Green Dreams Presentation

Tools for Sustainability PlanningCreativity, Proactivity, Systematic Implementations to the Planning Process.

Green Dreams of Suburbia: Climate Change, Sustainability and Urban Form Tuesday, November 9, 2010 Christian Wagner


Introduction

METHOD 1: Best Practices

METHOD 2: Plans

METHOD 3: Standards and Benchmarks

METHOD 4: “Abstractions”

Ecological Footprint Analysis

Geographic Information Systems

Visioning

METHOD 5: Metrics & Indicators

Sustainable Seattle Example

Conclusions

Overview

Source: http://www.metropolismag.com/webimages/4453/carrot_102010.jpg


HOLISTIC IMPLEMENTATION“In the current era in which citizens are often skeptical

of government, it is unlikely that any particular level of

government by itself will be strong enough to adopt and

implement comprehensive sustainability policy...So what

is needed instead is for our existing, imperfect institutions

to reinforce one another, working together to establish

intergovernmental frameworks for sustainability planning”

source: Wheeler, 99

Introduction


source: Wheeler, 51-52, designed using www.wordle.net

Introduction


Introduction

WHAT MATTERS TO ME?

WHAT CAN I DO?“When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find

it hitched to everything else in the Universe” - Environmentalist John Muir (1938-1914)

METHOD 1: Best Practices

METHOD 2: Plans

METHOD 3: Standards and Benchmarks

METHOD 4: “Abstractions”

Ecological Footprint Analysis


Visioning

METHOD 5: Metrics & Indicators

Sustainable Seattle Example

Methods


Edward Tufte Book


Method 1: Best Practices

http://blog.lib.umn.edu/evans391/architecture/dongtan-east-village-and-east-lake.jpg

http://de.academic.ru/pictures/dewiki/66/Bus_Stops_3_curitiba_brasil.jpghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best_Practice

http://www.urbanecology.org.au/publications/residentialenergy/images/cw1.jpg

Dongtan Ecocity, Dongtan, CN

Christie Walk,Adeleide, AU

Bus StopCuritiba, BR

A best practice is a technique, method, process,

activity, incentive, or reward which conventional

wisdom regards as more effective at delivering

a particular outcome than any other technique,

method, process, etc. when applied to a

particular condition or circumstance.

Definition


Method 1: Best Practices

Global ResourcesUnited Nations Center for Human Settlements

Dubai International Award for Best Practices in Improving the Living Environment

Department of Energy’s Center of Excellence for Sustainable Development

American Institute of Architects AIA/COTE Top Ten Green Projects

www.unhabitat.org

www.bestpractices.org

http://www.smartcommunities.ncat.org/

http://www.aiatopten.org/hpb/


Method 2: Plans

General Plans

Specific Plans

Functional Plans

http://blog.lib.umn.edu/evans391/architecture/dongtan-east-village-and-east-lake.jpg

http://de.academic.ru/pictures/dewiki/66/Bus_Stops_3_curitiba_brasil.jpg

http://www.urbanecology.org.au/publications/residentialenergy/images/cw1.jpg





Method 2: Plans

General Planshttp://blog.lib.umn.edu/evans391/architecture/dongtan-east-village-and-east-lake.jpg


“Michael Neuman (1998) points out in a classic article on the usefulness

of the General Plan, strong physical plans can help to portray collective

hopes about the future of a city or town, allow necessary political

conflict to emerge, build social, intellectual, and political capital within

communities, and set agendas for powerful public agencies"

Keywords: Vision, Framework, Blueprint

Wheeler, 86

Master/Comprehensive


Method 2: Plans

General Planshttp://blog.lib.umn.edu/evans391/architecture/dongtan-east-village-and-east-lake.jpg

http://www.christophgielen.com/Wheeler, 86


Suburb in Florida, USA

Keywords: Vision, Framework, Blueprint

Issues

Consider: funding, budgeting, staff time, cooperation between entities, adaptation to changing elected leadership, public interest,

sustaining opposition, legalities, paperwork...

Critics argue that General Plans are an exercise of form making, as they may have little influence as to what really happens...

Avoid lofty rhetoric, technocratic and abstract writing, and gaps in accountability.


Method 2: Plans

Specific Planshttp://www.urbanecology.org.au/publications/residentialenergy/images/cw1.jpg


Specific Plans include an intensive public process including “workshops,

meeting and design charettes (workshops in which groups of

participants develop potential designs for urban places... New principles

are guiding us to avoid top-down approach.”

