, precious metal recovery and refining, iron andsteel scrap recycling, plastics production, ferrous metalproduction and oil wastes recycling. In addition, there areover 3600 people employed to work with factories forinstance advising them on setti ng up containers for wastes

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and establishing systems by which the company can collectthem." (Gunnerson 1989).

Recycling Land Use ControlsSeveral communities now set recycling space standardsfor all new buildings (see Can li and Gordon 1991). InSanta Monica, California; residential buildings with 10or more units are required to provide 100 square feet forrecycling facilities for the first 10 units and five square feetfor each additional unit. Commercial buildings over 10,000square feet must set aside 1,000 square feet for recyclingfor the first 10,000 square feet, then five square feet foreach additional 1,000 square feet. The city is allowing itsrecycling program to mature before it specifies the types ofbins required.

Davis, California requires the provision of at leastthreerecycling carts for each trash enclosure in dwellings with10 or more units. Building owners must submit collectionpla T1 s for recyclable materials and provide occupants withinformation on the building's plan and the city's recyclingprogram.

Developers in Bouldel , Colorado seeking residentialbuilding permits must score at least 20 points amongseveral categories of conservation measures. Providing arecycling facility and retrofitting for recycling each earntwo points.

Orlando, Florida requires developers of large projectsto agree to er.sure that the development's tenants andfuture owners will participate in the city's recyclingprogram.

Portland, Oregon requires new developments of threeor more units to have recycling collection areas of at least100 cubic feet for every 10 ui :its, with specific requirements.

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Apartment RecyclingThe City of North Vancouver, British Columbia isproviding curbside recycling to all apartments, townhousesand condominiums in North and West Vancouver. Thecity delivers big bins to apartment buildings and a localrecycling firm collects the material weekly. The city haspassed a bylaw rev iring new buildings to provide spacefor the bins (see Gram 1990).

Redistributing Recycling SubsidiesAn extra surcharge of A$ 1.50 per ton is being levied onAustralian local governments in New South Wales whichdo not have recycling programs. Local governments withactive recycling programs are expected lo receive an averageof A$ 17.50 per ton of reclaimed materials from the extralandfill charges, a subsidy of tens of thousands of dollars.The redistribution should provide a substantial incentiveto start recycling, and officials hope it will double theestimated 100,000 tons currently recycled in the state (seePIA 15(4), April 1991).

DishmobileThe German town ofBoeblingen (pop. 42,000) has acquireda new "dishmobile" for food service at public festivals.Equipped with a commercial-size dishwasher and enoughplates and silverware to serve 600 guests, the mobilefacility is also available for a modest user charge to serveclubs and voluntary groups for their own festivities. Tensof thousands of non-biodegradable food containers willavoid the landfill as a result ofthe facility. The dishwasheron wheels with its associated plates and equipment, costapproximately US $15,000 (see PIA 14(5), May 1990).

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RESOURCES

LOCAL SOLUTIONS TO GLOBAL POLLUTION (LSGP) is aclearinghouse which provides technical assistance indeveloping pollution prevention programs on thecommunity level and in the workplace. Their materialsand information are directed toward local governmentofficials, grassroots groups, citizens, businesses, andemployees. LSGP is an outgrowth of an informalclearinghouse established by Berkeley City Council memberNancy Skinner in response to requests for information onpolystyrene foam/plastics legislation and other innovativeenvironmental programs. I.,SGP is particularly strong on"source reduction" a concept which redefines "waste" toeliminate the unnecessary disposal of useful materials,promotes the reuse of material.s now discarded, andchallenges the use of those materials that are difficult toreuse or recycle, or that have significant polluting impactsin their manufacture and use. LSGP's source reductionfocus has been on plastics, packaging, and single usedisposable products. A variety of information packetscontaining fact sheets, ordinances, background articles,etc. are available from:

Local Solutions to Global Pollution2121 Bonar Street, Studio ABerkeley, CA 94702Tel: 415/540-8843 Fax: 415/540-4898

INSTITUTE FOR LOCAL SELF-RELIANCE, Beyond 40Percent: Record-Setting Recycling and CompoNtingPrograms (Washington, D.C. & Covelo, CA: Island Press,1991). This book offers ample proof that communityrecycling and composting operations can be our primarysolid-waste management strategies. Case studiesdocument the operating experiences of seventeen UScommunities urban, suburban, and rural all with

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materials recovery levels of over 30 percent. Fourteenhave total, residential, or commercial materials recoveryrates at or above 40 percent. The book discusses theadvantages of mandatory recycling, its economic incentives,the collection of source-separated yard wastes forcomposting programs, and the benefits of extendingprograms beyond the residential sector to the commercialsector. It also provides specif examples of how yourcommunity can plan and implement recycling andcomposting programs that will work. The Institute forLocal Self-Reliance is a non-profit organization promotingself-reliancefor cities. Since 1974 ILSRhas been providingresearch and technical assistance to citizens, localgovernments, and small businesses on waste utilization,closed-loop manufacturing, and materials policy. Beyond40 Percent is part of an ongoing series of technical -eportsprepared by ILSR staff. For more information, contact:

Institute for Local Self-Reliance2425 18th Street NWWashington, DC 20009Tel: 202/232-4108 Fax: 202/332-0463

Public Innovation Abroad is a monthly newsletterthat promotes "the international exchange of practicalexperience in dealing with common problems at the state,county and city levels of government." Particularly goodon transportation and recycling initiatives. Availablefrom:

International Academy of State and Local Governments444 North Capitol Street, N.W., Suite 349Washington, D C. 20001Tel: 202/638-1445 Fax: 202/638-5109

THE NATIONAL ROUND TABLE ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND

TILE ECONOMY has published The Nat ional Waste ReductionHandbook: An Introduction to Source Reduction andRecycling for Municipal DecisionMakers.

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For information contact:The National Round Table on the Environment and

the Economy1 Nicholas Street, Suite 520Ottawa, Ontario K1N 7B7Tel: 613/943-2055 or 0394

ReferencesBALcom, S., "Consumer Beat," Vancouver Sun, November

9, 1990, p. D8.BULLETIN OF MUNICIPAL FOREIGN POI.ICY, "Working Together

for a Cleaner Planet," Bulletin of Municipal Foreign Policy,Vol. 5, No.2, Spring 1991, p.16.

CANLI, S. AND S.W. GORDON, "New on the Recycling Scene:Land Use Controls," Urban Land, May 1991, pp. 34-35.

CITY CF SEATTLE, Resolution 27871 (1988).D'AmouR, D., "The Origins of Sustainable Development

and Its Relationship to Housing and Community Planning,"Sustainable Development and Housing Research Paper No.1 (Ottawa: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation,1991).

GEISER, K., "The Greening of Industry: Managing theTransition to a Sustainable Economy," Technology Review,August/September 1991, pp. 64-72.

GRAm,K.,"North Shore Sets the Recycling Pace," VancouverSun, December 8, 1990, p. Gll

GUNNERSON, C.G., Resource Recovery and Utilization inShanghai, UNDPAVorld Bank Global Programme of ResourceRecovery (s.I., 1987), cited in United Nations Centre forHuman Settlement (Habi tat), Urbanization and SustainableDevelopment in the Third World: An Unrecognized GlobalIssue (Nairobi: United Nations Centre for Human Settlement(Habitat), 1989).

INSTITUTE FOR LOCAL SELF-RELIANCE, Beyond 40 Percent:RecordSetting Recycling and Composting Programs(Washington, D.C. & Covelo, CA: Island Press, 1991).

INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION FOR LOCAL ENVIRONMENTALINITIATIVES (ICLEI), The Urban CO, Project (Toronto: ICLEI,1991).

KNAPP, D.,"Designing for Total Recycling," in Urban Ecology,

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Report of the First International Ecological City Conference(Berkeley, CA: Urban Ecology, 1990).

LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION, "Model Ordinances forEnvironmental Protection" (Sacramento, CA: LocalGovernment Commission, 1990).

MINNEAPOLIS CODE OF ORDINANCES, 1989, Amending Title 10,Adding a New Chapter 204, "Environmental Preservation:Environmentally Acceptable Packaging."

MORRIS, D., "The Materials We Need to Create a SustainableSociety Lie Close to Home," Utne Reader No. 36, Nov/Dec1989, pp. 84-90.



Public Innovation Abroad (PIA), various issues.SKINNER, N., "Source Reduction Strategies: The Key to

Reducing Waste," presented to the World Congress of LocalGovernments for a Sustainable Future, United Nations,New York, September 5, 1990.

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8

Water and Sewage

The quality of water affects the quality of the life ittouches. Both groundwater and surface water systemshave deteriorated in quality in many urban areas. Incities, the rates of water use and water pollution are aprimary concern. Urban water management requires agreat deal of space and energy for both supply andwastewater treatment.

Water pollution in combination with a too rapid rate ofwater extraction can cause serious harm to hydrologicalsystems. In the US, for example, the maintenance ofadequate water supplies to urban areas in the westernstates and some of the major population centres of thenortheastern states is emerging as a major issue, withrationing and curtailment of non-essential water useimplemented in many of these areas during hot drysummers (see OECD 1990).

Wastewater treatment is a particular concern in manycommunities. Many municipal wastewater treatmentFacilities are designed to provide at least secondarytreatment. At the community level, contemporarywastewater treatment technologies are majorenvironmental polluters on at least *hree fronts:

They produce an often-toxic by-product called sludgewhich is difficult to dispose of;They use hazardous compounds in the treatmentprocess which end up in the environment;Without massive federal subsidies, most communities

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Water Quality and Land Use"While it is commonly recognized that specificactivities such as sewage treatment or paperprocessing can be notorious water polluters, it is lesswidely understood that whole categories of land use,as well, are inherent threats to water quality. Forexample, car-dominated urban areas contaminatestormwater runoff with salt, oil, and toxic fluids fromroads and parking lots. Suburbs allow large amountsof chemical fertilizers and pesticides to run off golfcourses and large lawns. Construction sites fromwhich trees and other natural vegetation are strippedadd large amounts of eroded soil to runoff. Often,stormwater from cities and suburbs - together withagricultural runoff containing chemicals and animalwastes - constitute a greater hazard to water qualitythan factories and other specific sources do."

(Lowe 1991)

cannot afford to build and operate advanced wastewatertreatment facilities; their huge, expensiveinfrastructure is also difficult to change or adapt.

Sustainable approaches to water management areurgently needed. Sustainable water management wouldaim to:

treat water at its pollution source;discharge as high or higher quality water than isreceived; andprevent soil and land degradation (healthy terrestrialecosystems purify water).

Many of the same land use principles that help urbanand suburban areas to save energy such as clusteringdevelopment, discouraging automobile-oriented land use,and leaving natural vegetation intact can help to assurethat water resources will survive well into the future. (seeLowe 1991)

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Negawatts from Negagallons"Southern California Edison fixes toilet leaks.Connecticut Light and Power distributes faucetaerators. Pacific Gas and Electric funds irrigationimprovements. What's going on here? Why shouldthese companies, whose primary business is sellingelectricity and natural gas, care whether theircustomers waste water?The answer is that providing water takes far moreenergy than most people realize. Before water reachesfields or taps, it generally must be pumped, sometimesacross entire states. In our homes, water heaters addwarmth for showers and baths. Flowing down thedrain, water goes to a treatment plant to be pumpedsome more. Some water-short communities even facethe prospect of using mammoth quantities of energyto transform saltwater into fresh. In a modern society,water is not just Hp; it's a form of embodied energy.Over the past few years, growing numbers of utilitieshave begun to recognize that saving water savesenergy. As a general rule, water efficiency is good forthe environment and lucrative for farmers, consumers,and utilities. For a company like Southern CaliforniaEdison, 10% of whose power is used to treat, heat, andpump water, negagallons equal negawatts equalmegabucks. That's why they want to fix those leakytoilets."

(RIM 1991)

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"In the Lower Fraser the major concern is related to municipaleffluents originating from the three Greater Vancouver sewagetreatment plants which only have primary treatment. Morethan 80% ofall BOD, fecal coliforms, SS, nutrients, and tracemetals (Cu)originate from the three sewage treatment plants.Stormwater inputs are of great diversity and highly variabledepending on land use and rainfall events. The first hour ofstormwater flush exceeds nutrient, metal and organiccontaminant loads from all sewage treatment plants in thesame time period."

Schreier et al 1991

TOOLS

Some Sewage Definitions"Sewage The slurry that travels through municipal

sewer pipes and includes mor.,i,ly water from toilets, sinks,washing machines and dishwashers, but also humanexcreta, detergents, cleaners, decloggers, tampons,condoms, other miscellaneous items, and industrial wastes.

Septage The truly disgusting stuffpumped out of septictanks by 'honey wagons.' Often includes restaurantgreases,toxic industrial byproducts, and hospital wastes.

Sludge The thick slurry orsolids' removed from sewageat treatment plants.

Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) The dissolved oxygenneeded to decompose organic matter in water. BOD isused as a measure of pollution, since heavy waste loadsneed lots of oxygen to be broken down.

Nitrogen A nutrient most commonly found in sewagein the form of ammonia and nitrates. Too much nitrogenin waterways causes algae blooms, and ammonia is toxicto fish.

Phosphorus A nutrient most commonly found in sewagein the form of phosphates from detergents. A primarycause of algae blooms in waterways.

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Suspended Solids Tiny pieces of pollutants floating onor suspended in sewage.

Preliminary Treatment The first thing that happens atany treatment plant: large objects (tampons and condoms)and "floatables" (plastic tampon applicators) are screenedout and grit is removed.

Primary Treatment The first stage ofsewage treatment.The wastewater is held in settling tanks or basins so thatroughly one-third of the biological oxygen demand andtwo-thirds of the suspended solids are removed.

Secondary Treatment The second stage of sewagetreatment, in which bacteria are used to treat the wastes.Removes about 90 percent of the biological oxygen demandand the suspended solids. .

Tertiary Treatment Advanced cleaning of wastewaterth at goes beyond the secondary stage and removes nutrientssuch as nitrogen and phosphorus and most suspendedsolids.

Wetlands The trendy term for what used to be knownas marshes, swamps, and bogs." (Marinelli 1990)

Land Applications of Municipal Waste Water"A significant amount of research has been done over thepast twenty years which has shown that forests can beused as land treatment systems to renovate secondarytreated waste water for direct rech arge to the groundwatertable [...] A land application of municipal waste waterprovides many advantages to a community beset withwaste water disposal problems It provides anopportunity for water pollution abatement. It provides anopportunity for the recycling and beneficial use of thenutrients contained in the waste water. It allows for thereplenishment of local groundwater supplies and for thepreservation of open space or open greenbelts." (Sopper1990)

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1 Comparing Sewage Treatment TechnologiesTYPE ADVANTAGES

ConventionalSewageTreatment

Man-MadeMarshes(with openwater)

Man-Made`RockMarshes'(submergedflow systems

SolarAquatics

Old technology, so engineers knowexactly what to expect; doesn'trequire a lot of land

Cheap; no sludge; good removal ofnitrogen, toxic chemicals, and traceorganics; can survive toxic overloadbetter than conventional treatment;can be used for secondary oradvanced treatment withoutchemicals or a lot of energy;wastewater can be used to restorewetlands habitat; nice to look at

Efficient; can include showyornamental plants; routineharvesting of plants unnecessary

Virtually purifies water; effectivein cold climates; createssubstantially less sludge thanconventional treatment; can treatextremely concentrated wastes suchas septage; may cost significantlyless than conventional treatment;sewage is treated as a resource notas a waste; produces potentiallyvaluable plants and fish; nice to lookat; requires less land than marshes

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LIMITATIONS

Expensive; cranky; 'shockloadings' or sudden inflows oftoxics (usually from industry)often upset the bacterialbalance, sending barely treatedsewage into the local waterway;energy intensive; advancedwastewater treatment ofteninvolves the use of toxicchemicals; hard to site [...];sludge disposal is a majorheadache

Require lots of land; plants mayhave to be harvestedoccasionally

Rocks can be expensive; not asextensively tested as open-water marshes

Leading-edge technology not asextensively tested as the othersystems; requires a differentkind of expertise; thegreenhouse is an added cost andmust be heated in winter

BEST FOR

Big cities

Smallcommunitieswith a lot of land

Smallcommunities withextra land

Communities thathave to meetstringent water-qualityrequirements;communities thathave a septageproblem; couldprove to be anaturalalternative forland-short cities

(Marinelli 1990)

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INITIATIVES

Water Offset RequirementsIn the California cities of Santa Barbara, San LuisObispo, and Santa Monica, water offset requirementson new projects require developers to replace old toilets inexisting buildings w' th low-flow models in order to free upenough water to I. gild (see Fulton 1991).

In Ontario, the Town of Newmarket requires water-saving devices in toilets as a condition of subdivisionagreement, while the City of Niagara Falls requires low-flow bathroom basin faucets, showerheads, and toilets forany development subject to site plan control and for newplans for subdivision.

Tenant User Fees for WaterTo protect water reserves .and reduce the use of drinkingwater in the metropolitan area, the city government ofHamburg, Germany (pop. 1.8 million) has made tenantsrather than property owners responsible for the water usefee. The ruling will lead to the retrofitting of water metersin apartments and end automatic billing of owners forwater use based only on the size of their property and thenumber of occupants (see PIA 14(1), January 1990).

Grey Water RecyclingThe Los Angeles county board of supervisors voted for astudy on the safe use of"grey water" recycled waste waterfrom residential sources. Without objection, the boardordered the departments of health services and publicworks to issue recommendations within 60 days on howresidents might use grey water from sinks, bathtubs andwashing machines to irrigate trees and shrubs (see LADN1991). San Luis Obispo, California allows the use of greywater (see Skinner 1990).

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Natural Water PurificationA swamp pond system that purifies water by running itthrough some 125,000 plants of 11 species has turned anartificial lake on Montreal's Expo 67 site into an ecologicalpreserve. The lake balances nature, recreation and publicuse. The three pond purification system on the Ile NotreDame recreational lake b as resulted in a wetlands preservethat has helped to make the lake safe for swimmingwithout resort to chemical treatment such as chlorination(see PIA 15(2), February 1991).

Constructed WetlandsArcata, California (pop. 15,000) completed one of the firstmarsh-ecology sewage treatment systems in 1987. WhenArcatans flush, gravity takes their wastewater to aconventional treatment plant on the edge of the bay, whereit is screened and solids settle out. The effluent is piped to50 acres of oxidation ponds, where algae work on thewastes and more solids are removed. The wastewater thenflows into two 2-112 acre man-made marshes planted withbulrush and cattail, where the sewage effluent is "polished"(given advanced wastewater treatment). Next it flows into45 acres of marshes constructed by the city and theCalifornia Coastal Conservancy to help restore fish,shellfish, waterfowl and other wildlife to the area. By thetime it flows into Humboldt Bay, the effluent is cleanerthan the water it meets there. Total cost of the system,including planning and environmental studies andacquisition of some land: $514,600 (see Marinelli 1990).

Denham Springs, Louisiana (pop. 20,000) runs itsprocessed sewage through two shallow 40-acre ponds thathave been lined, carpeted with stones, filled with water,and planted with lilies and other plants. Although itlookslike a flower farm in summer, the facility can treat 3million gallons of sewage per day. Compared with

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conventional treatment, the city saved $1 million in initialconstruction costs and will save $60,000 per year onoperation and maintenance. Maintenance consists mostlyof removing the dead plant tops in spring before newshoots start poking up (MacLeish 1990; Marinelli 1990).

Water Conservation ProgramsSanta Monica, California and Minneapolis and St. Paul,Minnesota provide residents water conservation deviceswith free or low-cost installation (Skinner 1990). SantaMonica has installed low-flow toilets in one-quarter of thecity's homes, saving almost a million gallons of water everyday. The $2.8 million program, which offered freeinstallation or rebates to cover installation costs of the low-flow toilets and shower heads, was financed by aconservation incentive fee (participants were exempt fromthis surcharge on their water bill), general water revenues,and money from the water wholesaler. The program hasreduced per capita consumption for indoor use from 80gallons to 50 gallons per day. It also eases demand on themunicipal wastewater treatment system (see MacLeish1990). Santa Monica has also installed treatment systemsat drainage points for the city's storm drain system (seeSkinner 1990).

The Metropolitan Water District of SouthernCalifornia is promoting 16 "best management practices"for water conservation, including: installing low-flushtoilets and other water-conserving fixtures; checkingdistribution systems for leaks and repairing them;installing meters with all new water hook-ups and billingby volume of water use; enacting water-efficientlandscaping ordinances; providing incentives for reducingpeak demand; and designating a water conservationcoordinator to prepare and implement a conservation plan(see Schilling 1992).

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Solar Aquatic Waste Treatment FacilitiesDesigned by Dr. John Todd of Ocean Arks International(see Resources), the first solar aquatic waste treatmentfacilities opened in Providence, Rhode Island in July1989 and Harwich, Massachusetts in May, 1990. TheSolar Aquatic System,TM or SAS, duplicates, undercontrolled conditions, the natural water purificationprocesses of freshwater wetlands. Wastewater is circulatedinside a greenhouse through a series of clear tanks, eachwith its own aquatic ecosystem, and marshes. In thistreatment process, sunlight, oxygen, bacteria, algae, plants,snails and fish work togeth er to purify the water. SAS usesaeration and mixing in the tanks to prevent sludge fromsettling. This enhances degradation of solids and resultsin fewer solids than conventional wastewater systems (seeEEA n.d.).

The experimental Providence facility is an 11 by 40metre (30 by 120 feet) greenhouse which treats up to20,000 gallons of sewage per day, or about the amountfrom 150 households. To treat the whole city's wasteswould require about 120 acres, comparable to the acreagenow used to treat its wastes to secondary standards. Sincethe SAS waste doesn't stink, it can be disaggregated: eachneighbourhood or community could have its own facilityand use its own by-products, tree saplings, flowers, etc., toenhance the environment and urban landscaping, and asa source of income. The facilities are modestly more cost-effective than ordinary secondary treatment plants; fordealing with very concentrated wastes, like septage, whichis 30-100 times more concentrated than sewage and hardto treat conventionally, the plants are far more cost effectivethan any other technology. They also create substantiallyless sludge than conventional treatment (see CBC 1990;Marinelli 1990).

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The Solar Aquatic Waste Purification ResearchFacility Providence, Rhode Island

This facility is designed with four parallel raceways running thelength of the greenhouse. Two raceways act as control systemsand two as experimental streams. Each raceway consists oftwelve 1,300-gallon translucent cylinders and two treatmentmarshes. The wastewater flows through the system by gravity.The treatment tanks are seeded with a commercial mixture ofbacteria and planted with a selection of woody plants, aquaticplants and pond weeds. All of the tanks also containmicroorganisms, snails, phytoplankton and zooplankton. Thelast few tanks in each raceway have been stocked with striped bassand tilapia. (Photo by the author, 1991).

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RESOURCES

JOHN M. TEAL AND SUSAN B. PETERSON, "The NextGeneration of Septage Treatment," Research JournalWater Pollution Control Federation (WPCF) 63(1): 84-89,January/February 1991. This paper describes thepreliminary results of a pilot experiment run by OceanArks International in the town of Harwich, Massachusetts,in the summer of 1988 at the town landfill. The landfillheld the lagoons, inlined pits in the sand, into whichseptage was pumped for disposal. Liquids seeped throughthe bottom of the lagoon or evaporated and the remainingsolids were eventually placed in the landfill. During theexperiment, septage was pumped from the active lagooninto the treatment system and the effluent was returnedto the lagoon. Metals were sequestered in the system andall but lead met drinking water standards in the effluent.Metals in fish living in the last tanks met food.standardsexcept for antimony, cadmium, and lead. Methylenechloride, trichloroethene, and toluene were high in theinfluent but met drinking water standards in the effluent.

THE CENTER FOR THE PROTECTION AND RESTORATION OF

WATERS @ OCEAN ARKS INTERNATIONAL iS a not-for-profitglobal center for water awareness and action founded in1989. Dr. John Todd of OAI originally developed the SolarAquatics System,TM or SAS, a biologically integratedtechnology which treats septage, sludge, sewage, andindustrial process wastewater to high quality specificationsat low cost. Membership in OAI is available from:

The Center @ OAI1 Locust St.Falmouth, MA 02540Tel: 508/540-6801 Fax: 508/540-6811

ECOLOGICAL ENGINEERING ASSOCIATES purchased therights to the SAS technology and markets the system.

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They provide wastewater treatment plant design,engineering, construction and operating services. Forfurther information, contact:

Ecological Engineering Associates13 Marconi LaneMarion, MA 02738Tel: 508/748-3224 Fax: 508/748-9740

NANCY JACK TODD AND JOHN TODD, Bioshelters, OceanArks, City Farming: Ecology as the Basis of Design(San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1984). This bookextends the work ofdesign pioneers such as R. BuckminsterFuller and Gregory Bateson in developing renewable energyand systems based on natural cycles in agriculture,aquaculture, fuel resources, and general design. It describesa spectrum of innovative experiments integrating small,self-adapting systems with 21st-century biotechnologies.Includes sketches of a neighbourhood sewage treatmentfacility, a solar sewage wall, rooftop farming, sidewalkgardening, warehouse farming, and bus stop and sidewalkaquaculture.

ReferencesCANADIAN BROADCASTING Comm/aim (CBC), "The Age of

Ecology," IDEAS (Toronto: CBC Ideas, Part Five, June 25,1990).

ECOLOGICAL. ENGINEERING ASSOCIATES (EEA), "Solar AquaticSystems. Greenhouses That Grow Clean Water" (Marion,MA: EEA, n.d.).

FULTON, W., "How Dry We Are," Planning 57(5):30, May1991.

Los Angeles Daily News (LADN), "Rain Helps Out ThirstyCalifornians," Vancouver Sun, March 6, 1991, p. A5.

LowE, M.D., "Shaping Cities: The Environmental andHuman Dimensions," Worldwatch Paper 105 (Washington,D.C.: Worldwatch Institute, 1991).

MAcLEisn, W.H., "Water, Water, Everywhere, How Many

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Water and Sewage

Drops to Drink?" World Monitor, December 1990, pp. 54-58.MARINELLI, J., "After the Flush: The Next Generation,"

Garbage, Jan/Feb 1990, pp. 24-35.ORGANIZATION FOR ECONOMIC COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT


Public Innovation Abroad (PIA), various issuesROCKY MOUNTAIN INSTITUTE (RMI) Newsletter, "Negawatts

from Negagallons," VII(III):4, Fall/Winter 1991.SCHILLING, E., "The Big Thirst," Planning 58(2):18-19,

February 1992.SCHREIER, H., S.J. BROWN AND K.J. Hi , "The Land-Water

Interface in the Fraser River Basin," ILI ..H.J. Dorcey andJ.R. Griggs, eds., Water in Sustainable Development:Exploring Our Common Future in the Fraser River Basin(Vancouver: Westwater Research Centre, 1991).

SKINNER, N., "Ecocity Legisl ation," in Urban Ecology ,Reportofthe First International Ecological City Conference (Berkeley,CA: Urban Ecology, 1990).

SOPPER, W., "Forests as Living Filters for Urban Sewage,"in Gordon, D., ed., Green Cities: Ecologically SoundApproaches to Urban Space (Montreal: Black Rose Books,1990).

TEAL, J.M. AND S.B. PuERSON, "The Next Generation ofSeptage Treatment," Research Journal Water PollutionControl Federation (WPCF) 63(1): 84-89, January/February1991.

TODD, N.J. AND J.TODD, Bioshelters, Ocean Arks, CityFarming :Ecology as the Basis of Design (San Francisco: SierraClub Books, 1984).

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Greening the City

9

Greening the City

Greening the city refers to a spectrum of ideas andtechniques ranging from edible planting and indigenouslandscaping to community organizing to protect urbanopen space and restore creeks. These activities aremotivated by awareness of factors such as the need toreduce the urban heat island effect, reduce our use ofpesticides, conserve energy, clean urban air, and absorbcarbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Our urban ecosystems serve as indicators of ecologicalhealth. Especially in urban areas, there is a fine linebetween ecological health and public health. No parentswant their children to play in water that kills fish.

Beyond this, ifwe accept the argument that sustainabilityrequires cities to become more urban, they need also tobecome more pleasant. One sure way of enhancing thequality of urban life is th rough "green ing"the city. Greeningthe city means emphasizing an environmental perspectivethat begins with the city. It means combining urbanismand nature to create cities that are healthy, civilizing, andenriching places to live (see Hough 1990).

Perhaps the mo t important aspect of greening the cityis that cities are where most of us live, and therefore citiesare where most of us learn about the interplay betweensociety and nature. It is a truism that many urbanitesthink food comes from supermarkets, water comes fromfaucets, and wastes are simply taken "away." In ademocratic society, we cannot expect people to support

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Transforming Our Cities"There needs to be a profound shift in the fundamentalpremises and activities of city living. Urban peoplehave to adopt conservationist values and carry outmore responsible practices in wide areas of daily life.Municipal governments need to restructure theirpriorities so that long-term sustainability can becomea feasible goal. With such a large portion of thepopulation removed from the land and from access toresources, ways to secure some share of the basicrequirements of food, water, energy, and materialswill have to be found within the confines of cities.Cities need to become 'green.' They must betransformed into places that are life-enhancing andregenerative."

(Berg 1990

"We need to consider ways in which people can relate moreclosely to nature in cities either by protecting the survivingvestiges of the natural world, or by creating completely newopportunities for nature to exist within an urban setting. Byexamining the ecology of cities, there is much that we canlearn about nat ural processes within the urban environment:which species are able to survive and what restoration ispossible. By applying that knowledge we could alter the faceof many cities to a great extent."

Goode 1990

sustainability policies if they have no experience of theecological basis oflife our urban areas should demonstrateour dependence on ecological health. Nor can we expectpeople to support more ecologically appropriate urbanlifestyles (e.g., more compact communities, less use ofprivate automobiles) unless our urban areas themselvesbecome healthier.

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Greening the City

The "Green City" Concept"The green city concept is as much a way of thinkingas it is a physical reality. It brings together notions ofurbanism and nature, ideas that most people havenormally separated into water-tight compartments.There has been an overwhelming propensity to focuson the problems of the larger environment whileignoring the one where most of us live. Puttingurbanism and nature together provides us with anopportunity to create cities that are healthy, civilizing,and enriching places in which to live... at its broadestlevel, the green city means an environmentalperspective that begins with the city. This makessense since all environmental decisions are made byurban people with urban attitudes in urban places.Solutions to the environment as a whole have tobegin, therefore, at home."

(Hough 1990)

Shopping Malls or Genuine People-Places?"Given the failure of many urban areas to offerhumane, welcoming spaces, it is no wonder so manypeople flock to suburban shopping malls. These vaststructures are an attempt to recreate, artificially, theamenities of a hearty city: a profusion of differentactivities; sunlight, trees and fountains; and invitingbenches and cafes - all designed for the convenienceof pedestrians. But like most imitations, malls are, inthe long run, far less viable than the real thing. Thecreation of genuine people-places lies not in despoilingthe countryside with new shopping centers, but inmore humanely planning the city's existing spacesand streets."

(Lowe 1991)

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"It is in some senses climatically now considered to be verymuch more valuable to plant an urban tree rather than arural one. The difference being, both take about six kilogramsof carbon dioxide out of the air per year. But the urban treehas the extra benefits that it shades hot urban surfaces, whichneed energy in the form of air conditioning to cool them off...It turns out that the urban tree is worth 15 times as much asyour rural tree. And that's a very important need for theplanet right now."

Dr. Tim Oke, urban climatologistquoted in McMartin 1990

"A 100 year-old beech tree, 25 m tall with a 15 m crowndiameter, produces enough oxygen in a year to meet the needsof ten people. If that tree dies, 2700 young trees, each with acrown volume of 1 m, would have to be panted to achieve thesame oxygen benefit."

City of Toronto 1990

Urban "Heat Island" Costs"Calculations suggest that, in Los Angeles, for eachdegree Fahrenheit of temperature increase, theenergy demand goes up by 1.6%, which translates to300 megawatts of electricity. In terms of cost, thefive-Fahrenheit-degree temperature rise over thelast 50 years (due largely to the urban heat islandphenomenon) accounts for US $100 million per year.Moreover, for a city with severe air-quality problems,a 30% increase in smog days has been associated withthat rise; this comes about because of the temperaturedependence of the process which creates ozone fromthe other components of the smog."

(McCulloch 1991)

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TOOLS

Benefits of urban plantingMore livable cities. Trees, bushes and grasslands arebeautiful and can relieve the barrenness ofthe concreteand asphalt that covers many cities.Improved drainage. Properly planted land absorbsthe rain that falls on it, eliminating excessive run-offthat otherwise requires expensive storm sewers thatoften overflow and flood.Closer-knit communities. Sidewalk planting projectspresent an opportunity for residents to work togetheron bettering their neighbourhoods. (see Berg et al 1989)

Integrated Pest Management"In response to these severe problems with pesticides,integrated pest management concepts have been developed.Put very simply, integrated pest management is the use ofall available tools and methods to suppress, but not tocontrol, insect populations and keep damage to acceptablelevels using the safest, most effective and most economicalmeans. That is rather a tall order, and it requires thoughtabout all the kinds of controls that can be used. There isno one magic chemical or one magic bullet, or one magicpredator, or one magic technique. We have to think aboutusing many techniques together." (Gilkeson 1990)

Planting Trees to Save Money and EnergyA recent study examines the use of vegetation and highalbedo materials in Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, andVancouver to modify the urban microclimate, thus savingon residential energy for heating and cooling. It showsthat simply planting trees can produce significant savingsof money and energy. The annual household savingsrange, depending on the structure, from $30 to $180 inurban areas and from $60 to $400 in rural zones. (seeAkbari and Taha 1991)

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Benefits of Urban Wild. HabitatImproved quality of life. The existence of urban wildhabitat makes undomesticated animals a visiblereality, especially for children, instead ofjust somethingto read about in books.An indicator of ecological health. The vigour androbustness of native animals and plants indicate howclean the air and water are, and can help us assess thehealth and life-supporting capacity of the entireecosystem.An awareness of the natural cycles of the life-place. Byhaving wildlife close at hand, city-dwellers can be incloser touch with the natural systems of which theyare a part. (see Berg et al 1989)

Conservation CommissionsMany local governments establish a conservationcommission to protect the natural resources and thewatershed of their community. In the state of NewHampshire, conservation commissions may receive giftsofmoney and property, both real and personal, in the nameof the city or town. They may also "acquire in the name ofthe town or city by gift, purchase, grant, bequest, devise,lease or otherwise the fee in such land or water rights, orany lesser interest, development right, easement, covenant,or other contractual right including conveyances withconditions, limitations or reversions, as may be necessaryto acquire, maintain, improve, protect, limit the future useof or otherwise conserve and properly utilize open spacesand other land and water areas within their city or town,and shall manage and control the same," although they donot have the right to condemn property for these purposes.(see New Hampshire Title III)

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INITIATIVES

Creek Raising"In our cities, we have tended to bury or modify streamsbeyond all recognition, in the process neglecting the powerof these waters to renew the human spirit, just as theyrenew the life of the land. Stream corridors [...J representone of the most varied ecosystems. This richness canenable us to re-create our relationships to creeks. Therestoration of urban streams thus takes on an ecology ofmeanings: they are a vehicle which permits us to 're-inhabit' where we live and to cultivate a sense of place;provide an organizing principle for community buildingand a means to revitalize neighborhoods and commercialareas; give us a way of finding the child again (who lovedto play by them); and offer a forum for environmental art,dance, and poetry. Conceiving creek work in this way canserve to infuse community activism with a creative andinspirational dimension that has profound implicationsfor grassroots efforts to revitalize our cities." (Steere 1990)

Communities that have raised and restored their creeksinclude San Luis Obispo and Berkeley, California.Burnaby, British Columbia passed a resolution in 1972that its streams must be "preserved and conserved."Housing developments must incorporate existing streamsinto their landscaping, and individual homeowners arenot allowed to build right down to the bank (see Sarti1992).

Green Guerrillas"People's needs and involvement in their ownneighbourhood open space is what the Green Guerrillas isall about. Our organization began in 1973 with a group ofneighbours on the lower east side of Manhattan. Theyhad decided that they were tired of the disinterest in and

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destruction of their community. They cleaned and greened[...] a vacant lot on the corner of Bowery and Houstonstreets, an area some of us know as Bum's Row. Today thatlot is lush with plants during the growing season, and thesinall Metasequoia tree they planted there is now forty feettall. The garden has meandering paths, a grape arbour, apond, and all kinds of flowers, fruits, and vegetables.Anything that will grow in an urban environment is there.It even has a bee hive. That the garden is in an area knownfor its urban blight holds important significance." ( Keller1990)

Tree Replacement BylawsVancouver's 1991 tree-replacement bylaw requires thereplanting of trees affected by development. It requiresbuilders to file site plans showing existing trees withtrunks over 20 centimetres (eight inches) in diametermeasured 90 centimetres (three feet) above the ground. Atree that is removed must be replaced somewhere on theproperty by a tree of a type and size approved by the city.Vancouver had originally asked the provincial governmentto amend the city charter to give it the authority to finepeople who destroy trees, but that was not granted. Thepenalty for those who break the new bylaw is that theiroccupancy permit will be withheld (see Fayerman 1990,1991).

Natural PlantingIn a critical aquifer district in the town of Southamptonon Long Island, ordinances require that at least 80 percentof each lot be kept in its natural state, and no more than 15percent of any lot (and in no case more than 1,900 squaremeters) can be planted in fertilized lawns or plants. Theserestrictions still leave landowners with ample landscapingchoices; sites that are not left in woodland vegetation can

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be planted in meadow grasses, perennial wildflowers, ivy,or other dense plantings that need little or no fertilizing(see Lowe 1991).

"Green" RoofsThe German cities of Mannheim and Frankfurt are nowgranting planning permission for structures with flat orgently sloping roofs only if they are designed to be of the"living" variety. The German League of Cities has notedthat flat "green" roofs save energy and increase residents'comfortby limiting the temperature spread, thus reducingheating and air conditioning requirements. Currenttechnology allows flat roofs to be retrofitted for vegetationeconomically without any danger that plant roots willperforate roof surfaces. "Green" roofs have 60% less runoffthan gravel or asphalt tiles, reducing the costs of drainagesystems and, in sufficient numbers, improving the urbanmicro-climate (see PIA 14(5), May 1990).

IntP-srated Pest ManagementBurnaby, British Columbia uses integrated pestmanagement (IPM) wherever possible to maintain itsgreen areas.

RESOURCES

GARY MOLL AND SARA EBENRECK, editors, Shading OurCities: A Resource Guide for Urban and CommunityForests (Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 1989). Thisvaluable reference, published under the auspices of theAmerican Forestry Association, explains how to preserveand extend urban forests. The authors argue that beyondthe aesthetic benefits of parks and tree-lined streets, treescan also reduce energy demand (by providing cool:ngshade), improve air quality, protect water supplies, and

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signal community stability. The book includes practicalmeasures to save existing trees, information on how tostart an urban forestry program, and profiles of successfulprojects in Los Angelep, Philadelphia, New York, Atlanta,and other cities.

HASHEM AKBARI AND HAIDER TAHA, The Tree-HouseEffect: The Impact of Trees and White Surfaces onResidential Energy Use in Four Canadian Cities(Ottawa: Friends of the Earth, 1991). A technical reportbyscientists with the Heat Island Project of the University ofCalifornia-Berkeley and the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratoryof the US Department of Energy. Available from:

Global ReLeaf Program Global ReLeaf ProgramFriends of the Earth American Forestry Assoc251 Laurier Ave. West PO Box 2000Ottawa, Ontario Washington,KIP 5J6 DC 20013Tel: 613/230-3352 Tel: 202/667-3300

US ENVIRON1WENTAL PROTEMON AGENCY (EPA), CoolingOur Communities: A Guidebook on Tree Plantingand Light-Colored Surfacing (Washington, D.C.: USEPA, 1992, S/N 055-000-00371-8). This guidebook wasdeveloped specifically for reducing summer heat in cities. Itdiscusses ways ofreducing the effects of urban "heat islands,"and the likely environmental and economic benefits of takingappropriate measures. Tncludes resources, references,sources of support, descriptions of mitigation efforts alreadyunderway, and technical appendices. Available from:

Superintendent of DocumentsPO Box 371954Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954

INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY OF ABORICULTURE, MunicipalTree Manual (Urbana, Ill: International Society ofAboriculture, 1990). A municipal ordinance to control theplanting and care of trees is a critical tool for improving th e

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health of a city landscape. This report is a comprehensiveguide to drafting or revising such an ordinance. It includesthree sample ordinances as well as additional ordinancesections and commentary. Also included is a useful andwell-illustrated section on management standards andspecifications that can be developed as an appendix to atree ordinance or as a separate management document.Contains examples from the field and useful advice oncontract specifications and standards. Available from:

International Society of AboriculturePO Box 908Urbana, Ill 61801

PETER BERG, BERYL MAGILAVY AND SETH ZUCKERMAN, A

Green City Program for San Francisco Bay AreaCities and Towns (San Francisco: Planet Drum Books,1989). This intriguing book arose from a set of symposiaon urban sustainability in the San Francisco Bay Area in1986. The premise of the participants was that cities mustbe transformed into places that are life-enhancing andregenerative, and that enormous changes in a society cancome from a handful of citizen planners who restructurehow they live and actively influence others. Topics includeurban planting, transportation, planning, energy,neighbourhood character and empowerment, recyclingand reuse, celebrating life -place vitality, urban wild habitat,and socially responsible small businesses and cooperatives.Each chapter includes a section on "What can cities do topromote ...?," long-term visions for municipal action, a"fable" to illustrate the way beneficial changes could occur,and a section on "... in Green City: what's possible?"DAVID GORDON, ed., Green Cities: Ecologically Sound

Approaches to Urban Space (Montreal: Black RoseBooks, 1990). What is the Green City? This anthologybegins with a series of attempts to articulate ideas onculture, globalism, international economics, and local

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initiative. The bulk of the book is devoted to strategies andtechniques for "naturalizing" and "greening" urban areas.The final section describes how some local organizationshave overcome institutional and social barriers in theirattempts to realize visions of the green city. Appendicesinclude a list of horticultural services and suppliers; abibliography on urban wilderness and ecologicallandscaping, edible landscaping, groundcovers and herbs,and urban agriculture and gardening; and a listing ofselected organizations and demonstration projects.

GERALD F.M. DAWE, editor, The Urban Environment:A Sourcebook for the 1990s (Birmingham, UK: Centrefor Urban Ecology, Nature Conservancy Council, andWorld Wide Fund for Nature, 1990). This 636-page bookcontains 1,768 abstracts of articles, papers, reports andbooks on various aspects of urban ecology. Each abstractis classified by means of key words which tie into the mainindexes (plant and animal, town and city and subjectindexes), as well as with graphic symbols designed to givea first-glance impression of the emphasis of each abstract.The book is a useful guide to work carried out in the 1980son urban landscape, wildlife, climate, pollution, andecosystems. This is an expensive volume, but may beworth asking your library to order. Available from:

Centre for Urban Ecology318 Summer LaneBirmingham B19 3RL, United KingdomTel: 021 - 359 7462 Fax: 021 - 359 6357

URBAN ECOLOGY, a California non-profit organizationfounded by Ecocity Berkeley author Richard Register,publishes a newsletter The Urban Ecologist. Althoughprimarily focused on the San Francisco Bay Area, thisgroup organized the First International Ecocity Conferencein 1990. The conference emphasized the need to rebuildour cities in harmony with nature, and the newsletter

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includes vignettes of ecological rebuilding around theworld. The Report of the First International EcologicalCity Conference and the newsletter are both availablefrom:

Urban EcologyP.O. Box 10144Berkeley, CA 94709Tel: 415/549-1724

ReferencesAKI3ARI, H. AND H. TAI IA, The Tree-House Effect: The Impact

of Trees and White Surfaces on Residential Energy Use inFour Canadian Cities (Ottawa: Friends of the Earth, 1991).

BERG, P., B. MACIIAVY AND S. ZUCKERMAN, A Green CityProgram for San Francisco Bay Area Cities and Towns (SanFrancisco: Planet Drum Books, 1989).

BERG, P., "Developing the San Francisco Green City Plan,"in Gordon 1990.

CITY OE TORONTO, "The Greening of Toronto: AnEnvironmental Greenprint for the Future" (Toronto: City ofToronto, Department of Parks and Recreation, 1990).

DAwE, G.F.M., ed., The Urban En vironmEnt: A Sourcebookfor the 1990s (Birmingham, UK: Centre for Urban Ecology,Nature Conservancy Council, and World Wide Find forNature, 1990).

FAYERNIAN, P., "Tree Replacement Bylaw Canada's First,"Vancouver Sun, December 27, 1990, p. Bl.

FAYERMAN, P., "Tree Bylaw Successful, Author Says,"Vancouver Sun, May 17, 1991, p. Al2.

GILKESON, L., "Integrated Pest Management," in Gordon1990.

GOODE, D., "A Green Renaissance," in Gordon 1990.GoRnoN, D., ed., Green Cities: Ecologically Sound

Approaches to Urban Space (Montreal: Black Rose Books,1990).

Houon, M., "Formed by Natural Process: A Definition ofthe Green City," in Gordon 1990.

INTEILNATIONAL SOCIETY OP ABORICULTURE, Municipal TreeManual (Urbana, Ill: International Society of Aboriculture,

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1990).KELLER, T., "The Greening of the Big Apple," in Gordon

1990.LOWE, M.D., "Shaping Cities: The Environmental and

Human Dimensions," Worldwatch Paper 105 (Washington,D.C.: Worldwatch Institute, 1991).

McCuLwar. J.A.W.,"Overview ofInternational Conferenceon Cities and Global Change" (Toronto, June 1991), preparedfor "World Cities and the Environment" Conference, Toronto,August 25-28, 1991.

MCMARTIN, P., "Our Future: To Live and Die, Like LA?" inVancouver Sun, March 14. 1990, p. All.

Mon, G. AND S. EBENRECK, eds., Shading Our Cities: AResource Guide for Urban and Community Forests(Washington, D.C.: Island Press, 1989).

STATE OFNEW HAMPSHIRE, New Hampshire Title III, Chapter36-A:2, A:4.

Public Innovation Abroad (PIA), various issuesSART1, R., "Alderman's Stream of Consciousness Fount for

Burnaby," Vancouver Sun, March 12, 1992, p. Dl.STEERE, J., "Creeks Alive!" in Urban Ecology, Report of the

First International Ecological City Conference (Berkeley,CA: Urban Ecology, 1990).

US ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA), Cooling OurCommunities: A Guidebook on Tree Planting and Light-Colored Surfacing (Washington, D.C.: US EPA, 1992).

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Economic Development

10


Conventional approaches to economic development oftenproduce enormous amounts of pollution and consumehuge quantities of energy and materials while failing todeliver sufficient jobs. A host of existing governmentpolicies that encourage pollution and discourage jobcreation need to be overhauled. While many of thesepolicies, e.g., taxation, are primarily within the jurisdictionof senior governments, municipal and local governmentscan begin to point the way toward a sustainable economy(see Renner 1991).

A sustainable economy will emphasize two factors:sustainable employment, and economic demandmanagement. Sustainable employment includes turning"wastes" into resources (e.g., recycling); improving efficiencywith regard to energy and materials; converting to greaterreliance on renewable energy sources; increasingcommunity self-reliance (e.g., food and energy production);and sustainable management of natural resources (e.g.,community forestry).

Several kinds of community-oriented enterprises haveproven valuable in the pursuit of sustainable employment.Community Development Corporations (CDCs), forexample, have been active in rehabilitating or constructingaffordable housing, creating jobs and businesses ineconomically disenfranchised areas, engaging incommercial and industrial real estate development topromote economic development in their communities, and

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providing job training and placement services. Likewise,community finance institutions such as communitydevelopment credit unions, revolving loan funds, andhousing trustfunds have helped communities exr :riencingdisinvestment and/or a lack of investment capital createtheir own financial institutions to retain or gain access tocapital.

The other factor to emphasize in a sustainable economyis managing economic demand. In Chapter One we notedthat "development" can no longer simply mean economic"growth," but requires instead that we learn to live on the"interest" generated by remaining stocks of "naturalcapital." Just as sustainability has prompted a shift in ourtransportation and energy planning away from thetraditional concerns with increasing supply to the newfocus on managing demand, we mustalso shift our economicdevelopment emphasis from the traditional concern withincreasing growth to the new focus on reducing socialdependence on economic growth, or what we might callEconomic Demand Management (EDM). A primary focusof EDM should be reducing the need for paid work (seeSchor 1991). Local governments can promote EDM by, forexample, land-use planning that links trip reduction withaffordable housing, and by developing partnerships withinstitutions such as community land trusts to provide anexpanding stock of permanently affordable housing.

Local Self-Reliance"Self-reliance in socioeconomic systems has its analoguein natural systems. As a general rule of natural process,energy (and subsequent action) are captured or expendedas close to the point of origin as possible. The diversity ofecosystems is a reflection of the diversity of local conditionsand ways of responding to them. Our built systems oftenimpose homogeneity upon highly diverse natural systems.

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Sustainability as Public Policy"The sooner we embrace the principles ofsustainability as an essential goal of public policy, theless traumatic the transition will be. An early decisionto alter or abandon environmentally destructivepractices is likely to cause fewer economic problemsor job losses than a reactive policy. Although theshort-term costs of redesigning products andproduction technologies can be high, delaying aresponse until it is dictated by sheer ecologicalnecessity would be even more costly [...] A sustainable.ociety will have to give greater emphasis to

conservation and efficiency, rely more on renewableenergy, and extract nominally renewable resourcesonly to the degree that they can regenerate themselves.It will need to minimize waste, maximize reuse andrecycling, avoid the use of hazardous materials, andpreserve biodiversity. And it will need to developmore environmentally benign productiontechnologies, and design products to be more durableand repairable."

(Renner 1991)

This results in dislocations of materials and disruption ofsystem dynamics, leaving us with what we call waste orpollution.

Local self-reliance does not mean isolation, either innatural or built systems. It means creating anorganizational system that enhances the internal economyand cohesiveness of a place, reduces entropy, and providesthe base for import/export relationships with othercommunities. It is an integrative process that links theconsumer sector of the local economy with the producersector and through the relationship strengthens both.

One way to enhance the self-reliance of a community is

2 2 4

I Toward Sustainable Communities

( Miniaturizing the Economy -Ns

"The primary benefit of local self-reliance is [...] [that]it improves decision making because the costs of thedecision and the benefits from the decision begin tofall on the same community. We do not separate theproductive process over long distances.Psychologically, we improve the self-confidence andthe security of our communities by miniaturizing theeconomy." (Morris 1990

to identify the imports and, where possible, substitutelocal product% Import substitution can dramaticallyimprove the 'balance of paym ents,' but its real value lies increating momentum. As communities organize to findsubstitutes for imports, they begin to think consciouslyabout self-reliance and this releases a certaininventiveness and drive for efficiency. Inventiveness andefficiency help a community reduce imports still more, butthey also allow the community to develop exports and inour information-laced society, ingenuity itself isexportable [...]

Communities that recover materials from the trashstream and use them as resources for local production willrealize the full potential of waste recycling as a tool foreconomic development. Colonized nations often poin z, outthat colonizers extract raw materials cheaply, refine themat home, and then sell them back to the colonized countriesfor a large profit. U.S. cities are like colonized countries inthat they export what little recycled material they docollect. The two leading exports from the port of New Yorkare scrap metal and paper. Other countries are importingthese materials, processingthem, and then often exportingthem back to the U.S. For example, Japan imports scrappaper from us and turns it into boxes for exports." (Martin1988)

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Introducing Economic Diversity and Self-Reliance"A greater degree of economic diversity and self-reliance can be introduced in several ways.Community organizations can be formed to create,nurture, and assist worker self-managed firms. Thiswill involve a social approach to entrepreneurship,an economic function usually left to the private sectorin capitalist countries, or to the state in socialist ones.Local governments can help by structuring socialservices and support systems to enable self-reliancerather than creating dependency."