Keywords: Scales & Public Participation

Wheeler, 86

Area/Sector/Neighborhood/Precise


Method 2: Plans

Specific Planshttp://www.urbanecology.org.au/publications/residentialenergy/images/cw1.jpg

Diana Miller, 2008


Community Meeting, Larimer, Pittsburgh PA

Keywords: Scales & Public Participation

Issues

Issues of stagnation regarding

workshops, trying to accommodate

for everyone. Not everyone sees in

a long-term vision process. Difficulty

to follow-through with these

plans unless easily accessible to

stakeholders (e.g., developers)


Method 2: Plans

Functional Planshttp://de.academic.ru/pictures/dewiki/66/Bus_Stops_3_curitiba_brasil.jpg


Keywords: Principles, Goals, Commitments

Functional Plans can include, but are not limited to: greyfields, bicycle

planning, transportation demand management, details of land use (and

densities), transportation (circulation), conservation, open space, noise,

safety, urban design, environmental protection, resource use, economic

development strategy, and housing.Wheeler, 86


Method 2: Plans

Functional Planshttp://de.academic.ru/pictures/dewiki/66/Bus_Stops_3_curitiba_brasil.jpg


TrafficMiami, FL

Keywords: Principles, Goals, Commitments

Issues

“For example, no specific action is likely to quickly reduce automobile use in metropolitan

areas. What is required instead is that a con-stellation of land use changes, pricing policies,

improved transportation alternatives, and other steps such as an improved balance be-tween jobs and housing within each commu-nity be put in place over an extended period

of time” (Wheeler, 92)

photo: Christian Wagner


Method 3: Standards & Benchmarks

Opportunities“Standards can often be too right, and

have difficulty keeping up with changing technology and innovation....firmly

established standards may reduce creativity, in that design or development becomes a

process of meeting established benchmarks rather than “pushing the envelope”

source: Wheeler, 94

New Urbanist Lexicon, Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co

Green Standard Examples

http://www.dpz.com/pdf/LEXICON_.PDF


Method 3: Standards & Benchmarks

West Rose Ln & N75th Ave, Phoenix AZ

“Even in residential neighborhoods 40- and 50- wide streets became the standard in the US, along with wide turning radii and other

features appropriate for relatively high rates of speed...cul-de-sacs...The result of such

standards was to enforce a particular model of low-density, automobile-oriented suburban

development that we now see as profoundly unsustainable.”

www.maps.live.com

Wheeler, 94

http://www.dpz.com/pdf/LEXICON_.PDF

Challenges New Urbanist Lexicon, Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co


Method 4: Abstractions

Ecological Footprint


Visioning

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_footprint

http://www.latoyaegwuekwe.com/geographyofarecession.html

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

Ecological Footprint (by country 2007)

Unemployment Rates, USA (May 2007)

Story of Stuff Cartoon, (by Annie Leonard)





India, Germany, UAE by ecological footprint per capita

Developed by William Rees (UBC) and Mathis Wackernagel (Redefining Progress Organization, Oakland

“This technique seeks to turn various aspects of human resource consumption into equivalent

amounts of land that would be required to produce such resources. Each individual or

community is therefore assigned a “footprint” in terms of acres or hectares that represents

their ecological impact on the planet”Wheeler, 95

121 105


Ecological Footprint




2007 Global Footprint Network (2010) * Only 153/185 countries measured in this study


POP ECO FOOTPRINT GHA/PERS BIOCAPACITY GHA/PERS ECOLOGICAL REMAINDER

United Arab Emirates 6.25 10.68 0.85 -9.83

Qatar 1.14 10.51 2.51 -8.00

Bahrain 0.76 10.04 0.94 -9.10

Denmark5.45 8.26 4.85 -3.41

Belgium10.53 8.00 1.34 -6.66

United States 308.67 8.00 3.87 -4.13

Germany 82.34 5.08 1.92 -3.16

1

2

3

4

5

6

27

Ecological Footprinthttp://www.myfootprint.org/



http://www.latoyaegwuekwe.com/geographyofarecession.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographic_information_system

Unemployment Rates, USA (May 2007)

Unemployment Rates, USA (Nov 2008, Nov 2009)


Geographic information systems (GIS), or geospatial information systems, is a set of tools that captures, stores, analyzes,

manages, and presents data that are linked to location(s). In the simplest terms, GIS is the merging of cartography, statistical

analysis, and database technology.