(Bruyn 1987)

"Invariably people come up and talk to me about comparativeadvantage and, invariably, the argument of 'bananas' comesup. The argument is that perhaps we should be locally self-reliant, but surely Canada should not, because ofthe climate,be raising its own bananas. Surely it is cheaper to importthose bananas. Perhaps, but, once again, what is the priceand the cost? Bananas that come from Central America comefrom countries that do not permit unions, through companiesthat do not pay any taxes, and by production methods thathave no environmental regulations 1...] if you calculated theamount of dollars that have been spent by the United Statesin military intervention in Central America and divided thatby the number of bananas that are imported into the UnitedStates, you would find that it is very costly to import bananasrather than to grow them by yourself"

Morris 1990

Employment Impacts of Sustainability Policies"The employment impacts of sustainability policies are afrequent concern and highly variable. For example,mandatory container reuse and recycling, many energyconservation measures, and enhanced public

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transportation may involve more rather than fewer jobopportunities, while energy efficiency standards forappliances and automobiles may be employment neutral.Where there are significant dislocations, special job trainingprograms and new forms of social safety nets may have tobe implemented to serve those people in transition fromunsustainable forms of employment.

Many other sustainability measures are inherentlypositive in their distributive effects. For example, moreefficient land use and tax policies to discourage landspeculation will increase the affordability ofhousing in thecity and enable people to live closer to work. Shifting someof the public subsidy from automobile use to improvedpublic transit will improve access to the city for lowerincome groups while attracting more riders from all socialstrata. All such effects are much in need of furtherresearch. However, in the final analysis, to the extentimproving the health, access, and livability of our citiescontributes to the long-term survival of society, we allbenefit in equal measure." (Rees and Roseland 1991)

Sustainable IndustrySustainable industry means converting the material basisof society. While the shape of sustainable industry is stillemerging, several features will be critical:" Technologies appropriate to the desired ends.

Safe and environmentally compatible materials.Products that meet basic social needs and someindividual wants.low- and no-waste production processes.safe and skill-enhancing working conditions.energy efficiency.resource conservation to meet the needs of futuregenerations." (Geiser 1991)

Sustainable industry encompasses the entire social,

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economic, and technological system by which we producegoods. This systems-wide perspective unites preventionpolicies, the precautionary principle, and clean technologyinto an integrated view that regards economic andenvironmental goals as equal determinants in a healthysociety.

"From this point, it is a short jump to considering theentire industrial system as an environment and healthissue. The design of new production processes would takeinto account both occupational and community health.The consumption of materials, water, and energy would beevaluated in determining efficiencies.

In short, policies to promote sustainable industry wouldconsider the risks of materials throughout their full lifecycle from synthesis or extraction through processing,distribution, and application to final disposal. The use ofexisting materials would be carefully tailored to fit intonatural ecological systems. The design and selection ofnew materials would be consciously directed towardenhancing the quality of the environment and publichealth." (Geiser 1991)

Community Economic Development"Whether CED (community economic development) ispractised in hinterland resource towns, urban ghettos,obsolescent manufacturing cities, or Native communities'reserves, the general objective is the same: to take somemeasure of control of the local economy back from themarkets and the state. Within this common objective,CED practice is variously oriented to controlling the localeconomy for narrow ends (increasing the capacity of acommunity to make money), for broader purposes (e.g., toincrease economic stability and control of resources) or toserve fundamental goals of economic justice. That is tosay, CED varies according to whether 'economic,'

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A New Community Constitution"There are risks in empowering people in the localcommunity. We are reminded of the provinciality,bigotry, and local elitism that existed in small townsat the turn of the century and how the rise of the bigcity, created largely through free market forces,eliminated that rigidity. But big cities substitutedtheir own problems of anonymity, impersonality,delinquency, crime, drug addiction, prostitution,slums, and class divisions between the wealthy andthe poor. We are talking about a new social-economicconstitution to the local community. "

(Bruyn 1987)

`development,' or 'community' is emphasized." (Boothroyd1991)

Market Development"Policies adopted by local governments can play a strongrole in market development. For example, prior to thepassage of local government regulations on ozone-depletingcompounds, there were few manufacturers and few modelsavailable of CFC "vampire" units machines that removefreon from refrigerators and air conditioners to enable thefreon to be recycled. Since local governments startedpassing CFC regulations in 1989, more manufacturershave begun producing the vampire units, making availablea variety of models at lower, competitive prices. Energyconservation and renewable energy incentive measuresadopted by local governments can spur similar marketdevelopment in these areas and set new standards forsenior government policies." (Skinner 1991)

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"Local governments should promote balanced developmentby applying development control laws stringently,implementing local plans that have been developed throughwide community participation... Plans should also broadenthe economic base by encouraging new sustainable activitiesthat will create employment and income.'

IUCN 1991

rRedefining Labour

"As we move toward an economy based on theprinciples of local self-reliance, we may see asignificant reduction in the trade of products or rawmaterials, accompanied by a rapid expansion in thetrade of information, knowledge, entertainment, andculture. As we move toward a steady-state societywith respect to raw material consumption, we maybegin to redefine the nature of labor itself."

(Morris 1986)

TOOLS

Sustainable EmploymentCommunity Development CorporationsCommunity Development Corporations (CDCs) aredemocratic firms designed to be accountable to all theresidents of the community, not just special interests likeproducers and consumers. Residents become members fora small fee and may participate equally with one vote inshaping community policy.

"The CDC is a planning and governance vehicle organizedin the private sector to help meet local needs. It has anoverall responsibility to help develop land, labour, andcapital and, by implication, the responsibility to help

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redress any imbalance of power within the exchangesystem... It is like a municipal government, except that itstask is simply to coordinate local economic development...The CDC does not replace the local government in any realsense, but it can reduce the need for services (and thus fortaxes) by encouraging local corporations to meet the needsof their stakeholders. Where possible, it can help reducethe need for competitive motives serving- as the drivingforce of the local economy and increase the possibility forcooperative motives and mutual aid to become the basis oflocal economic organization." (Bruyn 1987)

Community DeveRopment Credit Unions"A credit union is a cooperative, non-profit corporationcreated by and for people affiliated by a common bond, for thepurpose of promoting thrift among its members and ofloaning funds to its members at reasonable interest rates[...] A Community Development Credit Unions (CDCU) is aspecific type of credit union. CDCUs arebased on a residentialcommon bond and serve low-to moderate-incomecommunities and individuals. Of the 19,000 credit unions inthe US, approximately 400 are community developmentcreditunions. CDCUs share two common themes: all CDCUsserve people who need financial services but cannot getthem readily from banks, and all CDCUs are motivated bya vision of community economic empowerment" (Swack 1987)

Community Loan Funds"Acommunity loan fund (C LF) is a n of -fo r-profit corporation,or a program within a not-for-profit corporation, that acceptsloans from individuals and institutions and uses this capitalto make loans for community development projects withinits own geographic area. A CLF typically borrows and lendsat below-market interest rates, and places a high-priority onmaking loans to community-based organizations that are

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unable to get them from conventional sources. With itsspecialized knowledge of local housing and other communityeconomic development activities, a CLF is able to evaluateloan requests from local groups in a way that most investorsand investment professionals cannot. .A CLF is also able to helpthese groups develop sound financial plans and identify andapproach other sources of capital. As both lender and technicalassistant, a community loan fund is abridge between investorsand community groups in need of capital." (Swack 1987)

Trust FundsOne source of public capital for local governments is adedicated, renewable trust fund.

"Trust funds are characterized by the establishment of apermanent endowment, dedicated to the investment ofcapitalassets in housingor other community economic developmentactivities. A trust fund's endowment may be capitalized byone-time contributions, or by annually renewable revenuesources. Trust funds established by one-time allocations offunds provide for loans from their endowment or grantsfrom the endowment's investment earnings. Those capitalizedby annually renewable revenues can afford to grant or lendfunds from the trust's principal [...] Trust fund capital assetsare stable and predictable, and may be relied upon for long-

term financial commitments necessary for capitaldevelopment, particularly housing development." (Rosen 1988)

Reinvestment PoliciesReinvestment policies are a source of public capital for localgovernments.

"Reinvestment policies address the issue of availablecredit and insurance for community economic development.[US] depository institutions which extract capital fromcommunities in the form of deposits have an obligation toreinvest significant portions of their assets in those

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communities. Reinvestment policies apply most directly tocommercial banks and savings and loan associations.However, reinvestment principles may be applied to theinsurance industry as well, which not only extracts capitalfrom communities, but whose own self interest dictates thatcommunities remain economically stable. Communityeconomic stability is largely dependent on the availability ofinvestment capital. Thus, the insurance industry cansimultaneously serve its self interest and the public interestby assuring that a significant portion of its capital assets isreinvested in community economic development for thebenefit of low income areas." (Rosen 1988)

Recycling vs. Incineration Employment"Recycling in the U.S. may already be as important a sourceof jobs as coal mining. Compared with incineration andlandfilling, recycling offers more employment and is still thecheaper alternative, due to its lower capital requirements.The construction of waste-burning plants and themanufacturing of the machinery they use create moretemporary jobs than the more modestly equipped recyclingcenters do, but recycling offers a large number of permanentjobs in operations and maintenance activities. In New YorkCity, the cost of building an incinerator (about $500 million)is three times that of recycling facilities that can handle thesame amount oftrash. Boosting the city's recycling rate from18 percent to a modest 25 percent as mandated by law byApril 1994would create about 1,400 jobs, or more than fourtimes the number generated if the same volume of wastewere incinerated."(Renner 1991) Th es e jobs would be in additionto the jobs created by the remanufacturing process takingthe recycled materials and turning them into new goods.

Community Supported AgricultureCommunity Supported Agriculture (CSA) is catching on as

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a way for city dwellers to supply themselves with freshvegetables while supporting small local organic farms. Some100 CSAs were in ()pc, .tion in the US during 1991. Urbanfamilies or individuals typically pay a yearly fee of $200 to$600, and in return receive a weekly supply of fruits andvegetables. Buyers either pick up the produce at the farmitself or receive weekly shipments delivered to the city.Purchasers share the risks of farming with farmers theymay receive less of one vegetable than expected, but morethan another but gain a sense of connection with localfarmers and the bioregion (see Urban Ecologist 1991).

Community Forestry"There are several examples of community forests inCanada, including the county forests in southern andcentral Ontario, and the Mission Tree Farm and the NorthCowichan Municipal Forest, both in British Columbia [...]

There are several ways of administering a communityforest, including the use of cooperatives, regional trusts,and public or private ownership. Each has its own strengthsand weaknesses, and success depends on the politicalattitudes and economic realities prevailing in the locality.However,[...] there is a set of fundamental principles thatare applicable in most community forest projects.

First of all the principle of local control in order toproduce and retain local benefits, is paramount. Next, thislocal control has to be based on a very good knowledge andunderstanding of what the local people want, what willwork in their area now, and what could be tried to developnew ideas and outputs J Finally, the community forestshould be developed and managed in order to promoteeconomic diversification, rather than stifle it by placing acontinued reliance on only one commodity output such asraw timber for export away from the locality." (OntarioConservation News 1989)

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Ecological and Economic Linkages"Maintaining ecological capital requires makingappropriate linkages among seemingly unrelatedeconomic activities. This in turn makes it possible tofinance new kinds of employment. For example,revenue to finance many aspects of rehabilitationforestry should come in part from carbon taxesimposed on fossil fuel combustion. This is botheconomically efficient in that it 'internalizes' the costsof CO. emissions and ecologically sound in that thegrowing forest absorbs the CO., reducing the rate ofatmospheric change [...] Forest rehabilitation andharvesting is best undertaken by local people with adirect stake in the outcome and familiarity with themanagement area [...] Local control of the forest willclearly require a reassessment of the present foresttenure system."

(Rees 1991)

Economic Demand ManagementTrip Reduction and Affordable HousingA 1990 paper drafted by the staff of the Maryland-NationalCapital Park and Planning Commission as part of thePlanning Department's Comprehensive Growth PolicyStudy examined the links betwee., trip reduction andaffordable housing. Below is the abstract of that three-partpaper. (Access information is provided in the Resourcessection of this chapter.)"Trip Reduction, Surplus Surface Parking, And ProvisionOf Housing Near JobsTrip reduction measures can reduce the need for parking,and free land from surface parking for new developmentopportunities. That land could be used for both marketrate and affordable housing. The housing would also be

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Reducing the Need for Paid Work"Although many people prefer to spend less time inthe factory or at the office, working fewer hours isoften not a practical option for them, because in acommodity-intensive economy they are compelled toseek full-time employment. Yet, a key component ofsustainability, the production of more durable goods,provides a crucial underpinning for such a move.When goods do not wear out rapidly, they need not bereplaced as frequently. More durable goods are likelyto be more expensive than throw-aways; but overtime, people will spend less money on purchases offurniture, appliances, and clothing. Hence there isless need for paid work to achieve a given materialstandard of living.A more sustainable economy promises greatenvironmental and economic benefits, though thetransition will not be without pain. It will producemany losers, particularly amongextractive and heavyindustries. But the evidence is strong that the winnerswill outnumber the losers: more jobs will be createdin energy efficiency, recycling, and publictransportation than will be lost in the oil and coalindustries, car manufacturing, and waste disposal. Infact, automation is a much more important cause ofjob loss than environmental protection is. And whileextractive industries tend to be geographicallyconcentrated, jobs arising out of energy conservation,renewables, and recycling are likely to be more evenlyspread."

(Renner 1991)

near jobs, which would both reduce vehicle trips andshorten average vehicle trip lengths, reducing demand forroad capacity. The profit potential of market rate housing

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on land freed from surface parking would provide ownersof existing office and research developments with theincentive to implement trip reduction measures and providesome affordable housing.Making Housing Affordable By Giving Up The Second CarSecond car ownership costs about $3000/year. By givingup a second car and using public transportation, an entrylevel household would save between $150 and $250 amonth which could be spent on housing. Means areproposed to help County residents turn savings fromsingle car ownership into increased buying power forhousing. These means include designing subdivisions inways that make second car ownership unnecessary, Countyprovided private mortgage insurance to increase borrowingpower for single car households, and public education thatbuying where two cars are necessary is buying into a$3000 a year habit.Charging Separately For Parking To Lower Housing Costs,Car Ownership, And Trip GenerationMost residents of multi-family housing do not know thatthey are paying approximately $50 a month for each parkingspace. Requiring landlords and condominium associationsto price housing and parking separately would spur somepeople into giving up cars. It would also make the averagerental unit in the County 8-9% more affordable for thosewithout cars. As a result of lower car ownership, it shouldalso result in lower trip generation rates." (Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission 1990)

Community Land TrustsAlthough similar to the conservation land trusts describedin the Land Use chapter, a community land trust is notsimply a land trust that happens to be in a community. Asdeveloped by the Institute for Community Economics, acommunity land trust (CLT) is an organization created to

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hold land for the benefit of a community and of individualswithin the community. It is a democratically structurednon-profit corporation, with an open membership and aboard of trustees elected by the membership. The boardtypically includes residents of trust-owned lands, othercommunity residents, and public-interest representatives.Board members are elected for limited terms, so that thecommunity retains ultimate control of the organizationand of the land it owns (see ICE 1982).

The CLT acquires land through purchase or donation withan intention to retain title in perpetuity, thus removing theland from the speculative market. Each land trust writes itsown bylaws and defines its own goals, priorities and structure.Appropriate uses for the land are determined in a processcomparable to public planning or zoning processes, and theland is then leased to individuals, families, cooperatives,community organizations, businesses, orfor public purposes.

CLTs in rural areas are working to provide access to landand decent housing for low-income people, to preservefamily farms and farmland, and to facilitate sound, long-term land and forest management. Urban CLTs haveformed to combat speculation and gentrification, to preserveand develop low- and moderate-income housing, and tomaintain useful urban open spaces (see ICE 1982).

Given their community-wide scope and variedmemberships, CLTs tend to be., and should be, expansiveorganizations, taking on new projects at the same timethat they perform a stewardship role in relation to pastprojects (see ICE 1989).

Government Partnerships With Community Land TrustsLocal governments are recognizing the advantages ofpartnerships with community land trusts (CLTs). Theseinclude quick response, flexibility, cost-effective protectionof historic or environmentally significant land, and

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increasing the stock of permanently affordable housing.Governments have formed several kinds of partnershipswith CLTs, including: allocating funds to CLT programs;allocating city-owned lands to CLTS; using "linkage"programs to foster CLT development; using municipalzoning powers to negotiate .::ommitments from developersto make donations of land and to build affordable housingfor a CLT; and placing publicly owned lands, such as bikepaths, conservation areas, and community gardens, underthe care and management of a CLT.

INITIATIVES

Sustainable Employment"A city plan drawn up by San Jose, California would create170 jobs over 10 years with an initial investment of justover $645,000. The program includes educationalcampaigns to show consumers how to save energy, andtechnical assistance, such as energy audits and thedevelopment of a home energy rating system. Prominentin the San Jose plan are initiatives to reduce energy use ingovernment buildings and transportation, in effectproviding an example for the community. The cityinvestment, which would spur nearly $20 million in privatespending, is expected to pay for itself in two-and-a-halfyears, and result in reduced carbon dioxide emissions."(Flavin and Lenssen 1991)

Community Land TrustsThere are now more than 125 community land trusts(CLTs) in operation or development throughout the U.S.Although most are quite young, these CLTs have acquiredor developed several thousand units of permanentlyaffordable housing and provided land for family farms,

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shelters and health centres.The United Nations International Year ofShelter for the

Homeless (1987) cited three CLTs in the U.S. for itsSpecial Merit Award. For one of these, in Burlington,Vermont, the city provided an initial seed grant for a CLT,and staff people in the city's Community and EconomicDevelopment Office took the lead in encouraging localresidents to establish the Burlington Community LandTrust (an independent non-profit corporation) in 1984.Other US cities with CLTs include Philadelphia,Atlanta, and Providence.

Linkage ProgramsFor community land trusts and related institutions tohave a truly appreciable effect on sustainable development,public powers and public funds will be required for theirexpansion. At the local government level, a good modelwould be the "linkage" programs which have been used inseveral cities to provide funds for affordable housing, jobdevelopment, and day-care. Linkage works by taking aportion of the value created by investment in areasundergoing substantial development, and directing thatvalue to build affordable housing, provide job training, andfund social services in less fortunate neighborhoods.Linkage policies represent "a new social contract to buildlasting bridges of economic opportunity between areas ofthe city experiencing rapid growth, and the people [...1who, historically, have not shared in the benefits of thatgrowth" (BRA 1988).

Linkage programs for sustainable communitydevelopment, modelled after these existing programs,could provide a means for the environmental costs ofconventional development to be balanced by conservationand ecologically appropriate development. While linkageprograms have operated for several years in US cities such

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as Boston and San Francisco, they are also becomingmore common in Canada. In December 1990 Vancouverapproved its first agreement with a commercial developerin which the capital costs of a day-care centre are financedas a condition of rezoning.

New Product Development"In Gothenberg, Sweden's most industrialized city, themunicipal government established the GothenbergEnvironment Project (GEP) to demonstrate a morecontemporary and effective approach to environment-economy integration. GEP researched the toxic chemicalsin Gothenberg's harbor and discovered most of themoriginated from ordinary household detergents. Ratherthan the conventional attempt to regulate emissions, theGEP instead challenged the soap manufacturers to changethe product. A truly environment-friendly detergent isbeing developed. The city also recognized thatenvironmental responsibility is global as well as local.Powerpipe AB wanted to set up a factory in Gothenberg tomanufacture pipes. These pipes are normally insulatedwith a CFC-based foam (CFCs are chemicals which destroythe ozone layer). The city allowed the company to operateonly on the condition that they not use CFCs. Reluctant atfirst, the company discovered it was able to obtaingovernment funds to develop a foam made without CFCs.The new pipes cost about 10% more, but are the world'sfirst CFC-free pipes. The company will benefit as thechemicals are phased out world-wide. Powerpipe AB'sPresident, Rune Engvall, agrees that`we have a promisingmarket.' And senior government, officials are learningfrom the GEP that unless government sets rules, thesekinds of technical developments will not come about."(Public Broadcasting System 1990)

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'Manufacturers want to come to Got hen berg, and we do likethat, and want them here, but we have to think about theenvironment. And if we know that they are using somethingwhich is not good for the environment, we have said `no.' Andthen, usually, the factory says: 'It's impossible! We must useit! We don't know anything else! The technique isn't thereyet!' But if you have the guts, and say it must be like that, Ihave seen many, many times, if you stand by, to be firm, theywill come with something else. It was a factory who want tocome to Gothenberg and start producing pipes. And theywere using CFCs. And then we made a decision in thisgovernment, in Gothenberg, you might come here, you'rewelcome, but you mustn't use CFCs."

Kerstin Svenson, Gothenberg City Councillor, 1990...

Increasing Affordable Housing Supply"The Portland metropolitan region has enhanced thesupply of affordable housing by replacing zoning codesthat require each house to occupy its own spacious lot withcontrols that promote a variety ofhousing types, includingsmaller and multi-family homes. Because of changes inlocal zoning plans, 54 percent of all recent residentialdevelopment in the region consists ofapartments, duplexes,and other affordable housing types, compared with the 30percent maximum allowed by previous zoning. This policyhas been a leading factor in keeping the city's housingprices affordable. In relation to household income, housingin Portland is two to three times as affordable as in Seattle,San Jose, San Francisco, and other West Coast cities."(Lowe 1992)

Local Self-RelianceSt. Paul, Minnesota's "Home-Grown Economy" projectexperimented with a number of attempts to establishclosed-loop, self-sustaining economic networks. Rubbertires, for example, are ordinarily a disposal nuisance. St.

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Paul learned that tires can be recycled by freezing them inliquid nitrogen, pulverizing them, and using them as afiller for repairing potholes, another nuisance for whichthe city is responsible. The recycling costs were $1 per tire;the disposal costs were $3.25 per tire (see Meehan 1987).

GreenmarketsNew York City's Council on the Environmenta citizens'organization that works out ofthe mayor's office initiateda system of "Greenmarkets" in 1976. Currently operatingat 10 sites year-round and 20 in summertime, theGreenmarkets aim to preserve farmland and helpstruggling upstate farmers, while making fresh fruits andvegetables available in city neighborhoods. The marketsoffer many New Yorkers their only chance to get localproduce without journeying to the suburbs (see Lowe1991).

Local CurrenciesIn 1988 the local Energy Commission in Lester Prairie,Minnesota (pop. 1,229), developed an innovative way toinvest state energy grant money for long-term localdevelopment: a "Prairie Buck." Residents and businesseswho signed up for an energy audit received fifteen "PrairieBucks," good for the purchase of a compact fluorescentlamp at local hardware stores. Instead of flowing out todistant energy suppliers, local dollars stay in town andbolster the local economy. To encourage carpooling toHutchinson (15 miles) or the Twin Cities (45 miles), the townbegan offering"Ridesh are Bucks" according to the numberofpassengers in the car and the number of gallons requiredfor their commute. During the first eight months of theprogram, 75 participants earned a total of $1,239. Aftertwoyears, the citizens of Lester Prairie saved an estimated600,000 miles of travel and prevented 200,000 pounds of

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carbon dioxide from polluting the atmosphere (see RMI1991).

RESOURCES

Sustainable EmploymentFRANK T. ADAMS AND GARY B. HANS 0 N, PuttingDemocracyto Work: A Practical Guide for Starting Worker-owned Businesses (Eugene, OR: Hulogos'iCommunications, 1987). This is a comprehensive "how-to"guide for setting up a worker-owned organization. As achanging economy forces many businesses to the brink,more workers are considering buying them. This book tellshow to do it and how the worker-owner edge can make adifference. Topics include organizing, managing,participating, assessing, technical assistance, capital, taxes,law and the business plan, with examples from the U.S. andEurope. Also includes examples and models on the decision-making process, by-laws, board and officer roles, legalstructure, membership, meeting process and voting.

EDWARD J. BLAKELY, Planning Local EconomicDevelopment: Theory and Practice (Newbury Park, CA:Sage Publications, 1989). This comprehensive volume,combining theoretical and practical information, isindispensable for local economic development planning.Topics include the planning process, analytical techniques,selecting a strategy, locality and business development,human resource development, community-based economicand employment development, preparing project plans,and institutional approaches.

KEITH M. COSSEY, Co-operative Strategies forSustainable Communities: Community-BasedDevelopment Organizations (Sackville, N.B.: MountAllison University, 1990). This paper focuses on the roleof community development corporations as a vehicle for

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sustainable community development.FLOYD W. DYKEMAN, ed., Entrepreneurial and

Sustainable Rural Communities (Sackville, N.B.:Mount Allison University, 1990). This collection linkstheory and action by focusing on rural communityadaptation/innovation and support systems for ruralcommunity development. Dykeman's introductory essaydiscusses a range of alternative organizational structuresfor community development, from developmentcorporations to local government committees.

DAVID MORRIS, An Environmental Policy for the1990s: Fashioning the Molecular Basis for a GreenEconomy (Washington, DC: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, 1990). Morris is well known for his work aroundthe concept of local self-reliance. The Institute for LocalSelf-Reliance's Carbohydrate Economy. Project isresearching the feasibility of moving toward a plant matterbased economy, with the objective of substituting plantmatter for a third of our current consumption of fossilfuels. In this essay Morris argues that all environmentaland economic development policies should be guided by amolecular accounting system, with the goal of extractingthe maximum amount of useful work on a sustained bassfrom every molecule. A fascinating, forward-thinkingpiece on creating a new economy that integrates concernsabout democracy, equity, economic development, and theenvironment, with attention to the role of local as well assenior government. Access information below.

INSTITUTE FOR LOCAL SELF-RELIANCE, Waste to Wealth:A Business Guide for Community RecyclingEnterprises. A how-to guide for community groups andsmall businesses interested in establishing recyclingprograms. Available from:

Institute for Local Self-Reliance2425 18th Street NW

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Washington, DC. 20009Tel: 202/232-4108 Fax: 202/332-0463

THE CANADIAN MANUFACTURERS' ASSOCIATION,Sustainable Development: A Policy Paper suggeststhat embracing the concept of sustainable developmentoffers "our best opportunity to work in a spirit of cooperationwith governments and members of the public to achievepractical and cost-effective solutions to our environmentalproblems." Available from:

Doreen C. HenleyDirector, Environmental AffairsThe Canadian Manufacturers' Association130 Albert St., Suite 302Ottawa, ON K11) 5G4Tel: 613/233-8423 Fax: 613/233-6048

THE WESTCOAST DEVELOPMENT GROUP is the project arm

of the Centre for Community Enterprise. Westcoastconducts community economic development (CED)research, planning and training. It also publishes anddistributes a wide range of resources to assist in CEDtraining, research, and analysis. Of particular interest isMaking Waves, a quarterly newsletter for CEDpractitioners in Canada. Available from:

Westcoast Development GroupSuite 337 - 163 West HastingsVancouver, B.C. V5B 1115Tel: 604/685-5058 Fax: 604/685-5363

THE INDUSTRIAL COOPERATIVE ASSOCIATION provides a

wide range of consulting services to employee-ownedbusinesses, unions, state agencies, and economicdevelopment organizations. ICA helps create employee-owned firms in three situations: 1) in response to a plantclosing, when employees threatened with job loss purchasethe enterprise; 2) when the retiring owner of a businesssells to his or her employees; and 3) when individuals start

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an entirely new employee-owned firm. ICA can train localgovernment staff, assess the feasibility of employee buy-outs, and advise on economic development policies thatpromote local ownership and control of businesses. Formore information contact:

Industrial Cooperative Association58 Day Street, Suite 200Somerville, MA 02144Tel: 617/629-2700

Economic Demand ManagementSEVERYN T. BRUYN AND JAMES MEEHAN, eds., Beyond theMarket and the State: New Directions in CommunityDevelopment (Philadelphia: Temple University Press,1987). Part One of this fascinating and informativecollection of essays explores new community-orientedenterprises such as CLTs, CDCs, worker and consumercoops, and community financial institutions. Part Twoexamines local, regional and national strategies to enhancelocal self-reliance, including education and legislation. Ofparticular note is Karl Seidman's essay, "A New Role forGovernment: Supporting a Democratic Economy."

THE INSTITUTE FOR COMMUNITY ECONOMICS is a DOD-profit

corporation providing technical and financial assistanceto community land trusts, limited-equity housing coops,community loan funds, and other grassroots organizations,as well as providing information and educational materialto the general public. The Institute authored TheCommunity Land Trust Handbook (Emmaus, PA: RodalePress, 1982), and also publishes a quarterly journal,Community Economics.

The Institute for Community Economics57 School StreetSpringfield, MA 01105-1331Tel: 413/746-8660

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WARD MOREHOUSE, ed., Building SustainableCommunities: Tools and Concepts for Self-ReliantEconomic Change (NY: Bootstrap Press, 1989). Thethree major sections of this book deal with communityland trusts and other forms of community ownership ofnatural resources; worker-managed enterprises and othertechniques of community self-management; andcommunity currency and banking. Also included are alexicon of social capitalism and a bibliography of keyworks on self-reliant economic change.

MARYLAND-NATIONAL CAPITAL PARK AND PLANNING

COMNIISSION.To follow up on the links between trip reductionand affordable housing contact:

Pat HareMaryland-National Capital Park

and Planning Commission8787 Georgia AvenueSilver Spring, MD 20910-3760Tel: 301/495-4559

Community ForestryTHE VILLAGE OF HAZLETON in British Columbia producedin 1991 Framework for Watershed Stewardship, a keydocument for forest communities struggling to gain somemeasure of control over the local forest base. TheFramework is based upon Hazleton's 1990"Forest IndustryCharter ofRights," which was adopted wholly or in principleby at least eleven municipalities and regional districts inBritish Columbia. The original Charter was revised toreflect growing understanding of the principles of "newforestry" at the Community Options Forestry Conferenceat the University of Victoria, February 15-17, 1991.Although the Framework is focused on British Columbia,it could serve as a model for communities in otherjurisdictions where forest resources are primarily controlled

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by senior government agencies.The Framework argues that forests are unique resources

which should be stewarded to maintain ecological diversityand integrity; guarantee biologically sustainable levels ofresource harvest and extraction; require maximum value-added manufacturing of all resources; provide stable,fairly paid, and challenging employment; support a fairreturn on natural resource industry investments; andallow stable growth of regions whose communities controlmanagement of their local watersheds. Available from:

The Corporation of the Village of HazletonP.O. Box 40Hazleton, B.C. VOJ 1Y0

Note:The 1991 Community Options Forestry Conferenceat the University of Victoria was sponsored by the NewPerspectives Forestry Society.

New Perspectives Forestry Society158 Joseph St.Victoria, B.C. V8S 3H5

ORVILLE CAMP, The Forest Farmer's Handbook: AGuide to Natural Selection Forest' Management(Ashland, OR: Sky River Press, 1984). This book describesa sustainable all-age, all-species forest management systemthat does not involve clearcuts, burning, or herbicides. Italso includes an appendix on designing appropriate accessroads for a kinder, gentler forestry. Visitors to Camp's160-acre Forest Farm can seen how the author hassuccessfully practised sustainable forestry since 1967.Available from:

Camp Forest Farm2100 Thompson Creek RoadSelma, OR 97538

ECOTRUST is a private, non-profit organization createdby and affiliated with Conservation International. Itsmission is to help conserve ecosystems, biodiversity, and

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the ecological processes which support life on Earth, andto support conservation-based human development in thePacific No 'hwest, British Columbia and Alaska. Ecotrusthas expertise in community development, ecosystemscience, ecological economics, policy, fund raising andinstitution building. It helps to bridge the supply anddemand of technical, scientific, financial and politicalresources for sustainable development. According toEcotrust, "Every community is full of entrepreneurialcreativity in people who are trying to improve the qualityof both their lives and the environment. Our hope is tohelp them develop a new strategy to get rich slow."

EcotrustSuite 470, 1200 NW FrontPortland, Oregon 97209Tel: 503/227-6225 Fax: 503/222-1517

RUTH LOOMIS, Wildwood: A Forest for the Future(Gabriola, B.C.: Reflections, 1990). Describes thesustainable forest management practices of VancouverIslander Mery Wilkinson.

CHRIS MASER, The Redesigned Forest (San Pedro, CA:R. and E. Miles, 1989). Maser is a consultant on sustainableforestry and was formerly a researcher for the US Bureau ofLand Management. This book has won unqualified praisefor its clarity and relevance to current issues in forestry.

Forest Planning Canadais a bi-monthly which rightlydescribes itself' as "Canada's community forestry forum."Available from:

Forest Planning CanadaPO Box 6234, Stn. "C"Victoria, B.C. V8P 5L5

The Trumpeter: Journal of Ecosophy is a quarterlywhich addresses serious discussions of ecophilosophy, butalso includes good coverage of books and developments incommunity forestry. Available from:

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The TrumpeterPO Box 5853 Stn BVictoria, B.C. V8R 6S8

ReferencesADAMS, F.T. AND G.B. HA:csoN, Putting Democracy to Work:

A Practical Guide for Starting Worker-owned Businesses(Eugene, OR: Hulogos'i Communications, 1987).

BLAKELY, E.J., Planning Local Economic Development:Theory and Practice (Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications,1989).

BOOTI IROYD, P., "Community Economic Development: AnIntroduction for Planners" (Vancouver: UBC Centre forHuman Settlements, 1991).

BOSTON REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (BRA), "Linkage" (Boston:BRA, Winter, 1988).

BRUYN, S.T., "Beyond the Market and the State," in S.T.Bruyn and J. Meehan, eds., Beyond the Market and the State:New Directions in Community Development (Philadelphia:Temple University Press, 1987).

CAMP, 0., The Forest Farmer's Handbook: A Guide to NaturalSelection Forest Management (Ashland, OR: Sky River Press,1984).

COSSEY, KM., Co-operative Strategies for SustainableCommunities: Community-Based Development Organizations(Sackville, N.B.: Mount Allison University, 1990).

DYKEMAN, F.W., ed., Entreprene urialand Sustainable RuralCommunities (Sackville, N.B.: Mount Allison University,1990).

FLAVIN, C. AND N. LENssEN,"Designing a Sustainable EnergySystem," in Brown, L.R., et al, State of the World 1991: AWorldwatch Institute Report on Progress Toward aSustainable Society (NY/London: W.W. Norton & Co., 1991),pp. 21-38.

GEISER, K., "The Greening of Industry: Managing theTransition to a Sustainable Economy," Technology Review,August/September 1991, pp. 64-72.

INSTITUTE FOR COMMUNITY ECONOM ICS (ICE), The CommunityLand Trust Handbook (Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press, 1982).

INSTITUTE FOR COMMUNITY ECONOMICS, Community Economics(No. 18, Summer 1989).

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INTERNATIONALUNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE (IUCN),THE UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME (UNEP), ANDTHE WORLD WIDE FUND FOR NATURE (WWF), "Caring for theEarth: A Strategy for Sustainable Living" (Gland,Switzerland: IUCN/UNEP/WWF, 1991).Loomis, R.,Wildwood: AForest for the Future (Gabri ol a , B.C.: Reflections,1990).


MARTIN, L., "Resources from Waste and Self-ReliantInvestment," in S. Meeker-Lowry, Economics as if the EarthReally Mattered: A Catalyst Guide to Socially ConsciousInvesting (Philadelphia: New Society Publishers, 1988).

MARYLAND-NATIONAL CA I'l TA I. PARK AND PLANNING COMMISSION,

"Trip Reduction and Affordable Housing," staff document,March 15, 1990.

MASER, C., The Redesigned Forest (San Pedro, CA: R. andE. Miles, 1989).

MEEHAN, J., "Working Toward Local Self-Reliance," in S.T.Bruyn and J. Meehan, eds., Beyond the Market and the State:New Directions in Community Development (Philadelphia:Temple University Press, 1987).

MOREHOUSE, W., ed., Building Sustainable Communities:Tools and Concepts for Self-Reliant Economic Change (NY:Bootstrap Press, 1989).

MORRIS, D., "Local Sel f-Reliance," in Van der Ryn, S. and P.Cal thorpe, Sustainable Communities: ANew Design Synthesisfor Cities, Suburbs, and Towns (San Francisco: Sierra ClubBooks, 1986).

MORRIS, D., "The Ecological City as a Self-Reliant City," inD. Gordon, ed., Green Cities: Ecologically Sound Approachesto Urban Space (Montreal: Black Rose Books, 1990), pp. 21-35.

MORRIS, D., An Environmental Policy for the 1990s:Fashioning the Molecular Basis for a Green Economy(Washington, DC: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, 1990a).

ONTARIO CONSERVATION NEWS, "Gerald ton: A SustainableCommunity," Ontario Conservation News 16(10), September1989.

PUIILIC BROADCASTING SYSTENI, The Race to Save the Planet(Boston: WGBH, 1990), Part Eight.

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REES, W.E., "Vital Communities and Sustainable Forests,"presented to Transitions to Tomorrow: Community OptionsForestry Conference (Victoria: New Perspectives ForestrySociety, February 15-17, 1991).

REES, W.E. AND M. ROSELAN I), "Sustainable Communities:Planning for the 21st Century," Plan Canada 31(3):15-26,May 1991.

RENNER, M., "Jobs in a Sustainable Economy", WorldwatchPaper No. 104 (Washington, D.C.: Worldwatch Institute,1991).

ROCKY MOUNTAIN INSTITUTE (RMI)Newsletter, VII(1), Spring1991.

ROSEN, D.,Public Capital (Washington, DC: National Centerfor Policy Alternatives, 1988).

SCHOR, J.B. "Global Equity and Environmental Crisis: AnArgument for Reducing Working Hours in the North" WorldDevelopment 19(1): 73-84, 1991.

SKINNER, N., "Making Energy Policy, Not War," Bulletin ofMunicipal Foreign Policy, 5(2):14, Spring 1991.

SVENSON, K., on Public Broadcasting System, The Race toSave the Planet (Boston: WGBH, 1990), Part Eight.

SwAcx, M., "Corn munity Finance Institutions," in S.T. Bruynand J. Meehan, eds., Beyond the Market and the State: NewDirections in Community Development (Philadelphia: TempleUniversity Press, 1987).

URBAN ECOLOGIST, "Ecological Rebuilding in the UnitedStates," The Urban Ecologist, Fall 1991.

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Although some people confuse development with meregrowth, development is actually a much more complex,rich term. This chapter explores sustainable communitydevelopment both in terms of local community livabilityand also in terms of responsibility to the global community.

The environmental advantages of urban areas such ascompact development, shorter travel distances,economically viable public transit, and per capita energyconservation can only be realized if our communities arelivable. Perhaps the most important indicator oflivability"is that livable communities are communities people wantto live in. Municipal and local governments therefore needto address those issues that cause people to stay in theircommunities - e.g. employment and educationalopportunities, accessible healthcare services, vibrant artsand culture, and a thriving non-profit sector as well asthose thatcause people to leave - e.g. crime, dissatisfactionwith existing housing choices and lack of opportunity toparticipate in decisions affecting their lives and well-being.

In many cities with good public transit systems, forexample, a substantial proportion of the population isafraid to use the system after dark. The obviousconsequences are that those who can afford it will drive ortake taxis, those who cannot will either travel in fear orlock themselves up at home, and the public transit systemwill lose revenue.

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Public and Private Space"Mobility and privacy have increasingly displacedthe traditional commons, which once provided theconnected quality of our towns and cities. Our sharedpublic space has been given over to the car and itsaccommodation, while our private world has becomebloated and isolated. As our private world grows inbreadth, our public world becomes more remote andimpersonal. As a result, our public space lacks identityand is largely anonymous, while our private spacestrains toward a narcissistic autonomy. Ourcommunities are zoned black or white, private orpublic, my space or nobody's. The automobile ciestroysthe urban street, the shopping center destroys theneighborhood store, and the depersonalization ofpublic space grows with the scale of government.Inversely, private space is taxed by the necessity ofproviding for many activities that were once sharedand is further burdened by the need to create identityin a sea of monotony. Although the connection betweensuch social issues and development is elusive andcomplex, it must be addressed by any serious theoryof growth."

(Calthorpe 1989)

Sustainable community development implies that weaddress not only the "hard" urban environmental issuessuch as transportation, land use, air quality, and energyconservation, but also the "soft" issues such as publichealth and safety, gender equity, environmental education,and global environmental responsibility.

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Healthy CommunitiesPublic health has been among the traditionalresponsibilities of local government. A century ago,municipalities were instrumental in improving publichealth by preventing the spread of disease throughslum clearance, community planning, watertreatment, and the provision of certain health services.These early interventions were based on the view ofhealth as the absence of disease, and diseaseprevention as the main challenge for local government.In the last decade a new, broader conception of publichealth has been developed and adopted by municipalgovernments in Europe and North America. Althoughthe name "healthy communities" implies a focus onmedical care, the Ottawa Charter for HealthPromotion (1986) recognizes that "the fundamentalconditionsand resources for health are peace, shelter,education, food, income, a stable eco-system,sustainable resources, social justice, and equity."Local governments play a big role in all these areasthrough their impact on public hygiene (waste disposaland water systems), food handling and other publichealth regulations, recreational facilities, education,transportation, economic development, and land useplanning.The Canadian Healthy Communities Project wasjointly sponsored by the Federation of CanadianMunicipalities, the Canadian Institute of Planners,and the Canadian Public Health Association to createhealthy public policy at the community level. TheProject was funded by Health and Welfare Canadafrom 1988-1991. (For further information contact theCanadian Institute of Planners - see "Resources.")

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"Planners and citizens, particularly in North America, oftenassume that moderate and high-density land use aresynonymous with crime and unhealthy conditions. Yet thereis no scientific evidence of a link between these social problemsand density per se... where density and crime coincide, other,more powerful forces are at work; there is no inherentrelationship between population density and urban socialills."

1-Lowe 1991

One Reason Transit is Under-utilizedFifty-six percent of Canadian women say there areareas near their homes where they are afraid to takean evening walk, accordingto a Gallup poll. Combinedmale-female statistics indicate 37 percent ofthe publicare hesitant about walking in their neighbourhood inthe evening.

-.

(see Canadian Press 1991) ,

"Every first-world city has within it a third-world city ofmalnutrition, infant mortality, homelessness andunemployment. Every third-world city has within it a first-world city of high tech, high fashion, and high finance.Seeing the cities of the world as a global laboratory breaksdown the stereotype North /South technology transfer, andopens up the rich possibilities of South /North and South 1South exchange, vastly increasing the number of potentialsolutions."

Perlman 1990

"The sustainable city is one that achieves a steady improvementin social equity, diversity and opportunity and 'quality oflife,' broadly defined. Economic, fiscal and sectoral policies,however, often have the unintended effects of reducing all ofthese and increasing social polarization and cultural andeconomic barriers between groups."

Institute for Research on Public Policy 1989

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Toms

Safety AuditsMetro Action Committee (METRAC), which evolved out ofa 1982 Toronto panel on public violence, developed theidea of "safety audits" of city streets, lanes, and parks.Informal groups of four to six people, mostly women,evaluated lighting, access to emergency phones, overgrownshrubbery near bus shelters, and so on. The informationcollected was given to the appropriate authorities (transit,parks, engineering, etc.), which began to take steps toimprove safety within their jurisdiction. Lighting inpublic places such as railway stations has been improved,landscaping around universities and schools has beendesigned with security in mind, and buses will stopanywhere along their routes after dark so women haveshorter distances to walk. Safety audit programs are nowbeing used in Hamilton, Ontario and on several universitycampuses. (see Hamilton Spectator 1991; Taylor 1991;Canadian Press 1991b)

Urban Design and the ElderlyAn Australian study highlighted the vulnerability of theelderly in a car-dependent city by showing that they are:

less transport independent due to a much higherproportion who do not drive;

more isolated due to the physical distances and poorpublic transport in low density suburbs; and

more prone to injury from vehicles while walking.Solutions to these problems, as part of a wider agenda of

urban reform, include enhanced transit (especially lightrail), traffic calming and urban villages. The study suggeststhat the time to provide these improved urban designoptions for the elderly is before the aging of the "babyboom" generation is felt in 20 years. (see Newman 1991)

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Cohousing DevelopmentsCohousing is a grass-roots movement that grew directlyout of people's dissatisfaction with existing housingchoices. Its initiators draw inspiration from theincreasing popularity of shared households, in whichseveral unrelated people share a traditional house, andfrom the cooperative movement in general. Yet cohousingis distinctive in that each family or household has aseparate dwelling and chooses how much they want toparticipate in community activities.

Cohousing developments are unique in their extensivecommon facilities and in that they are organized, planned,and managed by the residents themselves. Pioneered inDenmark some 20 years ago, there are now over 100cohousing developments in Denmark, plus many more inThe Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, France, andGermany. In North America over 40 cohousingcommunities are now in the planning stages.

Cohousing developments vary in size, location, type ofownership, design, and priorities, but all share fourcommon characteristics:

"Participatory Process: Residents organize andparticipate in the planning and design process for thehousing development, and are responsible as a group forall final decisions.Intentional Neighbourhood Design: The physical designencourages a strong sense of community.Extensive Common Facilities: An integral part of thecommunity, common areas are designed for daily use, tosupplement private living areas.Complete Resident Management: Residents manage thedevelopment, making decisions of common concern atcommunity meetings." (McCamant and Durrett 1988)

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Environmental Policy and Environmental Education"Environmental policy and environmental educationmust be seen as mutually dependent and supportive.Hence an environmental policy will not work withoutan informed population, while environmentaleducation will not be effective if it is contradicted inwider society through environmental policy beingweak or absent."

(U.K. Council on Environmental Education,in ACC 1990)

"All education is environmental education. By what isincluded or excluded we teach students that they are part ofor apart from the natural world. To teach economics, forexample, without reference to the laws of thermodynamics orthose of ecology is to teach a fundamentally importantecological lesson: that physics and ecology have nothing to dowith the economy. It just happens to be dead wrong. Thesame is true throughout all of the curriculum."

Orr 1991

Aims of Environmental Education"The aims of environmental education apply equally wellin both schools and the community more generally.Environmental education aims to develop:

a greater awareness of the environment and theconsequences of human interactions with it;an understanding of how life is sustained andsupported on earth both locally and globally;a wide range of knowledge and skills from differentfields to assist in investigating environmental issuesand choosing appropriate courses of action;an appreciation of the range of perspectives thatimpinge upon environmental issues for example, thebiological, the economic and the technological aspects;

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an environmental ethic which clarifies and enhancesenvironmental values, leading to the appreciation ofnatural and human-made beauty, valuing a healthyenvironment, concern for the welfare of people andother living things, and belief in the wise use ofresources;a commitment to work, personally and cooperatively,for a better physical and social environment and awillingness to apply the knowledge and skills acquiredin action programs to improve or protect students' ownenvironment;an understanding of the need to balance developmentand conservation to meet the needs of society."

(Ministry of Education, Victoria, Australia, 1990)

Environmental Education in Schools"To be fully effective, environmental education in schoolsneeds to be covered in a diversity of ways. For example:

an appropriate environmental education dimensionneeds to be included in every area of the curriculum(the arts and humanities have just as crucial acontribution to make as the sciences);all students need at some stage to be involved instudies which bringthe range of subject areas togetherto focus on environmental issues ofclear importance tothe students' own lives;a specialist environmental education subject is neededat a senior level for students intending environment-related careers." (VEEC 1991)

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"We have a compulsory school course called ConsumerEducation and we hate it. This course teaches us how tospend money, how to use credit cards, how to be materialistic,how to be consumers. That's exactly what we don't need. (We]came up with a new course. We call it Environomics. In it wewould learn how to be environmentally aware when we buy.It would teach us that the environment and the economyinteract and that a balance needs to be found and maintained.It would stress the holistic approach to learning by takingstudents out of the classrooms, through field trips and workexperience, to discover the issues first-hand."

Affolter and Biagi (both age 17), 1991

INITIATIVES

Worker SafetySan Francisco passed the first US municipal ordinanceto regulate the use of video display terminals (VDTs) inprivate businesses. The ordinance is intended to reducethe risk of ailments caused by prolonged use of a computerterminal, including eye strain, muscle fatigue and carpaltunnel syndrome, an injury that can incapacitate the handand that often requires surgery. The law requires thatworkers be provided with adjustable chairs and adequatelighting and that computer terminals be equipped withdetachable keyboards and adjustable screens. Employeeswithout regularly scheduled rest breaks are to be given 15minutes of alternative work after every two hours at aterminal if such work is available. The law also requiresemployers to provide training on safe use of VDTs andrecommends that pregnant VDT users be shifted to otherwork if they request it (see New York Times 1990;Associated Press 1990).

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Healthy Community ProjectsIn Europe the World Health Organization has directed thesuccessful creation of a 30-city network known as theHealthy Cities Project. In Canada, there have beenapproximately 100 active healthy community projects,and interest has been growing in Seattle and other UScities. Several Canadian cities, including Vancouver,Toronto, Edmonton, Montreal, and Quebec City, haveadopted healthy community platforms. Toronto CityCouncil has established a Healthy City Office.

Smoking DisincentivesNew York City Council's health committee unanimouslypassed a bill that would ban cigarette vending machinesfrom apartment buildings, gasoline stations, coin-operatedlaundromats and restaurants where the sale of alcoholicbeverages is incidental. Taverns and many bars would beexempted. As many as 75 percent of the city's estimated36,000 cigarette machines would be affected (see LADN1990).

Integrated Environmental and Social PolicyThe Dutch municipality of Zutphen (pop. 31,000) hasintegrated environmental aspects into its social policiesthrough its "disassembly line" (Sloopstraat) project, anapprentice shop for young people. In the "disassemblyline" discarded but still serviceable equipment is repairedand sold, usable parts are taken out of equipment and sold,and polluting substances are removed. Mostly washingmachines and refrigerators are handled. The work is doneby long-term unemployed people who have fallen intoarrears socially and economically (see Association ofNetherlands Municipalities 1990).

At the Southeast Regional Correctional Center in

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Bridgewater, Massachusetts, an innovative pilotprogramprovides food for the prison and the community whiletraining inmates for future employment. Situated in aprison greenhouse, the program uses an integrated fishculture and hydroponic vegetable production system.Within each 5-by-5 foot 675-gallon fibreglass tank fishswim in the lower portion and lettuce or other plants growon top. The Bridgewater program, sponsored by the MITSea Grant College Program, began in 1987. By 1990 theinmates were managing some 20 tanks and growing aweekly crop per tank of about 100 heads of lettuce, plus aseasonal crop of up to 100 pounds of fish. They were alsoexperimenting with watercress, basil, and flowers. Theproduce and fish were sold to the culinary arts program atthe prison, to prison staff, to a regional high school, and toa local health-food store. The inmates are learning valuableskills which they may be able to transfer to careers such ashorticulture and aquarium management after release. In1990 the Massachusetts Horticultural Society presentedthe program with a gold medal for the best use ofhorticulture in therapy and a silver medal for best exampleof education (see Zweig 1990; Levi 1991).

Gender Equity"Delagacias da Mulh er"in Sao Paulo, Brazil are all-femalepolice stations responsive to the special needs of womenvictims, while creating new career paths for women atevery level (see Perlman 1990).

Urban Environment PlatformsIn May 1989 over two hundred New York Cityorganizations from local chapters of prominent nationalgroups to the smallest block associations agreed upon"Environment '90: A Platform for the Future of New YorkCity." With its 49 recommendations, the Platform addresses

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parks, gardens and open spaces; air quality; water quality;energy conservation; garbage, sewage and toxic wastes;environmentally sound development; and environmentaleducation for all age levels. Political candidates wereasked to state their positions on the recommendations.

Green City Philadelphia, a coalition of more than 60businesses, government agencies, academic institutions,and community organizations, issued an "UrbanEnvironment Platform" in 1990 which sets out detailedlists of "green" political principles in 13 issue areas,including parks, open space, housing, water, energy, airquality, transportation, environmental health, historicpreservation, solid waste, and recycling. The programincludes specific consideration of the social environment,and in 1991 received additional support from 70 communityorganizations, including many in minority neighbourhoods.The coalition secured endorsements fromboth major partymayoral candidates for the 1991 elections, and organizersdeveloped a short list of 10 cost-effective "green" steps thenew mayor can take within 100 days of taking office (seeUrban Ecologist 1991).

In Victoria, B.C. in 1990, Voters for a ResponsibleCommunity, a non-partisan group, was formed to raisevoter awareness on a wide range of social, economic andenvironmental issues. With the support of more than 30community and environmental organizations, the groupdistributed a pre-election questionnaire of some 100questions to candidates throughout the Capital RegionalDistrict.

Topics ranged from waste management andtransportation to public involvement, affordable housing,and global responsibility. In Victoria, 70 percent of thecandidates responded, including seven or the nine whowere elected to office. At least five a majority vote oncouncil indicated they would support a broad range of

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sustainable community initiatives (see Dauncey 1990).Global Environmental ResponsibilityIn an effort to save tropical rainforests, local communitygroups associated with Friends of the Earth have convincedhundreds of city councils in the United Kingdom, WestGermany, The Netherlands, and Belgium either torestrict or to ban altogether the use of tropical timberwithin municipal boundaries (see Town s and Development,n.d.).

City-to-City Sustainable Development Partnerships(Twinning)The city-state of Bremen, Germany has establishedinnovative "sustainable development" partnerships withvillages and communities in India and Africa, providingsafe water and appropriate energy sources. Bremen hasan overall program covering development education,support for liberation movements and the development ofalternative energy sources. Within this program Bremenworks with NGOs to support the installation of bio-gasplants in India, Mali and Rwanda. In this way Bremenhelps to alleviate the firewood crisis and to restore ecologicalbalance in these countries (see SODC 1990).

The Austrian town of Leibnitz has an official link withPedra Badejo, a little village on a barren island of CapeVerde. Within the city link a dozen projects have been setup, in fields such as carpentry, fishing, sewing, city-planning and restoration. Craftsmen and women fromLeibnitz worked side by side with the local population toimprove life in Pedra Badejo (see Towns and Development,n.d.).

The municipality of Amsterdam detached two civilservants to help and train colleagues in the Dutch capital'ssister city ofManagua, Nicaragua for two years (see Townsand Development, n.d.).

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The link between the municipality of Campbell River,British Columbia and the Kenyan village ofKivi (pop. 3,500)was first forged by World Vision Canada, an internationalrelief agency, as a pilot project for young people. KM hasno electricity or running water. With support from themunicipal council, schools, local offices of governmentagencies, and various community organizations, CampbellRiver is now sending cows, bicycles, and clothing to Kivi.With help from the Rotary Club of Campbell River and theFederation of Canadian Municipalities "Africa 2000"program, an earthfill dam was completed in July 1991,providing drinking water and irrigation. A photocopierfor the regional government and wheelbarrows are next onthe list. "Some people ask, 'What's in it for you?' But Ithink we learn a lot from sharing and our children learnthere are many people in the world who need help," saidMayor Mary Ashley (see Farrow 1991).

RESOURCES

K. MCCANIANT AND C. DURRETT, Cohousing: AContemporary Approach to Housing Ourselves(Berkeley: Habitat Press, 1988). McCamant and Durretare an American husband-wife design team, and leadingexperts on cohousing. After an extensive study of cohousingin Denmark, where they lived in or visited 60 communities,they introduced cohousing to North America through thisbook. Cohousing is written in three sections. The firstintroduces cohousingand explains how it works. The secondis an inside look at eight cohousing communities. The third,"Creating Cohousing," considers the evolution of cohousing,the development process, design considerations, andtranslating cohousing to North America.

DORIT FRomm, Collaborative Communities:Cohousing, Central Living, and Other New Forms of

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Housing with Shared Facilities (NY: Van NostrandReinhold, 1991). This volume focuses on housing formscharacterized by residents taking the initiative to planand manage their neighbourhoods. It includes case studiesof Dutch, Danish, Swedish, and U.S. prototypes, andoffers guidelines on transplanting European models toNorth America. Issues and obstacles are addressed, anda variety of tenure and management styles are discussed.The book features models for urban, suburban and ruralenvironments. The appendices include communitydiagrams, comparisons of ownersh ip types, sample designprograms and bylaws, and definitions of housing terms.

MEDEABENJAMIN AND ANDREA FREEDMAN, Bridging theGlobal Gap: A Handbook to Linking Citizens of theFirst and Third World (Cabin John, MD: Seven LocksPress, 1989). This book launched Global Exchange, a non-profit research, education and action centre focusing onUS-Third World internationalism. Global Exchange'sversion of internationalism recognizesi.,11,,the interests ofthe Third World coincide with the interests of the majorityof North Americans. For example, less poverty abroadwould mean fewer companies abandoning the US andCanada in search of cheaper labour; higher standards ofliving in Third World countries would mean more marketsfor our goods; greater democracy overseas would mean lessUS tax dollars wasted on military aid to repressive regimes.Includes information on municipal foreign policy and anextensive Resource Guide. For further information, contact:

Global Exchange2940 16th St., Rm. 307San Francisco, CA 94103Tel: (415) 255-7296

THE INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE COMNIUNITIES wasfounded in 1990 by former Vermont Governor MadeleineM. Kunin to promote sustainable development,

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environmental protection, and participatory democracyin Central and Eastern Europe.

ISC is interested in developing community-basedapproaches to solving and preventing environmentalproblems by emphasizing activities that reinforce andcomplement the region's move toward economic restructuringand democratic decision-making. In partnership with theIndependent Ecological Center in Hungary and Ecoglasnostin Bulgaria, ISC's Community Environmental Action Projectis working with one community in Bulgaria and two inHungary to demonstrate the benefits of environmentalpriority setting, democratic decision making, and citizeninitiated action.

A second project assists elementary schools in Hungary indevelopingenvironmental curriculum and teachingmethods,while a third project provides comprehensive environmentaltraining to NGOs, government officials, businesses anduniversities in Poland, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia andHungary. For more information contact:

The Institute for Sustainable Communitiesdo The Environmental Law CentreVermont Law SchoolSouth Royalton, Vermont 05068Tel: 802/763-8303 Fax: 802/763-2920

THE MEGA-CITIES PROJECT is a network of professionalsand institutions in the world's largest cities, committed topromoting urban innovations for the 21st century. Itsfocus is reducing poverty and environmental degradation,and encouraging popular participation. Mega-cities arecities with over 10 million inhabitants by 2000 there willbe 23 of them. The North American mega-cities are NewYork, Los Angeles, and Mexico City. The pi oject givesparticular attention to urban innovations that empowerwomen. For more information, see the special issue ofCities on "Urban Innovation for the 21st Century" (Volume

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7, Number 1, February 1990) or contact:Dr. Janice Perlman, DirectorMega-Cities Project4 Washington Square NorthNew York UniversityNew York, NY 10003Tel: 212/998-7520 Fax: 212/995-3890

AFRICA 2000: THE MUNICIPAL RESPONSE is a multi-phase

project to facilitate direct cooperation between Canadianand African municipalities. This project combines theeffort and skill ofelected officials, municipal administratorsand community members in exchange of municipal officials,small capital expenditures, municipal environmentalassessment, community-based projects, and newinitiatives.

Africa 2000 is funded by the Canadian InternationalDevelopment Agency (CIDA) and implemented by theFederation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM). FCM'sInternational Office also co-ordinates a twinningprogram.More than 100 Canadian municipalities are twinned withsister cities around the world. For more information,contact:

Federation of Canadian Municipalities24 Clarence StreetOttawa, Ontario K1N 5P3Tel: 613/237-5221 Fax: 613/237-2965

Healthy CommunitiesBRIJESH MATHUR, editor,Perspectives on UrbanHealth(Winnipeg: University of Winnipeg, Institute of UrbanStudies, 1991) is a collection of essays on urban health andwellness and the implications of healthy cities for urbanplanning. Available from:

The Institute of Urban StudiesUniversity of Winnipeg

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515 Portage AvenueWinnipeg, Manitoba R3B 2E9Tel: 204/786-9409 Fax: 204/786-1824

PETER BOOTHROYD AND MARGARET EBERLE, HealthyCommunities: What They Are, How They're Made(Vancouver: UBC Centre for Human Settlements ResearchBulletin, 1990) explores the meaning of healthycommunities and how they can be created. The authorsdefine a healthy community as "a community in which allorganizations from informal groups to governments areworking effectively together to improve the quality of allpeople's lives." Available from:

UBC Centre for Human Settlements2206 East MallVancouver, B.C. V6T 1W5Tel: 604/822-5254 Fax: 604/822-6164

THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE OF PLANNERS For moreinformation on the future of the Canadian HealthyCommunities Project, contact:

Canadian Institute of Planners126 York Street, Suite 404Ottawa, Ontario KIN 5T5

ReferencesAFFOLTER, M., AND I. BIAGI, "Forum Gave Us Confidence To

Act," Vancouver Sun, December 9, 1991, p. A3. Based uponpresentation to British Columbia Round Table Youth Forum.

ASSOCIATED PRESS, "San Francisco Law Helps VDT Workers,"Vancouver Sun, December 28, 1990, p. A7.

ASSOCIATION OF COUNTY COUNCILS (ACC), ASSOCIATION OFDISTRICT COUNCILS, AND ASSOCIATION OF METROPOLITANAUTHORITIES, Environmental Practice in Local Government(London: Association of District Councils 1990).

ASSOCIATION OF NETHERLANDS MUNICIPALITIES, MunicipalEnvironmental Policy in the Netherlands: Setting out forSustainable Development (The Hague: Association ofNetherlands Municipalities, 1990).

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BENJAMIN, M. AND A. FREEDMAN, Bridging the Global Gap: AHandbook to Linking Citizens of the First and Third World(Cabin John, MD: Seven Locks Press, 1989).

BOOTHROYD, P. AND M. EBERLE, Healthy Communities: WhatThey Are, How They're Made (Vancouver: UBC Centre forHuman Settlements Research Bulletin, 1990).

CALTIIORPE, P., "Pedestrian Pockets: New Strategies forSuburban Growth," in D. Kelbaugh, ed., The PedestrianPocketBook: A New Suburban Design Strategy (New York: PrincetonArchitectural Press, 1989).

CANADIAN PRESS, "Women Fear Walking, Poll Finds,"Vancouver Sun, October 11, 1991, p. A8.

CANADIAN PRESS, "Melbourne Looks to Toronto for Ways toMakes Streets Safe," Vancouver Sun, October 26, 1991b, p.

'C9.DAUNCEY, G., "New Council Offers a Humane Victoria,"

Victoria Times-Colonist, December 6, 1990.FARROW, M., "Campbell River's Heart Beats in African

Town," Vancouver Sun, September 4, 1991, p.1.FROM M , D., Collaborative Communities: Cohousing, Central

Living, and Other New Forms of Housing with SharedFacilities (NY: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1991).

Hamilton Spectator, "Hamilton Women's Group Plans toTake Safety Audit of City," reprinted in Vancouver Sun,September 18, 1991, p. A4.

INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCII ON PUBLIC POLICY, "SustainableDevelopment: The Urban Dimension: An OECD UrbanMandate for the 1990s," prepared for Canada Mortgage andHousing Corporation for consideration by the OECD Groupon Urban Affairs, September 21, 1989.

LEVI, C., "Growing Fish Sal ad: An Experiment in IntegratedAquaculture," Nor'Easter, Spring 1991, pp. 14-17.

Los ANGELES DAILY NEws (LADN)with NEW YORK TIMES NEWSSERVICE, "L.A. City Council To Vote on Total RestaurantSmoking Ban," Vancouver Sun, October 16, 1990, p. A5.


MATI I UR, B., ed., Perspectives on Urban Health (Winnipeg:University of Winnipeg, Institute of Urban Studies, 1991).

McCANIANT, K. AND C. DuRRErr, Cohousing: A Contemporrry

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Approach to Housing Ourselves (Berkeley: Habitat Press,1988).

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (Victoria, Australia), "MinisterialPolicy: Environmental Education" (Melbourne: Ministry ofEducation, 1990), quoted in Victorian EnvironmentalEducation Council (VEEC), Educating For Our Environment(Melbourne: VEEC, 1991).

NEWMAN, P., "Successful Ageing, Transport and UrbanDesign," presented to Conference on Successful Ageing,Canberra, Australia, November, 1991.

NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE, "San Francisco to Get VDTRegulations," Vancouver Sun, December 27, 1990, p. A13.

ORR, D., quoted in Victorian Environmental EducationCouncil (VEEC), Educating For Our Environment(Melbourne: VEEC, 1991).

PERLMAN, J.E., "The Mega-Cities Project," presented to theWorld Congress of Local Governments for a SustainableFuture, United Nations, New York, September 5, 1990.

STATE OFFICE OF DEVELOPMENT COOPERATION (SODC),Bremen's Development Cooperation (Bremen, Germany:Senator of Economy, Technology and Foreign Trade, StateOffice of Development Cooperation, 1990).

TAYLOR, C., "Taking Back the Night," Vancouver Sun,October 19, 1991, p. B5.

TOWNS AND DEVELOPMENT, "Getting to Know Towns andDevelopment" (The Hague: Towns and Development: LocalInitiatives for Global Development, n.d.).

URBAN ECOLOGIST, "Ecological Rebuilding in the UnitedStates," The Urban Ecologist, Fall 1991.

VICTORIAN ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION COUNCIL (VEEC),Educating For Our Environment (Melbourne: VEEC, 1991).

ZWEIG, R., "Development of an Integrated AquacultureSystem at the Southeast Correctional Center in Bridgewater,Massachusetts" (Cambridge, MA: MIT Sea Grant Program,1990).

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Investment and Purchasing

12

investment and Purchasing

--\"Public purchasing policy a nd the promotion and maintenanceof standards are central to an effective environmental strategy.They complement the activities of trade and industry andaffect the quality of life of all sectors of the community."

ACC 1990j

Government investment and purchasing has a greatinfluence in the local economy. For example, in 1989 totalgovernment purchases in the U.S. amounted toapproximately $916 billion or about 20% of the grossnational product. About 13% of these purchases weremade by state and local governments. Municipalinvestment and purchasing is particularly important interms of settin gan example for private purchasers, creatingnew markets, and stimulating sustainable economicdevelopment.

Municipal purchasing policies are often critical to thesuccess of other sustainable community programs. Forexample, despite winning a United Nations environmentalaward in 1989, Ontario's Blue Box recycling system wassoon suffering as municipalities realized the program didnot pay for itself (Reguly 1992). As many communitieshave found out the hard way, municipal expenditures onrecycling programs are not useful or cost-effective if thereis no local demand for businesses which make recycled orreusable products.

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Corporate Environmental Responsibility"By adopting these principles, we publicly affirm ourbelief that corporations and their shareholders havea direct responsibility for the environment. We believethat corporations must conduct their business asresponsible stewards of the environment and seekprofits only in a manner that leaves the Earth healthyand safe. We believe that corporations must notcompromise on the ability of future generations tosustain their needs.We recognize this to be a long-term commitment toupdate our practices continually in light of advancesin technology and new understandings in health andenvironmental science. We intend to make consistent,measurable progress in implementing these principlesand to apply them wherever we operate throughoutthe world."

(The Valdez Principles)

TOOLS

The Valdez PrinciplesThe Coalition for Environmentally Responsible Economies(CERES) is a broad coalition of environmentalorganizations and socially responsible investment groupsformed to promote environmental responsibility amongbusinesses and local governments. In September 1989CERES set forth the Valdez Principles as broad standardsfor evaluating corporate activities that directly or indirectlyaffect the biosphere. The Principles were adopted to helpinvestors make informed decisions and in the hope ofworking with companies to create a voluntary mechanismof self-governance. The Valdez Principles call forelimination or minimization of pollution, sustainable use

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"Governments are formed to preserve and protect the generalgood. Protecting the environment, safeguarding humanhealth and preserving the national habitat should be anintegral part of every government's environmentalresponsibilities. Local governments, in their own operationsand in their regulation and monitoring of actions by others,should be model environmental citizens."

New York City's Environmental Charter 1990

of natural resources, reduction and safe disposal of waste,energy conservation, environmental risk reduction,marketing of safe products and services, damagecompensation, hazard disclosure, selection ofenvironmental directors and managers, and annualenvironmental audits.

Canadian corporate signatories include McDonald'sRestaurants of Canada, Delta Hotels, Air Canada, VanCitySavings, and B.C. Tel. At least 40 local governments areconsidering environmental investment guidelines basedon the Valdez Principles; at least five jurisdictions havealready adopted guidelines.

CERES provides information and assistance in relationto the Valdez Principles, ,:orporate shareholder campaigns,and community efforts t(' encourage local governments toadopt environmental investment policies (see Resources).

The Environmental. Charter for New York CityIntroduced by New York City Comptroller ElizabethHoltzman in conjunction with Earth Day 1990, this is ageneric document that can be adapted by other NorthAmerican local governments. The Environmental Charterpledges local governments to develop programs to providedean water (assure water quality, conserve water, andimprove sewage systems); improve air quality (reducevehicle pollution, incineration, and other emissions);expand recycling and minimize waste; foster sound energy

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Heaith- Conscious DivestmentThe City of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has divesteditself of stock in tobacco companies.

(see Associated Press 1991)

policy; plan for environmentally responsible growth;implement environmentally sound procurement policies;enforce laws and improve oversight capacity; encourageenvironmentally responsible business practices; maximizecitizen education and involvement; and implement thegoals of this charter (develop timetables, annual audits,periodic re-evaluation, environmental subcabinet of keygovernment agencies, collaboration with colleges anduniversities, and public involvement in monitoringimplementation and compliance). For access informationsee Resources.

INITIATIVES

Statement of Principle on Environmentally SoundPurchasingIn June 1989, the City of Toronto and MetropolitanToronto Department of Purchasing and Supply hosted asymposium of Canadian purchasing officials on thepurchase of reusable and recyclable and reclaimablematerials. Toronto City Counc.l's version of thesymposium's statement of principles reads:

"The tin order to increase the development and awarenessof Environmentally Sound Products, all departments, inconjunction with Purchasing and Supply staff, reviewtheir contracts and tender specifications for goods andservices, to ensure that wherever possible Lind economical,specifications are amended to provide for expanded use ofproducts and services that contain the maximum level of

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Creating Markets for Recycled MaterialsMany US local government procurement policies givea 5-10% cost preference to products made with post-consumer recycled materials, even though they mayinitially be more expensive. In the long run, it is inthe interest of local governments to build up markets- and demand - for recycled materials.

post-consumer reusable or recyclable waste and/orrecyclable content, without significantly affecting theintended use of the product or service, and that it isrecognized that cost analysis is required in order to ensurethat the products are made available at competitive prices."(City of Toronto 1989)

Governments Incorporating Procurement Policiesto Eliminate Refuse (GIPPER)An Ontario intergovernmental committee calledGovernments Incorporating Procurement Policies toEliminate Refuse (GIPPER)has been established to addressprocurement's contribution to solving the waste crisisproblem. GIPPER is comprised of representatives fromboth waste management and purchasing departments offederal, provincial and municipal levels of governmentand other concerned organizations. GIPPER intends toincorporate environmental considerations into purchasingprocedures, with the goal of an overall, national, 50 percent reduction in waste generation by the year 2000. Thefocus of the procurement policies will be to:"a) Reduce the quantity of waste produced by

government bodies and associated agencies, boards,commissions and affiliated contractors.

b) Provide markets necessary to promote and sustainwaste reduction, reuse, recycling and recovery ofmaterials initiatives.

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c) Develop a process to facilitate co-operative or jointpurchasing amongthe differentlevels ofgovermnentso as to substantially influence and enhance item b)above." (GIPPER, n.d.)

Writing Environmental Practice Into TenderDocumentsThe West Sussex (U.K.) County Council's documentssupplied to contractors invited to tender for the buildings'cleaning contract includes these requirements in respectto equipment and materials:

"The contractor shall prepare, mix and use all cleaningmaterials and use all equipment in a safe manner and tothe satisfaction of the authorised office, and shall keep thesame when on the council's premises under proper controland safe keeping, and shall ensure that all cleaningmaterials are properly, accurately and clearly labelled ontheir containers. The contractor shall use his bestendeavours to provide, for the purposes of this contract,materials whose manufacture, use and disposal have theleast practicable harmful impact on the environment."(ACC 1990)

RESOURCES

GOVERNMENTS INCORPORATING PROCUREMENT POLICIES TO

ELIMINATE REFUSE (GIPPER). Forinoreinforrnation contact:Lou Pagano, P. Eng.Chairman of GIPPERDept. of Purchasing and SupplyCity HallToronto, Ontario M5H 2N2Tel: 416/392-7311 Fax: 416/392-0801

THE COALITION FOR ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE

ECONOMIES (CERES). For more information contact:

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CERES711 Atlantic Ave.Boston, MA 02111Tel: 617/451-0927

CONSERVATREE INFORMATION SERVICES, The Government

Procurement Kit. Topics include creating markets forrecycling and purchasing policies. Available from:

Conservatree Information Services10 Lombard St., Suite 250San Francisco, CA 94111Tel: 415/453-1000

Locm, GOVERNMENT CO5IMISSION, Local GovernmentProcurement and Market Development (1989). Ahow-to guide for adopting a recycled product purchasing policy.Available from:

Local Government Commission909 12th St., Suite 205Sacramento, CA 95814Tel: 916/448-1198

CITY OF NEW YORK, OFFICE OF THE COMPTROLLER, TheEnvironmental Charter for New York City (1990).Available from:

The City of New YorkOffice of the Comptroller1 Centre StreetNew York, NY 10007-2341

ReferencesASSOCIATED PRESS, "California Is Urging Sale of Tobacco

Stocks," New York Times, January 31, 1991, p. A13.ASSOCIATION OF COUNTY COUNCILS (ACC), ASSOCIATION OF

DISTRICT COUNCILS, AND ASSOCIATION OF METROPOLITANAUTHORITIES, Environmental Practice in Local Government(London: Association of District Councils, 1990).

CITY OP NEW YORK, The Environmental Charter for NewYork City (New York: City of New York, Office of the

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Comptroller, 1990).Crry OF ToRorrro COUNCIL, Report No. 33, Item 17, adopted

September 21, 1989.GOVERNMENTS INCORPORATING PROCUREMENT POLICIES TO

ELIMINATE REFUSE (GIPPER) "Fact Sheet" (Toronto: GIPPER,n.d.).

LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION, Local GovernmentProcurement and Market Development (Sacramento, CA:Local Government Commission, 1989).

REGULY, I3., "Blue Boxes: Wh y They Don't Work," FinancialTimes of Canada, February 3, 1992, p. 1.

270274

PART THREE

Planning and Administrative Tools

Part III is devoted to the successful imp'ementation of theconcepts and ideas in Parts I and As in Part II, thesechapters include planning tools, practical initiatives, andassociated resources which have helped municipal andlocal governments move toward sustainable communitiesWhile not every tool will 'Tit" every community, many ofthem will fit quite well.

This section includes strategies and techniques for gettinggood ideas "off the shelf," involving the public, andovercoming bureaucratic inertia. It concludes with somelessons for designing effective sustainable communitydevelopment policies.

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Leadership by Example

13


While progress in environmental management appears tobe the order of the day, a look at even recent history givescause for concern. For example, in 1990 Toronto madeheadlines around the world by becoming the first city tocommit itself tc reducing its 1988 level of carbon dioxideemissions 20% by 2005. Included in its "call for action" wasa goal of"signifi candy reducing the number of commutingautos" and a strategy to "promote significant reductions inthe energy intensity of transportation' in the city" bypromoting public transit, bicycling and walking (see Cityef Toronto 1989). Yet ten years earlier Toronto CityCouncil had passed an energy conservation by-lawdesigned, among other things, to encourage developmentand redevelopment that would contribute to energy-efilcient urban f( rm, reduce the need for transportation,discourage automobile use and encourage public transitand bicycle transportation (see Lang and Armour 1982).That the same environmental legislation was passed twicein ten years is a strong indicator that the earlier measureswere not implemented.

Another example of purported progress is the recentmushrooming of municipal and local governmentenvironmental departments, coordinators, task forces,staff committees, and citizen boards At one level thiscertainly de3erves applause. Yet a major survey ofenvironmental management in nearly 3,000 NorthAmerican local govern merits in 1973 found that 20 percent

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Knowing Your Constituency"In a recent survey of German citiec [...] peopleoverwhelmingly favored greater emphasis on publictransport even if that meant less support forautomobiles. Varyingby city size, the extent of popularresponse advocating greater investment in publictransport ranged from 95 percent of people surveyedin Berlin, to 93 percent in Munich, 88 percent inHamburg and Dusseldorf- and a low of 58 percent, inTroisdorf. Yet a separate poll of local politicians inthe Munich area found that most were certain theirconstituents would favor the car over publictransport."

(Lowe 1991)

had staff environment committees, 40 percent haddesignated environmental coordinators, and 24 percenthad citizen environmental boards. Inadequate funding,uncertainty and delay in program administration,inadequate communication with senior levels ofgovernment, and inadequate technical assistance were allperceived in the mid-1970s as major impediments toadequate local responses to environmental problem solving(see Magazine 1977). Nearly 20 years later, this list stillsounds familiar.

How can we encourage sustainable policymaking andensure sustainable implementation? Local government isan influential employer in most communities. The firststep toward sustainable administration is leadership byexample, particularly "greening" City Hall. We need toput our own house in order, using tools such asenvironmental audits, staff training, eco-counselling,environmental impact as,.essmcnt, and state-of-the-environment reporting.

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"We ask our citizens to change their behaviour, to leave theirsacred cars at home, to pay a higher price for the future, andmoreover, to vote for us. This is a real challenge for theleadership in our democracy. But in a sustainable city thatthinks globally, the future of our planet has to be moreimportant than the outcome of the next election."

Amsterdam Mayor E. Van Thijn 1991

Co-ordinated vs. Ad-hoc Development"The process of re-urbanization is obviously moredifficult without a strong planning commitment to it[...] Some overall, co-ordinated vision for the citywhich takes account of re-urbanization's many othersocial, economic and equity impacts is clearlydesirable. Certainly re-urbanization will have lesssatisfactory results in terms of the quality ofdevelopments and their impacts on established areasif the process is allowed to occur in a merely ad hocway."

(Kenworthy and Newman 1990)

TOOLS

Local Government Stylesto Global WarmingStyle1. Flout the law.

2. Merely obey the law.

3. Set a good examplewithin theadministration.

of Response With Respect

Examples1...] Use illegally pollutingvehicles.Do no more, or lcss, than isrequired.Intra-office recycling; usenatural gas vehicles.

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4 8 3


4. Advocate withinjurisdiction

5. Legislate withinjurisdiction

6. Advocate outsidejurisdiction

7. Seek new 12gislativeauthority

8. Legislate outsidejurisdiction

Encourage reduction, reuse,and recycling; promotetransit and district heating.Ban certain materials atlandfill sites; localrestrictions on automobileuse.Push for tighter automobilepollution standards;promote inter-city rail.To tax automobileownership; to ban sale ofitems made with CFCs.Ban sale of items made withCFCs; ban use of manykinds of packaging.

(Gilbert 1991)

Environmental Auditing"An environmental audit (EA) is based on an assessmentof the environmental impacts of the authority's policiesand practices. In some cases these will be known, or easilyidentifiable, whilst in others, it will be possible only toindicate the likely consequences. The policy review shouldencompass all activities of the authority, and alldepartments and arms of the service. It should not berestricted to 'official' or approved policy, because muchlocal government practice has evolved tl.rough tradition,or results from informal decisions of staff.

Given the wide-ranging nature of such a review, and thedifferences which exist between authorities, only a generalindication can be given here of the matters to be covered.However, many features will be common to mostauthorities. These might include:

the authority's existing environmental objectives and

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policy statement(s) strategy/chartermechanisms and structures for co-ordinatingenvironmental issues and inputs into all departmentsand service deliverypurchasing policyuse, conservation and recycling of resources andmaterials by/within the authorityvehicle fleet managementhealth and environment of the workplace and publicareas managed by the authorityestate management (land and buildings) and designconsumer advice and protectionenvironmental educationtransport policies and their implementationwaste management policies and their implementationland use planning policies and their implementationenvironmental enhancement and conservation policiesand their implementationenergy consumption, energy policy and energyefficiency measuresinvestment policymechanisms for involving staff in the EA and securingtheir co-operationmechanisms for monitoring the effectiveness andimplementation cf the EA" (ACC 1990)

Staff Training"Ifenvironmental initiatives are tobe integrated effectivelyinto mainstream services, particular effort is needed toensure that the authority's own staff are properly involved.Before staffcan be asked to develop and pursue initiatives,they must first understand and support the reasons forwhat they are being asked to achieve. This applies asmuch to junior field staff as to senior managers withinservice departments. A range of devices will be needed,

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Local Authority (LA) Mechanisms for Conducting anEnvironmental Audit

Cost

Overallenvironmentalexpertise

Knowledgeof authority

Knowledgeof area

Objectivity

Ease ofmanagement& control

Commitmentto long-termimplementation

Continuousinvolvementinmonitoring& review

1) In-house team(existing staff)

Cheapest

May not becomprehensive

Excellent

Excellent

Bound to beaffected by LAculture

Good

Depends on otherduties andpriorities

Depends on otherduties andpriorities

2) In-house team(new specialiststaff)

Most expensive butcould be most cost-effective

Excellent and LAcontrols what itgets

Limited at first butwill grow

Limited at first butwill grow

Good to excellent

Good

Excellent

Excellent

.2 8 G 282


3) External consultant 4) Combined in-house andconsultants

More expensive than 1) More expensive than 1)

Excellent (if right consultant Excellent (if rightselected) consultant selected)

Likely to be nil or very Goodlimited

Depends on firm's experience Goodbut could be nil or limited

Excellent Good

Not as easy as 1) or 2) Not as easy as 1) or 2)

Non-existent Mixed

Non-existent Mixed

(ACC 1990)

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Toward Sustainable Comnzunities

such as seminars and staff newsletters, which have beenused successfully in the past. Whatever the methods, keystaff and elected members need to understand:

the environmental agenda: staff must be familiar withglobal, regional and local environmental issues, andgrasp their political and economic implicationsthe environmental lobby: an appreciation of thedemands and attitudes of local and national intereststhe enviror mental impact of their own service: theinfluence of the day-to-day services for which they areresponsiblethe environmental role of their own service: how theirdepartment or section can contribute to solvingenvironmental problems

Promoting such understanding does not necessarilyrequire formal training. But it does require some thoughtas to how the authority can tap into available expertise (inthe form of published material, its own staff, localenvironmental groups) and disseminate it (through in-house journals, environment newsletters, departmentalbriefing) to staff." (ACC 1990)

Eco-CounsellingMore than 500 eco-counsellors are at work throughoutEurope (Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Spain,the UK, France, Luxembourg, and Belgium). Theconcept of environmental counselling was originallydeveloped in Germany (in 1985) as a means of providingdetailed, impartial and practical environmental advice toindividuals on an individual or small-group basis (e.g.,schools, women's groups, businessmen, householders) onmatters ranging from energy conservation to waterpollution. The central idea is that the environmentaladviser, largely by virtue of his or her personal contactwith members of the community in which he or she works,

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can achieve small-scale but long-term behavioural change

which in turn can lead to a large-scale improvement in the

environment.Eco-counsellor training programs and even masters

degree programs in environmental counselling are now

being offered in Europe. While courses on law and economy,

etc. are offered, the central foci are environment andcommunications. Trainees gain expertise in technical,legal, administrative and economic fields, but mostimportant is their experience in animating discussions,presenting issues clearly and simply, diplomacy, team-

work and cooperation with different partners.While financing is necessary to cover training, salaries

and materials, local authorities are increasingly acceptingthat these costs are low compared with a) the potential job-

creation possibilities and improved market standing forthose involved in the clean technology and environmentallyoriented sectors, and b) the avoided economic and social

costs of environmental damage. Estimates from Austriaindicate that local eco-counsellors typically producesavings double to their costs through identification ofwaste reduction measures. Often local authorities areable to co-finance schemes with the assistance ofgovernment aid, local businesses orsponsorship. (see Eco-

Conseil 1991; World Congress of Local Governments for a

Sustainable Future 1990)

State of the Environment (SOE) ReportingSomelocal governments are consideringa community-based

state of the environment (SOE) report for their region (see

Resources). Inspired by national and international SOE

reports, the idea of these efforts is to develop broadperceptions of ecosystems and ourrelationships with them,

and to identify ecological approaches to planning anddesigningurban areas, on which residents and governments

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1


Eco-Conseillere Job DescriptionThe job description for an Eco-Conseillere in theFrench town of Saint Orens (pop. 9,000) is typical ofother municipal "ecology counselor" or"environmental advisor" positions in dozens ofEuropean communities. It calls for resolving disputes,acting as an environmental advisor to city council,working with the city employees in charge of greenspace and walking paths, signing off on city purchasesto ensure they will not harm the environment, helpingin general to preserve the quality of life byacting asan environmental advocate with both elected andappointed city officials, and working with localschoolsin helping to design environmental education andclass projects.

(see PM 14(8) August 1990)

can ponder and act. As with all SOE reporting, thequestion of appropriate indicators presents a majorchallenge, especially at the local government level. Ideally,SOE indicators should be key measures th at most representthe state of the environment and that collectively providea comprehensive profile of environmental quality, natural.resource assets, and agents of environmental change.

Environmental Impact Assessment"Environmental impact assessment is a planning tool thatintegrates environmental considerations into projectplanning, development and implementation. In order tobe effective, environmental assessmenthas to be a decisionmaking tool. The application ofan effective environmentalassessment process ensures t la potential environmentaleffects physical and socialare identified and mitigativemeasures put in place to minimize or eliminate theseimpacts. Effective environmental assess -rent requiresthat the environmental implications of a proposal be

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Eco-Counselling Resolution"[...] 9. The Permanent Conference asks the regionsand local authorities: [...]IV. to create, within their administration, a specialdepartment with a global approach to environmentalquestions to undertake the necessary coordinationand also to inform and advise citizens, notably by thecreation of posts for environmental advisers;V. to ensure that their administration has enoughqualified environment personnel to be able toeffectively to carry out the tasks in this area whichwill fall to the local authorities in the future;VI. to set up, within their administration, a means forthe protection of the citizen (of a mediating nature) ora specific service within existing institutions, whichevery citizen can consult for environmental problems."

(Council of Europe 1988)

considered prior to taking or making irrevocable decisionsand as early in the planning process as possible. Theassessment of a proposal should include the concerns ofthe public with regard to both physical and socialenvironmental evaluation." (City of Ottawa 1990)

INITIATIVES

Municipal Environmental Offices/PositionsMunicipal environmental offices/positions have beencreated in many jurisdictions. Some Canadian examples:Vancouver has created a Special Office for theEnvironment. Burnaby, B.C. has an "ecosystem" planner.Calgary has an environmental coordinator. Toronto hascreated an energy efficiency office. Some US examples:Irvine, California has hired an environmental programadministrator. Baltimore's Regional Council of

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Governments has a director of environmental programs.Portland has an Energy Office, San Francisco has aBureau a: Energy Conservation, and San Jose has anOffice of Environmental Management.

Environment First PolicyThe City of Waterloo's "Environment First Policy" evolvedout of an Environmental Think Tank initiated by theMayor with the full support of h is Council and senior staff.It focuses on creeks and storm water management, floodplain management, environmentally important areas,urban vegetation, and parks and open space development.In addition to individual strategies, the policy is intendedto develop a broad-based, systematic approach toenvironmental enhancement at the local level. A positionof Environmentai Coordinator for the city was created aspart of the policy (see City of Waterloo 1991).

Environmental Protection OfficeThe City of Toronto has an Environmental ProtectionOffice which provides research and policy developmentservices to City Council, other municipal departments,and external groups and agencies. The office has aprofessional staff often, ranging from information officersto researchers to an industrial hygienist (see Davies 1991).

Developpement ViableIn Montreal, studies commissioned by the city haverecommended the adoption of an approach directed todeveloppement viable, based on the concept of the city asan "eco-socio-system." The city will attempt to incorporatesustainability dimensions into its development plan andimplement a comprehensive framework for the evaluationof development and transportation plans againstsustainability criteria (see Richardson 1990).

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Assistant Mayor for the EnvironmentBordeaux, France's environmental programs are run bythe elected "green" assistant mayor for the environment.The assistant mayor chairs a number of public/privatecommittees that promote, monitor and administerenvironmental initiatives (seeP/A 14(11) November 1990).

Green Economic and Social StrategySheffield, U.K's Sheffield 2000 Development Strategyincludes a "green growth network." Its activities includedeveloping a dialogue between environmentalists andindustry within the City and the region to promote jointworking and to achieve agreed objectives; identifying andpromoting emerging new environmental products andservices; investing in environmental research anddevelopment; developing an integrated approach to urbanpolicy planning within the City Council; implementinggreen strategies and promoting best practice withininstitutions, and developing a city-wide green economicand social strategy (see Sheffield City Council n.d.).

Overcoming NIMBYNew York City is pioneering a way of overcoming theNIMBY(Not In My Back Yard) syndrome by ensuring thatLULUs (locally unwanted land uses) are distributedequitably among resisting neighbourhoods. The planningdepartment will calculate a ratio, comparing eachneighbourhood's jail beds, halfway houses, group homerooms, and other existing LULUs to the overall population.Neighbourhoods will not be expected to carry more thantheir fair share of facilities and affluent neighbourhoodsthat have previously lobbied successfully in the NIMBYmode will no longer be able to turn away evzny unwantedfacility (see PIA 15(1) January 1991).

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Acronym GlossaryNIMBY Not In My Back YardLULU Locally Unwanted Lane, UseNIMTO Not In My Term of OfficeNIMBL Not In My Bottom LineBYBYTM Better Your Back Yard Than MineNIABY Not In Anyone's Back Yard

(e.g., toxic waste)YIMFY Yes In My Front Yard

(e.g., bicycle paths)

RESOURCES

ASSOCIATION OF COUNTY COUNCILS, ASSOCIATION OF DISTRICT

COUNCILS, AND ASSOCIATION OF METROPOLITAN AUTHORITIES,

Environmental Practice in Local Government(London: Association of District Councils, 1990). Thethree IJ.K. national local authority Associations teamedup to produce this impressive notebook-style publicationin an attemptto raise environmental awareness throughoutlocal government. The first edition concentrates onexamples of best available practice within U.K. localauthorities; while few of these are in themselves relevantto North American municipal and local governments, thisbook would be a good model for a similar effort on thiscontinent. Available from:

Wendy AylettAssociation of District Councils26 Chapter StreetLondon, U.K SW1P 4NDFax: 071 233 6551

THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMISSION iS a Californiaorganization providing technical assistance to local

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governments. The Commission is developing energyefficiency guidelines for cities in the areas of land use,transportation, solid waste recycling, and energyconservation in buildings. One very valuable Commissionpublication is "Model Ordinances for EnvironmentalProtection," available from:

Local Government Commission909 12th St., Suite 205Sacramento, CA 95814Tel: 916/448-1198

THE INTERNATIONAL CITY MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION

(ICMA) is the professional and educational association forappointed administrators and assistant administratorsserving cities, villages, boroughs, townships, counties, andcouncils ofgovernments. ICMA's membership also includesdirectors of state associations of governments, other localgovernment employees, members of the academiccommunity, and concerned citizens who share the goal ofimproving local government. In terms of environmentalmanagement, ICMA offers assistance in solid wastemanagement, ground water protection, and wastewatertreatment. ICMA also publishes Cities International, aquarterly newsletter on municipal development andmanagement training programs in developing countries.For more information, contact:

International City Management Association777 N. Capitol Street, N.E.Washington, D.C. 20002-4201Tel: 202/289-4262

PUBLIC TECHNOLOGY, INC. (PTI) is the technical arm ofthe International City Management Association and theNational League of Cities, and a non-profit organizationthat helps local governments throughout North Americacut costs and improve services through practical use oftechnology and management systems. With funding from

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the US Environmental Protection Agency, PTI organizedan Urban Consortium Environmental Task Force to conductapplied research to address local environmental problems,develop innovations and transfer results. For moreinformation, contact:

Public Technology, Inc.1301 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.Washington, D.C. 20004Tel: 202/626-2400

THE FEDERATION OF CANADIAN MUNICIPALITIES (FCM).

publishesForum, a bi-monthly publication. In 1991Forumintroduced a new column promoting municipalenvironmental initiatives. Available from:

Federation of Canadian Municipalities24 Clarence StreetOttawa, Ontario K1N 5P3Tel: 613/237-5221 Fax: 613/237-2965

THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMITTEE ON URBAN ANDREGIONALRESEARCH (ICURR) is an information exchangeservice and research program. In 1991 ICURR co-sponsoreda management symposium on "ImplementingSustainableDevelopment in Municipalities" with the Association ofMunicipal Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario. ICURRdocuments and publishes information on sustainable urbandevelopment in Canada. For more information, contact:

Intergovernmental Committee on Urban and RegionalResearch

150 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 301Toronto, Ontario M4P 1E8Tel: 416/973-5644 Fax: 416/973-1375

ENVIRONMENT CANADA distributes a newsletter on stateof the environment reporting. Available from:

SOE NewsletterState of the Environment ReportingCorporate Policy Group

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Environment CanadaOttawa, Ontario KIA OH3Tel: 819/953-1448

TORONTO'S state of theenvironment (SOE) report isan example of one community's experience with this tool.

Toronto: State of the Environment (May 1988) is available

from:Department of Public HealthCity of TorontoCity HallToronto, Ontario M5H 2N2

ReferencesASSOCIATION OF COUNTY COUNCILS (ACC), "Association of

District Councils, and Association of MetropolitanAuthorities, Environmental Practice in Local Government"(London: Association of District Councils, 1990).

CITY OF OrrAwn, "Urban Environmental ConservationStrategy: Framework Document" (Ottawa: City of Ottawa,Department of Engineering and Public Works, 1990),discussion paper.

CITY OF TORONTO, The Changing Atmosphere: A Call To

Action (Toronto: City of Toronto, 1989).CITY OF' WATERLOO, Environment First 1990 Review Report

(Waterloo: City of Waterloo, Report CAO 91-15, 1991).COUNCIL OF EUROPE, Resolution 171 on "The Region, the

Environment and Participation,"produced by the PermanentConference of Local and Regional Authorities in Europe(Strasbourg: Council of Europe, 1986).

DAVIES, K, "The Role of Environmental Considerations in

Municipal Decision-Making in Canada and Some PreliminaryComments on Municipalities and the Proposed CanadianEnvironmental Assessment Act (Bill C-13)," unpublishedpaper prepared for The Federal Environmental AssessmentReview Office, September 1991.

Eco-CoNsmi,, "Introducing Environmental Counselling forLocal Authorities in France: A Successful Experiment"(Strasbourg: Institut Pour Le Conseil En Environment,1991).

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GILBERT, R., "Cities and Global Warming" (Toronto:Canadian Urban Institute, 1991).

KENWORTHY, J.R., AND P.W.G. NEWNIAN,"Cities and TransportEnergy: Lessons From a Global Survey," Ekistics 57(344/345):258-268, 1990.

LANG, R. ANDA. ARNIOUR,PlanningLand to Conserve Energy:40 Case Studies From Canada and the United States (Ottawa:Lands Directorate, Environment Canada, 1982).

LowE, M.D., "Shaping Cities: The Environmental andHuman Dimensions," Worldwatch Paper 105 (Washington,D.C.: Worldwatch Institute, 1991).

MAGAZINE, A.H., Environmental Management in LocalGovernment: A Study of Local Response to Federal Mandate(New York: Praeger Publishers, 1977).

Public Innovation Abroad (PIA), various issuesRICHARDSON, N., "Regional Overview Paper: Canada"

(Toronto: University of Toronto Centre for Urban AndCommunity Studies; draft prepared for the Colloquium onHuman Settlements and Sustainable Development, June21-23, 1990).

SHEFFIELD CITY COUNCIL, Sheffield 2000: The DevelopmentStrategy (Sheffield, UK: Sheffield City Council, n.d.).

VAN TIIIJN, E., Mayor of Amsterdam, remarks to WorldCities andTheir Environment Congress of Municipal Leaders(Toronto: August 25-28, 1991).

WORLD CONGRESS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FOR A SUSTAINABLEFUTURE, Congress Report (Cambridge, MA: InternationalCouncil for Local Environmental Initiatives, 1990).

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Environmental Administration

14


As noted in the previous chapter, the road to sustainabledevelopment is paved with failed efforts to incorporate theenvironment into everyday municipal decision-making.The first step toward sustainable administration isleadership by example.

Unfortunately, energy-efficient light bulbs and reusablechina in the City Hall cafeteria will not in themselvesachieve sustainable development or slow global climatechange. These kind of well-intentioned initiatives are butsmall steps toward creating sustainable communities.

The second step toward sustainable administration isconceptual and organizational. One ofthe greatest obstaclesto sustainability is the reductionist administrative mindsetthat subdivides problems and prevents the left hand ofgovernment from understanding what the right hand isdoing. For example, despite considerable trumpeting ofthe Canadian government's Green Plan, an analysis of the1991 federal budget and spending estimates concludedthat Ottawa spent billions of dollars in 1991 on programsand policies that create pollution and encourageenvironmental degradation (see RFI 1991). Suchbureaucratic schizophrenia is perpetrate(' t all levels ofgovernment as well as throughout academia.

Sustainable communities cannot be achieved throughthe kind of fragmented and bureaucratized administrationthat characterizes senior government. At the communitylevel the issues of, for example, transportation, land use,

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economic development, public health, environmentalprotection, and housingaffordability cannotbe successfullymanaged as separate problems by separate agencies usingseparate strategies.

Conventional wisdom considers the environment as anadministrative problem, to be solved by better management

understood as cutting the environment into bite-sizepieces. This approach seems increasingly unable to dealeffectively, sensitively, and comprehensively withenvironmental complexities.

Rather than the environment as an administrativeproblem, it would appear that administration is itself anenvironmental problem. The alternative to conventionalmunicipal administration is an emerging form of what hasbeen called "environmental administration." It can becharacterized as non-compartmentalized, open,decentralized, anti-technocratic, and flexible (see Paehlkeand Torgerson 1990). Community "Round Tables" on theenvironment and the economy may prove to be a goodexample of environmental administration.

It will take a great effort over a long time to turn thesystem of local government into a paragon ofenvironmental administration, though try we must. Inthese transition decades, however, an effective andpopular way to implement sustainable communitydevelopment is urgently required.

Tools for Environmental Administration are organizedin three sections: principles, process, and strategies.Examples of current fledgling attempts to developsustainable forms of administration are described underInitiatives.

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TOOLS

PrinciplesPrinciples for Sustainable Development and UrbanManagement" Local governments/authorities must assume the

responsibility and marshall the resources to addressthe environmental problems facingtheir communities.Present and future generations have a right to ahealthy and productive environment.Sustainable development ai °aches must givepriority to the alleviation of poverty.Development strategies and projects should be judgedfrom their long-term environmental impacts not justfrom their short-term gains.Polluters should pay for the costs of remediation, butit is even more important to prevent pollution and thewaste of resources in the first place.Human communities must understand and respect theecosystem processes of which they are an integral part.Those potentially affected by the environmental risksof developmen t projects should have the opportunitiesto participate with full information in decisions aboutthem." (Toronto Declaration on World Cities andTheir Environment 1991)

Principles for Innovative Policy MakingThe Organization for Economic Cooperation andDevelopment's (OECD) Group of Urban EnvironmentalExperts believes this set of principles could form the basisfor ambitious, far-sighted urban environmental policymaking."1. There is a need to redefine and intensify co-operation

between different levels of government. Eachgovernmental level local, regional, national is

297 301


responsible for taking the initiatives to protect theenvironment.

2. Co- operation between the public and private sectorsmust grow. The private sector should be involved indesigning solutions to environmental problems. Thefinancial participation of the private sector isindispensable if urban environmental projects, aboveall those involving major infrastructure planning onthe local level, are to be successful.

3.Minimum environmental standards must beestablished and enforced. In some cases, enforcingexisting standards may produce better results thancreating new ones. Proper enforcement cannot takeplace without the involvement of local authorities.Wherever possible, local authorities should endeavorto go beyond minimum requirements proposed at ahigher governmental level.

4. The local community must take part in devising andimplementing environmental policies. Local initiativesstimulate greater awareness of local problems andpotential. Innovative local approaches should be widelydisseminated.

5. Prices must incorporate environmental and social costs.Sustainable development requires that environmentalcapital not be dissipated. Until environmental impactis internalised in accounting procedures, decisions byinvestors and c 'nsumers will not be based on realisticinformation. Certain kinds of information onenvironmental and social effects may be availablemost readily at the local level. Local taxes and feesmay be the most appropriate way to internalise someof these costs.

6.Synergies that can contribute to environmentalprotection must be identified. In a synergistic relationship,mutually enhancing activities are more productive when

302298


they are co-ordinated than when they are carried outseparately. Classic examples are production processesin which excess heat is used as part of a district heatingsystem or in combined heat and power provision.

7.Short-term decisions must be taken within theframework of long-term strategies. Political as well asprivate sector decision making often tends to be basedon short-term considerations, while a great deal ofurban planning is necessarily long-term. Short-termeconomic growth which exploits non-renewableresources is increasingly seen as producingonly illusoryincome, and a permanent loss of wealth." (OECD 1991)

Operating Principles"In thinking abouthow to achieve environmental objectives,it is important to establish 'operating principles.' Forexample, a local government might decide that, in pursuingits objectives, it will:

consult widely and welcome comment about its currentperformance and potential contributionseek to promote freedom of information on all mattersrelating to the local environmentwork in partnership to pool resources and expertiseseek to promote an awareness and understanding ofenvironmental issues throughout the local communityrecognise that prevention is better than cure and seekto ensure that its own action and that of others reflectsthis principleemploy a careful approach in its own practices, andencourage others to do the same, by assuming that anactivity is environmentally damaging unless provenotherwise, and recognising that where theenvironmental consequences of an action have notbeen properly established, it should seek other methodswhich are known to be environmentally safe

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Difficult Decisions and Public ParticipationPlanners and policy analysts are rightly concernedabout the dislocations, economic costs, and potentialinconveniences associated with sustainabilitymeasures and th( distribution across society. Pollsdo suggest that the public is willing to make somesacrifice to achieve ecological stability. However,both the gain and the pain of adjustment should beshared fairly by community members. Participationin the decision process by affected groups"can help make the attendant redistribution of costsand benefits fairer and more widely understood.Democratic mobilization is essential to theachievement of such policies in the face of theopposition [by vested interests they] inevitablyengender." (Paehlke and Torgerson 1990)

recognise that long-lasting or irreversible changes aremore significant than those which are short-lived oreasily reversedseek to prevent pollution wherever possible, but whenit does occur, accept that the polluter should pay andensure that its own committees take account of thisprinciple in decisions about council servicesensure equal access and opportunities for all sectionsof the community, including disadvantaged groups, toa safe and pleasant environment" (ACC 1990)

ProcessGood Practice"Good practice is marked by the implementation inparticular of three principles:

The principle of partnership. The recognition that noone organisation or profession has the capacity on its

300


own significantly to advance environmental protectionhence the need for partnership with other professionsand organisationsThe principle of proactivity. Prevention is not onlybetter than cure, it is a vital ingredient when it comesto environmental protection issuesThe principle of participation with the community.Sound environmental protection will only be securedif the community is encouraged to participate informulating and implementing policy." (ACC 1990)

Getting Public Involvement and Commitment"To gain and maintain involvement and commitment:

The authority must put its own house in order. It willneed to acknowledge its own shortcomings (in itspurchasing practice and so on) and show a commitmentto overcoming themThe authority must demonstrate a willingness to listenand to learn. In this field more than most, localauthorities are slowly acquiring expertise. The bestway of doing this is to canvass the views and draw onthe expertise of othersIt is important to match words and deeds. The localauthority may not succeed in achieving all of itsenvironmental targets, but it must make a seriousattempt at doing soThe commitment needs to be visible. Using news-sheets, departmental briefings, open meetings, the localmedia and other means, the authority must inform bothits own staff and external audiences of its effortsPolicies must be understood. Complex environmentalissues must be translated into objectives and measuresthat can be easily grasped by staff, other organisations,and the general public" (ACC 1990)

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Facilitating Community Participation"Community participation helps ensure that decisions aresound and all parties will support them. It is facilitated by:

conducting consultations where the people are;working with traditional leaders, and the full range ofcommunity groups and organizations;ensuring that the scope of consultation is appropriateto the decision being made;limiting the number of management and consultativebodies to which communities have to relate;giving communities and other interested partiesadequate, readily intelligible information and enoughtime to consider it, contribute to proposals themselvesand respond to invitations to consult;ensuring that consultations are in a culturallyacceptable form. For example, indigenous people witha tradition of decision makingby communal discussionshould not be expected to respond with a writtensubmission from one representative. If indigenousconsultation mechanisms exist, they should be used;ensuring that the timing of consultations is right.Consultation must not take place so early that nouseful information is available, or so late that allpeople can do is react or object to detailed proposals."

(IUCN 19

Community Involvement"Communities should initiate and be involved in all stagesof environmental action, from setting objectives anddesigning activities to doing the work and evaluating theresults. Participation should be as broad as possible,involvingall segments of the community, and emphasizingthat individual actions can make a difference. Theparticipatory approach aims for fair consideration of allviewpoints in reaching reasoned and informed decisions.

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It takes all factors into account, including people's feelingsand values. It draws on all relevant knowledge aild skills,and uses 'expert' assistance with care and sensitivity.

Evaluation should be continual; objectives should be re-examined and (if necessary) redefined. Plans should be subjectto modification in light of experience. Information should beexchanged among the participants and, if possible, with othersengaged in similar activities. Assessment, monitoring andevaluation are essential, preferably using participatorymethods. Monitoring helps to inform people of progress, sincethey sometimes forget how far they have come. Independentevaluation is useful so that people can develop a body ofexperience from which everyone may learn." (IUCN 1991)

StrategiesPreparing Local Strategies"Preparation of local strategies enables communities toexpress their views on conservation and developmentissues, defining their needs and aspirations, andformulating a plan for the development of their area tomeet their social and economic needs sustainably.

Local strategies enable the communities involved to defineand achieve the kind of development that is most appropriatefor them. If approved by the responsible government, eachsuch strategy could form the basis ofl an d-use policies and aland-use plan for the area. Local strategies could usefully beundertaken as part ofa national or subnational strategy, butif neither of these is available there is no reason why localstrategies should not be done independently.

The geographical scope of a local strategy should bedefined by the community (or communities) undertakingit." (IUCN 1991)

Means of Implementation"In general, municipalities have a number of means of

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implementing sustain able development in their communities:Regulations emission standards, environmental

quality standards, subdivision codes,building codes, health codes, zoning by-laws, development charges, land useplans, covenants, restrictions on theoperation ofvehicles or industries duringcertain hours, etc.

Incentives and preferential taxation, transfer ofDisincentives development rights, easements, bonus

and penalty provisions, pricing policies(e.g., for solid waste disposal), effluentfees, low-interest loans, etc.

Public in high ways, sewers, schools, open space,Investment public housing, community centers,

direct land purchases, etc.

Education demonstration projects, public meetings,mall displays, etc." (Reeve 1988)

Implementation Strategies"An implementation strategy for municipal sustainabledevelopment will require the following:

1. Undertakin g an awareness/education program for citystaff, businesses, institutions and the general publicin order to develop an understanding of the concept ofsustainable development and the need for itsimplementation,

2. Reviewing the official plan and strategic plan of themunicipality in the context of sustainable development,and implementing the appropriate zoning andenvironmental site plan techniques.

3. Undertaking energy and environmental audits of the

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. municipality's operations, making them less materialand energy intensive.

4. Investigating the social and environmental cost ofmunicipal programs/services and development, bringingthe true cost of resources onto the balance sheets.

5. Developing appropriate incentive/inducementprograms to secure the cooperation of developers,builders, businesses and householders using by-laws,levies, permit fees, user fees, fines and bonusing.

6. Lobbying senior levels ofgovernment for the legislationand regulations necessary to meet the municipality'ssustainable development objectives." (Ryan 1991)

Strategies for Sustainability"Successful strategies have four components in common:

consultation and consensus building;information assembly and analysis;policy formulation;action planning and implementation.

Demonstration projects may also be undertaken so thatparticipants can see concrete results from the strategywhile it is being developed [...]

Alocal strategy by a single municipality can be developedwithin a year. Strategies involving several communitiesare likely to require more time, because of the need toreach agreement among them all.

The results of a strategy are the agreed policies and theactions taken to put the policies into practice. A key stepin the development of a strategy is the preparation of astrategy document. This provides a summary descriptionand analysis of the people, economy, environment, andinstitutions of the area; and sets out the agreed policiesand action plan.

The basic organization of a strategy consists of a steeringcommittee and a secretariat. The steering committee should

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be representative of the main participants in the strategy. Itis responsible for overall direction of the strategy, andensuring the full participation of all interest groups.

The secretariat undertakes the day-to-day managementof the strategy's development. It is responsible for organizingconsultation and consensus building, assembly and analysisof information, and drafting the strategy document. Thesecretariat also produces a newsletter or equivalent to keepeveryone informed of the strategy's progress." (IUCN 1991)

Revising Official Community Plans (OCPs)"Where official community plans already exist, but do notappropriately address sustainable development concerns,municipalities could revise the contents of their currentofficial plans to provide.

a full description of the municipality's natural systemsand processes;a full description of the flow of energy and materialsthrough the urban ecosystem (especially toxic wastesand their disposal sites);explicit policy statements on conservation and relatedgoals;environmental, social, and economic policies to realizethese goals;a listing of environmentally sensitive areas to beprotected and explanations for this listing; andways to encourage landowners to exercise stewardship."

(Reeve 1988)

Rethinking Property Taxes"Several economists [...] have called for differentiatedtreatment of land and buildings in property taxation.Whereas a higher tax on buildings encourages holdingland unused or allowing buildings to deteriorate, a highertax on land often encourages efficient use of the property

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A Dual Property Tax SystemLocal governments typically assess vacant propertiesat far less than than their market value, effectivelyrewarding property owners for keeping their landidle f...1ICities can go a step further to tax vacant landmore heavily than developed parcels. To avoid spurtsof sprawled growth, however, it is critically importantto combine these tax strategies with clearly definedgrowth frontiers - such as greenbelts and urbangrowth boundaries - that contain development withinthe existing urban area (...j Fifteen U.S. cities levy ahigher charge on land than on buildings to spur theregnoration of their blighted land. When Pittsburghintroduced a sharply graded dual tax system in 1978,the number of vacant lot sales, new building permits,and new dwellings quickly increased. At the sametime, demolitions declined."

(Lowe 1992)

[...] Several cities, including Pittsburgh, have put [thisapproach] into effect. The results have been impressive.None of these cities has abolished the tax on buildings.Chiefly they have simply raised the taxes on land andlowered those on buildings. In Pittsburgh, city taxes onland were raised to 12.55% while leaving the tax onbuildings at 2.475%. Since county and school taxes werenot adjusted, the actual relation of the two rates was aboutthree to one. This was sufficient to precipitate a majorbuilding program in the city. It also brought additionalfunds into the city treasury [...]

Land shouldbe taxed at a higher rate than improvements[...] Just what difference in rate is required to encourageimprovements cannot yet be stated, but the experience ofPittsburgh and other Pennsylvania cities suggests thateven a two-to-one ratio gets results [...] even a reduced

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version of this tax would meet all local needs by capturingmuch of the gain from rising land values. To put this landtax into local hands, is, therefore, to free localities fromdepending on state and federal financial help and theaccompanying control [...)" (Daly and Cobb 1989)

"The Environmental Charter for Local GovernmentDeclaration of CommitmentThis authority will seek to promote the conservation andsustainable use of natural resources and to minimiseenvironmental pollution in all of its own activities, andthrough its influence over others. This authority will reviewall of its policies, programmes and services and undertakesto act wherever necessary to meet the standards set out inthis charter.

Policy development1. Develop an energy policy based on energy

conservation and clean technology, and establish across-departmental Energy Management Unit.

2. Develop a recycling policy including provision ofpublic collection or deposit facilities, a recycling officer,

an in-house recycling scheme, a commitment to usingrecycled materials and payment ofor lobbyingfor rebatesfor recyclable material taken out of the waste stream.

3. Develop a strategy for monitoring andminimising pollution in the local environmentincluding pollution caused by its own activities. It willmake use of all available measures, includingpublicityand enforcement.

4. Develop transport and planning policies tominimise the use of cars, and encourage publictransport, cycling and walking. Also to encourage fuelefficiency, the use of unleaded fuel and the fitting ofcatalytic converters to minimise pollution from vehicleemissions.

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5. Develop an environmental protection andenhancement strategy including measures to protectand enhance public open spaces, wildlife habitats andstreets. Full consideration will be given to the particularneeds of disadvantaged groups. The authority willadopt environmentally sustainable methods of landmanagement (which do not threaten wildlife interest)for parks, open spaces, and verges, and promote organicand sustainable methods in agriculture and countrysidemanagement.

6. Develop a health strategy which recognises the linksbetween the environment and public health andincludes implementation of an amended health andsafety policy which has full regard to environmentalhazards.

Implementation mechanisms7. Reform the internal mechanisms of the council such

that an adequately resourced cross-departmental bodysuch as an Environmental Protection & MonitoringCommittee exists to develop and monitor environmentalstrategies and policies.

8. Commission a regular Environmental Audit coveringthe state of the local environment, and the impacts ofall existing policies and practices on the local andwider environment.

9. Encourage and enable public participation in all councilactivities through freedom of information, consultationand publicity. Provide environmental information andeducation services for the public and businesses.

10. Make environmental requirements part of itspurchasing and procurement policy, including itsbuilding specifications and in selection of investments.

11. Revise the relevant statutory and non-statutorydevelopment plan(s) to take into account theenvironmental policies outlined by this charter.

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12. Through its planning functions, promote sustainabledevelopment, in particular through the explicit use ofenvironmental criteria in development control and theprovision of information on relevant environmentalissues to all developers.

13. Implement the policies' of this charter in grant aidconditions and in contract tender specifications.

14. Require committees and departments to consider theenvironmental implications of their policies andactivities as a routine part of policy development andperformance review. The authority will require allreports prepared by or for it. to include a statement ofthe expected environmental impacts.

15. Support and promote measures through localauthorities' associations and other bodies for changesin national legislation to improve authorities' powersto implement these policies." (Friends of the Earth,U.K., 1989)

INITIATIVES

Environmental Commitments and LegislationAs described in previous chapters, several cities havemade commitments to reach environmental targets, suchas a 10% increase in energy efficiency by 2000 (Portland,OR and San Jose, CA), reducing waste 50% between 1988and 1998 (Seattle), and reducing emissions of carbondioxide 20% by 2005 (Toronto and Vancouver).

Community Round Tables on the Environment andthe EconomyRound Tables on the En 'ironment and the Economy havebeen established in several Canadian communities tobring diverse perspectives together to identify commonground and work collectively toward the goal of sustainable

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"We in local government are closest to our communities. We''

are closest to the people who must participate in a very directand active way if the transition to sustainability is to haveany hope of success. We are uniquely situated to assist in theevolution of new social values and practices. We can encourageco-operation between the sectors of the community with astake in the environment and in development andsustainability. We can act as a catalyst for local actionbeyond the boundaries of our own jurisdiction 1...] Althoughthe Peterborough [Ontario] Committee on SustainableDevelopment is not a formal part ofthe municipal governmentstructure, it has strong links with the city: the municipalityprovides financial support and a meeting room. Council has,by resolution, accepted the Committee as its advisory body onsuch matters. I and another member of Council sit on thecommittee, along with several City staff members 1...] We arebeginning to identify an agenda for action by local governmentand other sectors of the local community. In this regard, weestablished a Policy and Planning Subcommittee thatdeveloped proposals for 'greening' our Official Plan."

Peterborough Mayor Sylvia Sutherland 1991

development. Local sustainable development Round Tableshave been set up in Peterborough, Burlington,Kitchener, Guelph, Muskoka, Sheena, and the CapitalRegional District of Victoria, to name just a few. In theProvince of Manitoba, the Department of RuralDevelopment offers consulting and financial assistance toCommunity Round Tables. Each one prepares a"Community Vision Statement," which is "a social, economicand environmental game plan" for communitydevelopment, using citizen input. The documentestablishes goals, priorities and an action strategy. Specialeffort is made to coordinate the Community VisionStatement with other local programs such as capitalworks, land use plans, business strategies, environmentalprotection, and Healthy Communities (see Foulds 1990;NRTEE n.d.; BCRTEE n.d.).

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Environmental EnforcementThe Dutch municipality of Weert (pop. 40,000) has anintensive system of environmental enforcement based onan active licensing policy. The police department isauthorized to enforce environmental laws, and the Weertpolice have taken the initiative to organize a course onenvironmental affairs.

Another Dutch municipality,Apeldoorn (pop.147,000),has an environmental investigation team to monitor sourceseparation. If the team comes across an offence, their firstaction is to provide information and try to persuade people.Only later do they use their authority to fine offenders (seeANM 1990).

Richmond, California has an environmental policeofficer. The Los Angeles police department has ahazardous waste squad (see PBS 1990).

Council Mission Statement on Sustainable UrbanDevelopment"City Council accepts that change is an on-goingphenomenon in cities which must be managed within theparameters imposed by the overriding aim of preserving alastinghabitat for humanity and wildlife. It also recognizesthat economic prosperity can provide us with the capabilityto support wise resource management, to meet socialneeds and to improve environmental quality. Therefore,City Council supports an approach to managing urbandevelopment which balances the right of the individualand the needs of society with the need to conserve ournatural resource base and enhance the naturalenvironment, thereby promoting the health of Ottawa'sinhabitants and communities" (City of Ottawa 1991).

Sustainable City StrategySan Jose, California's City Council adopted its Sustainable

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City Strategy in September 1989. This policy aims to"promote a sustainable future by conserving 10% of theprojected energy use in all sectors in the year 2000 so as toenhance the liveability, economic strength and well-beingof the City's residents and businesses and reduceenvironmental problems, particularly emissions thatcontribute to global warming." (City of San Jose 1991)

The Sustainable City Strategy is designed to effectchange through education and persuasion, technical anddesign assistance, financial incentives, municipaloperations, and policy and regulation.. During Year One(1990-91) essential programs included residentialinformation and education, public school education, andlighting and appliance point of sale programs; technicalassistance, solar access, and the city's Innovative Design& Energy Analysis Service (IDEAS); municipal facilitiesenergy management, street maintenance and surfaceimprovements, and traffic signal management programs;housing energy efficiency rehabilitation, urban forestry,transportation demand management, growth managementand land-use planning programs.

Government-Community PartnershipsThe Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto and the Cityof Toronto are the host community for the InternationalCouncil for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI). Forthe first three years, the local governments are providingICLEI with rent-free office space, seconded research andsupport staff, and approximately $500,000 in financialsupport (see Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto 1990).

Boston has granted the power of eminent domain to acommunity group in Roxbury. The Dudley StreetNeighborhood Initiative, an advocacy and planningassociation ofresidents, social service agencies, businesses,and churches, plans to buy 200 properties and build 500

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units of mixed-income housing. The city has committed$1.5 million in low-interest loans to help finance thepurchases (see Peirce and Steinbach 1990).

RESOURCES

THE INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION FOR LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL

INITIATIVES (ICLEI) is a newly established (September1990) international agency dedicated to helping localgovernments address environmental issues. It was foundedby more than 200 municipal officials (representing 42countries) at the World Congress of Local Governments fora Sustainable Future at the United Nations in New York.ICLEI is governed by and for local governments and localgovernment associations. Its mission is to help localgovernments work to prevent environmental problemsbefore they happen, respond to problems when they arise,and enhance both the natural and built environments atthe local level. ICLEI is working with municipal leadersaround the world to develop a strategy document, LocalAgenda 21, as a follow-up to the UNCED in June .1992 inRio de Janeiro. The Urban CO2 Project is another ICLEIinitiative, designed to identify means to reduce greenhousegases from urban areas of the industrial world. ICLEIrecently opened its North American headquarters inToronto. For more information, contact:

The International Council for Local EnvironmentalInitiatives


ORGANIZATION FOR ECONOMIC CO-OPERATION ANDDEVELOPMENT (OECD), Environmental Policies forCities in the 1990s (Paris, OECD, 1990). This reportexamines various existing urban environmental

314


improvement policies, proposes ways and means toimprove policy coordination with regard to urbanenvironmental impacts, and describes policy instrumentsavailable to national, regional and local governments. Italso assesses local initiatives in three areas of concern:urban rehabilitation, urban transport and urban energymanagement, and proposes policy guidelines forimprovement in these areas. The report emphasizes theneed to develop long-term strategies, adopt cross-sectoralapproaches, facilitate cooperation and coordination,enable polluters to absorb environmental and social coststhrough fiscal and pricing mechanisms, set and enforceminimum environmental standards, increase the use ofrenewable resources, and encourage and build upon localinitiatives. Several descriptions of urban environmentalpolicies and programs iii OECD countries are included.

FRIENDS OF THE EARTH (U.K.), The EnvironmentalCharter for Local Government (London: FOE, 1989).This package includes the 15-point Charter (reprinted inthis chapter), a guide to local government in the U.K.(including a glossary of council jargon), and a book of 193practical recommendations. In addition to many of thetopics covered in the present volume, the Charterrecommendations cover everything from employmentpolicies (drop any requirementfor transport planners to beMembers of the Institute of Civil Engineers) to travelallowances (which should not discriminate against thenon-car user). Available from:

Friends of the Earth26-28 Underwood StreetLondon, U.K. N1 7JQTel: 01 490 1555 Fax: 01 490 0881

TIM ELKIN, DUNCAN MCLAREN, AND MAYER HILLMAN,

Reviving the City: Towards Sustainable UrbanDevelopment (London: FOE, 1991) is also available from

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FOE/UK. Unfortunately, this volume will be of littleinterest to most readers outside of the UK.

LOCAL SOLUTIONS TO GLOBAL POLLUTION (LSGP) iS aclearinghouse which provides technical assistance indeveloping pollution prevention programs on thecommunity level and in the workplace. Their materialsand information are directed toward local governmentofficials, grassroots groups, citizens, businesses, andemployees. LSGP is an outgrowth of an informalclearinghouse established by Berkeley City Councilmember Nancy Skinner in response to requests forinformation on polystyrene foam/plastics legislation andother inno,. ative environmental programs. LSGP'semphasis is on source reduction and pollution prevention.A variety of information packets containing fact sheets,orelinances, background articles, etc. are available from:

Local Solutions to Global Pollution2121 Bonar Street, Studio ABerkeley, CA 94702Tel: 415/540-8843 Fax: 415/540-4898

THE PLANNERS NETWORK (PN) is an association ofprofessionals, activists, academics, and students involvedin physical, social, economic, and environmental planningin urban and rural areas who believe that planning shouldbe used to assure adequate food, clothing, shelter, medicalcare, jobs, safe working conditions, and a healthyenvironment. PN publishes a bi-monthly newsletter.Available from:

Planners Network1601 Connecticut Ave., N.W.Washington, D.C. 20009Tel: 202/234-9382 Fax: 202/387-7915

'0316


References sASSOCIATION OF COUNTY COUNCILS (ACC), ASSOCIATION OF

DISTRICT COUNCILS, AND ASSOCIATION OF METROPOLITANAUTHORITIES, Environmental Practice in Local Government(London: Association of District Councils, 1990).

ASSOCIATION OF .NETHERLANDS MUNICIPALITIES (ANM),Municipal Environmental Policy in the Netherlands: SettingOut For Sustainable Development (The Hague: Associationof Netherlands Municipalities, 1990).

BRITISH COLUMBIA ROUND TABLE ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND THEECONOMY (BCRTEE), Sustainable Communities: GettingStarted (Victoria: BCRTEE, n.d.).

CITY OF OTTAWA, Official Plan, Volume I: The Primary Plan(Ottawa: City of Ottawa, February 1991), final draft.

CITY OF SAN JOSE, Sustainable City Strategy 1991-1992(City of San Jose, California: Office of EnvironmentalManagement, March 1991).

DALY, H.E. AND J.B. COBB, JR., For the Common Good:Redirecting the Economy Toward Community, theEnvironment, and a Sustainable Future (Boston: BeaconPress, 1989).

ELKIN, T., D. MCLAREN , AND M. HILLMAN, Reviving the City:Towards Sustainable Urban Development (London: Friendsof the Earth, 1991).

Fouims, D.W., "Environmental and Economic SustainabilityGo Hand in Hand," Municipal World, July, 1990, p. 5.

FRIENDS OF THE EARTH (U.K.), The Environmental Charterfor Local Government (London: FOE, 1989).

INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE (IUCN),THE UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME (UNEP), ANDTHE WORLD WIDE FUND FOR NATURE (WWF), Caring for theEarth:A Strategy for SustainableLiving (Gland, Switzerland:RICN/UNEP/WWF, 1991).

LOWE, M.D. , "City Limits," Worldwatch 5(1),Jan/Feb, 1992.pp. 18-25.

MUNICIPALITY OF METROPOLITAN TORONTO, Council MeetingMinutes, December 5, 1990. Appendix A: Report No. 34 of theManagement Committee.

NATIONAL BOUND TABLE. ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE ECONOMY(NRTEE), Sustainable Development and the Municipality(Ottawa: NRTEE, n.d.).

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1.)



(OECD), New Environmental Policies for Cities (Paris:OECD,

1991).PAEHLKE, R. AND D. TORGERSON, eds., Managing Leviathan:

Environmental Politics and the Administrative State(Peterborough: Broad View Press, 1990).

PEIRCE, N.R., AND C.F. STEINBACH, EnterprisingCommunities: Community-Based Development in America,

1990 (Washington, D.C.: Council for Community-Based

Development, 1990).PUBLIC BROADCASTING SYSTEM,

The Race to Save the Planet

(Boston: WGBH, 1990).REEVE, N. "Sustainable Development in Municipalities:

Making ItN.,

position paper of the Forum for Planning

Action (Vancouver: FPA, 1988).RESOURCES FUTURES INTERNATIONAL (RFI), "Ottawa Creates

Pollution," analysis commissioned by Southam News, in

Vancouver Sun, April 23, 1991.RYAN, J. (Burlington, Ontario Alderman), "Existing in

Harmony with the Environment," Municipal World 101(3):

3-5, March 1991.SUTHERLAND, S. (Peterborough Mayor), remarks to the

Association of Municipal Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario

(AMCTO) and Intergovernmental Committee on Urban and

Regional Research (ICURR) Management Symposium,

"Implementing Sustainable Development in Municipalities,"Hockley Valley, Ontario, May 9, 1991.

TORONTO DECLARATION ON WORLD CITIES AND THEIR

ENVIRONMENT (Toronto: World Cities and Their EnvironmentCongress of Municipal Leaders, August 28, 1991).

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Beyond Municipal and Local Government

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The effectiveness of urban planning can be fully achievedonly if governments remove the conflicting incentives posedby other national policies 1...] [For example,] raising nationalgasoline taxes to a level that more accurately reflects the truecosts of driving 1...] would give an enormous boost to moreefficient urban land use and raise revenues for investment ina broader range of transport options."

Lowe 1992}

The previous chapters in this section identified the firsttwo steps toward sustainable administration. The first isleadership by example. The second is to recognize thatconventional municipal administration is itself anenvironmental problem and that we need a new form of"environmental administration" which is non-compartmentalized, open, decentralized, anti-technocratic,and flexible. For our communities to become sustainablecommunities, however, we also need to take a third step.

The third step toward sustainable administration isimproving the context for sustainable community planningand governance. This requires looking beyond the locallevel toward regional, provincial/state, and federal policiesand programs. These programs should use means such assustainability goals and targets, planning grants,technical assistance, and timelines. They shouldencourage, enable, and empower those communitieswhich have already started to plan local initiatives for asustainable future, and require the rest to begin.

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"Premises of the National Growth ManagementLeadership Project (see "Resources")

1. To achieve both a healthy economy and a healthyenvironment, land development must be planned forand 'managed'in balance with land conservation goals.Public policies that emphasize economy overenvironment (i.e., 'anything goes' development) orenvironment over economy (i.e., 'no-growth') are bothcounterproductive to community and regional well-being.2. To balance development and conservation goals,effective growth management policies should clearlydetermine where and when development will go andwhere it will not. Sensible land use planning can lendgreater certainty and stability to the economicdevelopment process, while enhancing initiatives bygovernments and private land trusts to buy land ofspecial conservation or recreational value.3. Regional or state-wide growth management goalsand policies are needed to provide a comprehensiveand systematic means of addressing concerns such astraffic congestion, housing costs, and pollution.4. Integration of local planning ordinances andregulations with state and regional goals and policiesis essential to ensure that planning is both consistentand comprehensive.5. Federal policy also exerts a major influence onthe ability of state, regional, and local governments tomanage growth and should be structured to supportsound growth management at all levels of government.6. Growth management benefits many diverseconstituencies, providing opportunities to buildconsensus about the future of a community or regionamong homebuilders, economic developmentinterests, environmentalists, neighborhoodassociations and minority communities."

(NGMLP, n.d.) ,....._ ./

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Priority actions"Sustainable urban development is only possible whenlocal governments are given adequate powers, anddevelop effective capabilities. They need to managechange in the context of an ecological approach sothat cities can support more productive, stable andinnovative economies while maintaining a high-quality environment, proper services for all sectors ofthe community, and sustainable resource use. Theseconditions are most likely to be met if all interestgroups participate, and if government is active,decentralized, representative, and supportive ofcitizen efforts."

(IUCN 1991)

TOOLS

Regional Cooperation"Compact growth of cities also hinges on regionalcooperation, an important tool for handling conflictsbetween the interests of individual localities and those ofthe broader region. For instance, many municipalitiescompete for high tax-yielding development and misusetheir zoning powers to shut out land uses that yield littletax revenue or require public spending for social services.Such 'fiscal' zoning leads communities to exclude low-income housing, which leaves neighboring jurisdictionswith the burden of providing affordable homes. Fiscalzoning can also accelerate the economic drain from centralcities, as suburbs seek to replenish public coffers byestablishing massive commercial zones to attract taxpayingbusinesses. Cooperation among competing localities isdifficult to achieve without specific laws at the state orprovincial level." (Lowe 1992)

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Mayors' CommitmentsRecognizing the significance of local efforts to solve globalenvironmental problems, and frustrated by lack ofleadership from senior levels of government, some 130mayors from 75 countries gathered in Toronto on August25-28, 1991 to sign The Toronto Declaration on WorldCities and Their Environment . The declaration noted thatcities provide enormous, untapped opportunities to solveenvironmental challenges; that local governments mustand can pioneer new approaches to sustainabledevelopment and urban management; and that localgovernments must assume the responsibility and marshallthe resources to address the environmental problemsfacing their communities. Among other things, the mayorspledged that their local governments will:

be models of environmental responsibility;establish detailed plans for sustainable managementand development;provide incentives and restructure fines, taxes, andfees to discourage pollution;establish the means and capacity to enforce compliancewith environmental laws and agreements;urge other levels of government and internationalagencies to provide resources and support for thefinancing, management and policy-making authoritynecessary to achieve sustainable development and toalleviate poverty in their communities;work together on a regional basis to address commonenvironmental challenges;establish programs whereby the cities of the developedworld will devote resources, if feasible under law, toenvironmental projects in the developing world;call on national governments to seize the currentopportunity for redirecting military expenditures intoenvironmental and social programmes. (see Toronto

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Declaration on World Cities and Their Environment1991)

Goal-Oriented PlanningSustainable community planning works best in the contextof a supportive regional, provincial or state planningframework. The key is goal-oriented planning that is,planning for sustainable community development.Governance systems in some regions have been relativelysuccessful in planning and managing for a healthyenvironment. Some of the characteristics of thosesystems are:

A regional or provincial/state framework whichrequires all municipalities to create plans for achievinga set of regional or provincial/state planning goals.Coordination of all plans and programs adopted bylocal governments and provincial/state and federalagencies.Provinciallstate agency programs that affect land useand resource management are reviewed to see thatthey are consistent with the planning goals.Affected agencies have opportunities to comment on orobject to local comprehensive plans as they are beingdrawn up.Once a local plan has been acknowledged, the agenciesare obligated to carry out their programs in

accordance with it.After its acknowledgemcn, a local comprehensiveplan becomes the controlling document for land useand resource management in the area it encompasses.

Some examples of supportive planning contexts inFrance, Norway, Finland, Holland and Oregon aredescribed under Initiatives. The Oregon program is anexample of goal-oriented planning that provides a NorthAmerican model for sustainable development planning.

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INITIATIVES

National Prop msIn France, the Environment Ministry is supporting anationwide program of municipal plans for theenvironment. The program engages city administrationsin a multi-year action program to improve the urbanenvironment. Specifics include air, water and noisepollution control, waste reduction and recycling, urbangreen space, civic art and architecture and related measuresto better the quality ofurban life (see PIA 15(4), April 1991).

In Norway, the MIK Program is a direct application ofthe imperative in the Brundtland Commission report to"think globally act locally." MIK stands for "Miljovern iKommuner," equivalent to "environmental work inmunicipalities." It was initiated during 1988 in 90 ofNorway's 443 municipalities and is probably the largestlocal environmental program ever undertaken in onecountry. Interest in the programme has beenoverwhelming.

The objective of this program is to test administrativeand organization models which can lead to a strengtheningof the environmental efforts in the municipalities. EachNorwegian municipality requests participation in theprogram. The local public then chooses an environmentalconsultant who fosters interdepartmental collaboration.To increase public participation, the consultant must alsopromote the building of community social networks. Theend result is to be the production of a communal"environmental and natural resource" program for eachmunicipality. The work is thus designed to invite inputfrom the community and create learning networks withother communities.

The Ministry of Environment has recommended that

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the municipalities establish an independentenvironmental committee. This model enables themunicipal authorities to create a political body which canconcentrate on environmental issues, will have thenecessary legal measures and authority and, at the sametime, can have an overall view of environmental projects inthe municipality.

The experiment involves political as well asadministrative reorganization. The delegation of authorityto the trial municipalities is an important element in theMIK program. They will get increasing formal authorityto take care of local environmental tasks and their ownpriorities will be central. Later this will be extended to allmunicipalities in the country. This approach to implementenvironmental policy at the local level also reflects Norway'snational strategy for development towards a sustainablefuture (see Bjork and McLaren 1990; OECD 1990).

In Finland, municipalities have statutory tasks in thefield of environmental protection. In each municipalitythere is a statutory Board of Environmental Protection incharge of the general administration and planning as wellas of permit and supervision issues in this sector. Officialswith responsibility for environmental protection have beenengaged by municipalities during the last ten years andpresently there is at least one specialist, often biologist,geologist or geographer, in environmental protection inabout 300 of Finland's 461 municipalities.

The Association of Finnish Cities, the Finnish MunicipalAssociation, the Ministry of Environment and a selectionof municipalities have launched two projects on municipalcontributions to a sustainable future. The project on theconsideration of sustainability in municipal activities hasso far determined three major capabilities of a municipalityto work for a sustainable society (see Jalkanen 1990):

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A municipality should be an arena for politicians andespecially for citizens to have open discussion aboutand to make democratic decisions on the long termobjectives for the sustainable future. These objectivesmust guide all municipal activities and direct theprivate sector as well.A concept of sustainability should be one of the majoraspects along with economical and operational ones inthe strategic planning and implementation ofmunicipal activities.A municipality should introduce the environmentalimpact assessment (EIA) as an essential part of itsactivities.

A second project, running from 1989 through 1991,focuses on introducing the EIA into the routine activitiesof Finnish municipalities to:

systematically ensure that the essential informationof environmental impacts of municipal activities isavailable for the political decision makers;detect the cumulative impacts of various activitiestaking place within municipal boundaries; andprovide specialists involved in permit and supervisionissues with appropriate environmental information atearly stages of decision-making.

In 1989 The Netherlands Government presented theNational Environmental Policy Plan (NMP), a major steptowards an integrated environmental policy. NMP+ in1990 was a further reaching version. The plan is based onthe principle of sustainable development, as defined byWCED. Major elements in this approach are: closingsubstance cycles from raw material to waste as much aspossible; reducing the use of fossil fuels combined with anincreased use of renewable energy; and promoting productand production process quality. Typical of this policy is the

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tendency to take measures at the source, while removingthe causes of pollution. The municipal environmentaltasks consist partly of implementing national andprovincial policy aims, but there is also room formunicipalities to develop their own local policy (seeANM1990).

ProvinciaUState ProgramsProvincial or state legislation can require each town's landuse to be compatible with specified regional interests, butleave the actual planning process up to the local community.In the US, such legislation has given new force to urbanplanning in eight states: Florida, Georgia, Maine,Massachusetts, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island,and Vermont. All cities and counties in these states are.equired to plan their own development according tostipulated goals, such as energy conservation, protectionof open space, and provision of affordable housing. Thesestatewide planning requirements not only enhanceregional cooperation, but they also give cities the backingthey need to apply a comprehensive, long-term vision totheir land use planning (see Lowe 1992; Wexler 1992).

Oregon's statewide planning program was launchedwith the enactment of legislation in 1973 which calls for allof Oregon's cities and counties to adopt comprehensiveplans that meet state standards known as the StatewidePlanning Goals. These goals (e.g., to provide for widespreadcitizen involvement; to preserve and maintain agriculturallands; to conserve energy) are general standards for landuse planning. Planning remains the responsibility of cityand county governments, but it must be done in accordancewith these statewide standards (Rohse 1987). Oregon'sprogram, which is directed by the Land Conservation andDevelopment Commission (LCDC) and administered bythe Department of Land Conservation and Development

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1'"If anybody's opposed to land-use planning, I just tell 'em,How would you like it if I moved my hog operation in nextdoor to you?' That turns them into landuse planners prettyquickly."

Stafford Hansel],hog farmer and

former Oregon land-use planning commissioner,in Fulton 1991

_.1

(DLCD), was named the "Outstanding Land Use Programin the Nation" in 1982 by the American PlanningAssociation. The national Fund for Renewable Energyand the Environment also rated Oregon's planningprogram as the best in the country in 1988 (see Secretaryof State 1989).

In conjunction with Goal 12 (Transportation) of thestate land use planning program, in 1991 LCDC andDLCD issued the Oregon Transportation Planning Ruleto address urban sprawl, traffic congestion, and airpollution through an integrated approach to land-use andtransportation planning. ThEi rule requires severalinnovative policies, including:

Every city and county must plan for increased use ofalternative transportation modes. Land-use plansand local ordinances must make specific provisions fortransit and for bicycle and foot travel.The state's four largest urban areas must plan toreduce per capita vehicle miles travelled (VIVIT) by 10percent over the next 20 years and by 30 percent over30 years.

e The Portland metropolitan region must reconsiderland-use designations, densities, and design standards(i.e., more compact development) as a means ofreducingtravel demand and meeting transportation needs.

The new rules will be phased in over a five year period

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(see APA 1992; NGMLP 1991).

Regional CooperationLegislation has successfully foiled fiscal zoning in thestate of Minnesota since 1971. All of the municipalities inthe Minneapolis-St. Paul region are required to pool aportion of their commercial and industrial tax base thusreducing the competition between them for commercialand industrial development. Forty percent of theincreases in business tax procee' are pooled and thendistributed throughout the metropolitan region accordingto each community's population and overall tax base."This tax-base sharing system has not only reduced theusual incentives to court the most lucrative land usesthroughout the region, but has also narrowed the gapbetween the per-capita tax-base of the richest andpoorest communities from a ratio of roughly 13:1 toa more equitable 4:1." (Lowe 1991)

Municipal Foreign PolicyMany Canadian and US municipalities have takenmunicipal foreign policy initiatives such as establishingsister-city programs. Los Angeles, Pittsburgh andBaltimore each passed "Jobs with Peace" ordinancesrequiring their staffs to prepare and publish annual reportson the local economic impacts of military spending. NewYork City has lobbyists in Washington, D.C. and at theUnited Nations. Seattle and Dallas have funded Officesof International Affairs to oversee trade, sister cities, andtourism. Over the last decade more than 100 cities haverefused to invest or enter contracts with firms doingbusiness in South Africa (see Global Communities 1992).

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RESOURCES

THE INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL FOR LOCAL ENVIRONMENTAL

IraTuarvEs (ICLEI) was created to improve the capacityand authority of local governments to plan and managetheir communities for sustainability. For moreinformation, contact:

The International Council for Local EnvironmentalInitiatives


THE NATIONAL ROUND TABLE ON THE ENVIRONMENT AND

THE EcoNom reports directly to the Prime Minister ofCanada with the objective of supporting the emergence ofsustainable development in Canada. Provincial RoundTables also exist throughout Canada. For moreinformation, contact:

National Round Table on the Environment and theEconomy

1 Nicholas Street, Suite 520Ottawa, Ontario K1N 7B7Tel: 613/992-7189 Fax: 613/992-7385

THE NATIONAL GROWTH MANAGEMENT LEADERSHIPPROJECT (NGMLP) is a coalition of state and regionalconservation and planning organizations in 18 states.Founded in 1988, the NGMLP advocates regional andstatewide land use planning as a policy tool to address landconservation, housing, transportation and other keygrowth management concerns. In 1992, the NGMLPopened an Office of Federal Policy in Washington, D.C. tomonitor opportunities for strengthening federal programsand policies related to growth management efforts at thestate and regional level. NGMLP's study on "ManagingGrowth to Promote Affordable Housing" found that modest

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increases in housing densities and a wider range ofhousingtypes can positively influence the affordability of housingon a regional basis. LUTRAQ, a national research projecton the land use, transportation, air quality connection, isexpected to produce valuable new computer models oftransit-oriented (vs. auto-dependent sprawl) land usedevelopment patterns when it is completed in 1992. TheNGMLP also publishes a newsletter, Developments. Formore information on the NGMLP contact:

NGMLP Main Office NGMLP Office of Federal1000 Friends of Oregon Policy534 SW 3rd Ave., 915 15th St. NW #600Suite 300 Washington, D.C.Portland, OR 97204 20005Tel: 503/223-4396 Tel: 202/628-1270Fax: 503/223-0073 Fax: 202/628-1311

For information on the State of Oregon's land-useplanning program, contact:

Land Conservation and Development Commissionand Department

1175 Court Street, N.E.Salem, OR 97310Tel: 503/373-0050

THE CENTER FOR POLICY ALTERNATIVES is a non-profitcenter on progressive policy for state and local government.Since 1975, the Center has provided public policy models,direct technical assistance and a broad publicationsprogram for the public and public officials. The Center'sEnvironmentally Sustainable Development Programproduces Policy Alternatives on Environment, a quarterlystate report containing original articles and summaries ofstate actions in sustainable development. For moreinformation, contact:

Center for Policy Alternatives1875 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 710

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Washington, DC 20009Tel: 202/387-6030 Fax: 202/986-2539

THE INSTITUTE FOR POLICY STUDIES publishes GlobalCommunities, a newsletter of reports on issues such aseconomic conversion, nuclear free zones, municipalenvironmental initiatives, and municipal foreign policy.Available from:

Global CommunitiesInstitute for Policy Studies1601 Connecticut Ave, NWWashington, D.C. 20009Tel: 202/234-9382 Fax: 202/387-7915

ReferencesAMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION (APA), "From the Capitals,"

Planning 58(2):5, February 1992.ASSOCIATION OF NETHERLANDS MUNICIPALITIES (ANM),

Municipal Environmental Policy in the Netherlands: SettingOut For Sustainable Development (The Hague: Associationof Netherlands Municipalities, 1990).

BJORK, S., AND N. MCLAREN, "Environment and Health: TheNorwegian Response," in Urban Ecology, Report of the FirstInternational Ecological City Conference (Berkeley, CA: UrbanEcology, 1990).

FuuroN, W. , "The Second Revolution in Land-Use Planning,"in DeGrove, J.M., ed., Balance and Growth: APlanning Guidefor Local Government (Washington, D.C.: International CityManagement Association, 1991).

GLOBAL COMMUNITIES "Municipal Foreign Policy: News andCommentary" Global Communities Winter 1992, pp. 6-7.

INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE (IUCN),THE UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME (UNEP), ANDTHE WORLD WIDE FUND FOR NATURE (WWF), Caring for theEarth:A Strategy for Sustainable Living (Gland, Switzerland:IUCN/UNEP/WWF, 1991).

JALKANEN, P., "The Role of Finnish Municipalities on theWay Towards the Sustainable Future" (Helsinki, Finland:Environmental Department, The Finnish Municipal

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Association, 1990), unpublished paper.LOWE, M.D., "Shaping Cities: The Environmental and

Human Dimensions," Worldwatch Paper 105 (Washington,D.C.: Worldwatch Institute, 1991).

LOWE, M.D., 1992. "City Li mi ts," Worldwatch 5(1), Ja n/Feb,pp. 18-25.

NATIONAL GROWTH MANAGEMENT LEADERSHIP PROJECT(NGMLP), Developments 2(1):5, Summer 1991.

NATIONAL GROWTH MANAGEMENT LEADERSHIP PROJECT(NGMLP), "Fact Sheet" (Portland: NGMLP, n.d.).

ORGANIZATION FOR ECONOMIC COOPERATION AND DEVELOPMENT(OECD), Environmental Policies for Cities in the 1990s(Paris: OECD, 1990).

Public Innovation Abroad (PIA), various issuesROUSE, M.,Land Use Planning in Oregon (Corvallis, Oregon:

Oregon State University, 1987).SECRETARY OF STATE, Oregon Blue Book 1989-90 (Salem,

Oregon: Secretary of State, 1989).TORONTO DECLARATION ON WORLD CITIES AND THEIR

ENVIRONMENT (Toronto: World Cities and Their EnvironmentCongress of Municipal Leaders, August 28, 1991).

WEXLER, P., Cool Tools: State and Local Policy Options toConfront a Changing Climate (College Park, MD: Center forGlobal Change, University of Maryland, 1992).

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While the initiatives described in this book are encouraging,it appears that most local governments around the worldexperience external institutional constraints on thedevelopment and implementation of local sustainabilitypolicies. Recognizing the significance of local efforts tosolve global environmental problems, and frustrated bylack of leadership from senior levels of government, some130 mayors from 75 countries gathered in Toronto onAugust 25-28, 1991 to sign "The Toronto Declaration onWorld Cities and Their Environment."

The declaration points out th at nearly half of the world'speople will live in urban areas by the turn of the century,and that the way these urban areas are developed willlargely determine our success or failure in overcomingenvironmental challenges and achieving sustainabledevelopment. It notes that cities provide enormous,untapped opportunities to solve environmental challenges;that local governments must and can pioneer newapproaches to sustainable development and urbanmanagement; and that local governments must assumethe responsibility and marshall the resources to addressthe environmental problems facing their communities.

Local governments are coming to recognize theirresponsibility to develop sustainable communities. Takentogether, the initiatives described in this book begin todelineate a strategy for encouraging a globally consciousculture of sustainability in our cities. They also indicate

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some practical suggestions for both local and seniorgovernment officials on how to design effective sustainablecommunity development policies. The key features of anysustainable development policy framework shouldrecognize that:

Sustainable development requires sustainablecommunities: Global sustainable development requireslocal authority and capacity for sustainable urbanmanagement and development. Despite theconcentration of population in urban areas, most cityand local governments do not h ave the regulatory andfinancial authority required to effectively contributeto sustainable urban development. Other levels ofgovernment must provide resources and support forthe financing, management and policy-makingauthority necessary for local governments to achievesustainable development in their communities.Rules can and must be changed: Many urbanpolicymakers are stuck in the paralysing belief thatour market society and our bureaucratic nation-statesystem cannot be changed in any basic sense. To playby those rules means that both the environment andthe less fortunate members of society always lose untileventually everything is lost.Sustainability can mean "less" as well as "more": Solong as sustainable development is conceived merelyas "environmental protection" it will be understood asan "added" cost to be "traded" against. Once sustainabledevelopment is conceived as doing developmentdifferently, such trade-offs become less critical: thenew focus is instead on finding ways to stop much ofwhat we are already doing and use the resources thusfreed for socially and ecologically sustainable activities.

'Where the market works, use it: As one utility executiverecently explained his sudden interest in energy

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Allocating Resources to Local Governments"In order to make wise land use decisions, cities needmore generous national funding for infrastructure,education, and social services. Experience in theindustrial countries has demonstrated that placingthe burden of all these costs on property taxes canlead local governments to act irresponsibly - forexample, allowing ecologically destructivedevelopment of valuable open space, or excludinglow-taxpaying land uses such as affordable housing.Deteriorating municipal services, along with failingroads, bridges, and sewerage systems in major urbanareas worldwide, testify to the need for giving morefinancial resources to cities."

(Lowe 1991)

"The enduring legacy of the environmental movement is thatit has taught us the distinction between price and cost. Priceis what the individual pays. Cost is what the communitypays. The marketplace works efficiently only when guided byaccurate price signals."

Morris 1990

conservation, "the rat has to smell the cheese." Createincentives for ecologically sound practices. Well-designed ecological incentive programs are also cost-effective, since larger expenditures for clean-up andrestoration are avoided.Where the market fails, don't be afraid to mandatechanges: The prevailing economic orthodoxy is thatwe must have a political and economic environmentthat welcomes foreign-owned companies and supportsbusiness through a reduction in regulations to become

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globally competitive, even if it requires a form ofeconomic "shock treatment" (Bramham 1991). Yet theevidence may suggest otherwise. For example, in 1989Los Angeles adopted a far-reaching mandatoryenvironmental plan which, among other elements,phases out the use of petroleum-based transport fuelsover the next 20 years. No less a source than TheEconomist attributes California's economic success asthe capital of a US $130 billion a year environmentalservices industry to strict environmental laws thetoughest in the world (see The Economist 1991). Thiswould not have been possible if Los Angeles had optedinstead to impose a modest gasoline tax to encourageenergy efficiency (see Morris 1990).Polluters should pay for the costs of remediation, but itis even more important to prevent pollution and thewaste of resources in the first place: This principle isparticularly significant in the debate over "green"taxes. Governments can reflect new priorities withoutincreasing the total tax burden by shifting taxes awayfrom income and toward environmentally damagingactivities. If governments substituted taxes onpollution, waste and resource depletion for a largeportion of current levies, both the environment andthe economy would benefit. For example, TheWorldwatch Institute estimates that a set of potentialU.S. green taxes (particularly on carbon content offuels and on generation of hazardous wastes) couldsubstitute for reducing income taxes by nearly 30percent (see Poste] 1991).Social equity is not only desirable but essential:Inequities undermine sustainable development,making it essential to consider the distributive effectsof actions intended to advance sustainabledevelopment. Growth management ordinances in

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Lessons for Policyntaking

many western U.S. cities, for example, enacted tosafeguard the environment and protect the quality ofcommunity life, have caused local housing supplies totighten, driving up prices and causing seriousaffordability problems for low- and moderate-incomehouseholds. As these households leap-frog acrosspreserved open space to less expensive communities inthe region, additional commuting, traffic congestion,and air pollution threaten the very quality of life atwhich the control measures were aimed in the firstplace (see van Vliet 1990).Public participation is itself a sustainable developmentstrategy: To a considerable extent, the environmentalcrisis is a creativity crisis. By soliciting the bareminimum ofpublic "input," rath er than activelyseekingcommunity participation from agenda-setting throughto implementation, local and senior decision-makershave failed to tap the well of human ingenuity. Theyhave failed to recognize that only from this well canthe myriad challenges necessary to redevelop ourcommunities for sustainability be successfully met.Effective and acceptable local solutions require localdecisions, which in turn require the extensiveknowledge and participation of the people mostaffected by those decisions, in their workplacesand in their communities.

Sustainable development requires that we develop ourcommunities to be sustainable in global ecological terms.This strategy can be effective not only in preventing a hostof environmental and related social disasters, but also increating healthy, sustainable communities which will be

more pleasant and satisfying for their residents than thecommunities we live in today.

Sustainable communities will emphasize the efficientuse of urban space, reduce consumption of material and

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energy resources, and encourage long-term social andecological health. They will be cleaner, healthier, and lessexpensive; they will have greater accessibility andcohesion; and they will be more self-reliant in energy,foodand economic security than our communities now are.Ecologically sustainable communities will not, therefore,merely "sustain" the quality of urban life they willimprove it.

ReferencesBaitm Jim, D., "Scholar Urges Vast Change in Attitude: But

Transition Will Cost Jobs" [report of lecture by HarvardUniversity economist Michael Porter], Vancouver Sun,November 21, 1991, p. E2.

THE ECONOMIST, "Going Green in Smog Valley," reprinted inVancouver Sun, November 20, 1991, p. D9.


MORRIS, D., An Environmental Policy for the 1990s:Fashioning the Molecular Basis for a Green Economy(Washington, DC: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, 1990).

POSTEL, S., "Accounting for Nature," Worldwatch 4(2): 28-

33, March/April 1991.VAN VLIET, W., "Human Settlements in the U.S.: Questions

of Even and Sustainable Development" (Toronto: Universityof Toronto Centre for Urban and Community Studies; draftprepared for the Colloquium on Human Settlements andSustainable Development, June 21-23, 1990).

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Gm.

AA.A AR

I is intended a'resource for elected nffici:11-municipal staff and citizens who would like to_apply the conceptof "Sustainable Dev' elopment"in their coininunities.

quality,It discusses topics such as: air quality, transport, land use,energy conservation, waste management; water and sewageand economic and community development in the context ofachieving a "Sustainable Community"

was Research Director for the City ofVancouver's Task Force on Atmospherik Change, whichorchestrated Vancouver's landmark Clouds of Change programin 1990. Currently at the Centre for Human Settlements,University of Bntish Columbia, he lectures internationallyand advises governments on sustainable planning and policy

k ' I'Preserving Our WorldSustainable Development: A Manager's HandbookThe National Waste Reduction HandbookDecision Making Practices for Sustainable DevelopmciOn the Road to Brazil: The Earth SummitAussi disponible en francais

I . " I

:

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BEST COPY AVAILABLE 3 4.4