Visioning

Aim: to “design and develop future scenarios, of which one picks a preferred scenario.”

“At the heart of such documents (Strategic Environmental Appraisal, Environmental Impact

Statements, Environmental Impact Reports, Environmental Assessments, Development

Path Analysis) is generally the comparison of a project’s impacts with various alternatives,

including a “no-project” alternative”

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

photo: Christian Wagner

Story of Stuff Cartoon, (by Annie Leonard)



Method 5: Metrics and Indicators

Sustainable Seattle

Framework

Indicators

Photo: Christian Wagner

http://sustainableseattle.org/Programs/IndicatorsIntoAction/regionalindicators/1998ndicators/1998IndicatorsRpt.pdf

http://www.b-sustainable.org/about-the-indicators-framework

Seattle Skyline, USA

B-Sustainable Framework

Renewable and Nonrenewable Energy Usein King County


Sustainable SeattlePhoto: Christian Wagner

http://sustainableseattle.org/About



1991 Sustainable Seattle Founded as a Non-Profit Organization

1993 First Draft of Regional Sustainability Indicators: Wins “Excellence in Indicators Best Practice” by the United Nations in 1996

1995 Second Draft of Regional Sustainability Indicators

1998 Third Draft of Regional Sustainability Indicators - 250 citizens involved, 40 key indicators measured

2009 Fourth Draft of Regional Sustainability Indicators

2010-11 Fifth Draft of Regional Sustainability Indicators

Vision: We see an interconnected group of healthy, compact, livable urban centers

across the Central Puget Sound region, where people work and play together to restore

and improve the vitality of communities, the economy, and the ecosystem.

Mission: Our mission is to be a catalyst and resource for positive change. just economies,

thriving communities, healthy ecosystems

Focus: Our focus is social justice, collaboration and stewardship.





1998

2004

2005

2005

2008

2009

Third Draft of Regional Sustainability Indicators

24-Member Steering Committee Assembled

Community Process begins with Citizen Panels

Technical Committee develops Framework

B-Sustainable.org website launches

Fourth Draft of Regional Sustainability Indicators

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Structure www.sustianableseattle.org

EMERGING PEOPLE,

PROJECTS, IDEAS

WEB - Whole Environmental Building Recognition & Awards Program

Sustainability Partnership & Resources Commons

www.sustainableseattle.blogspot.com

www.sustainablecitiesblog.blogspot.com

Sustainable Seattle Partnerships

COMMUNITY

CONNECTIONS

K-12 Sustainability Education

BREATHE - Brokerage for Restoration of our Ecosystems and the Health of Our Environments

PALS - Peer Alliance for Leadership in Sustainability

STARS - Sustainability Training and Resources

Dream a Sound Future Competitionwww.open2100.org

INDICATORS FOR

ACTION

PHOCUS - Policy Hub on Community and Urban Sustainability

Neighborhood Sustainability Indicators Project

Neighbors Acting to Build Resiliency and Sustainability (NARBS)

Stewardship Development

Community Development

Regional Indicatorswww.b-sustainable.org



Framework

Framework Analysis


http://www.b-sustainable.org/about-the-indicators-framework

22 sustainability goals defined by indicators

Each goal is assigned to one of the 4 environments mentioned above

Indicators are shared between different goals

Each goal is linked to strategies, initiatives and actions.

Keywords: Tracking, Trends, Performance Highlight, Snapshots, Gauge

Structure


2010-2011 Regional Indicators for Sustainability will follow the “Gross National Happiness

Index” (www.gnhc.gov.bt) which will include: Mental Health - Physical Health - Time Balance - Education - Cultural Vitality - Social COnnection - Environmental Quality - Governance - Material

Well-being

Frameworkhttp://www.b-sustainable.org/about-the-indicators-framework

B-Sustainable Framework


The Future

The Goal of "indicators into Action" is to catalyze the field of indicators through building capacity in communities, developing data, indicators and leveraging of actions.

http://sustainableseattle.org/Programs/IndicatorsIntoAction/regionalindicators/SAHI/

Indicators


Method




Indicators


Method



APPLICATION FOR

INDICATORS

Local Media

Public Policy

Businesses & Economic Development

Education

Civil Society

Personal Lifestyles

INDICATOR

COMPOSITION

Trends

Description

Definition of the Problem

Interpretation

Evaluation

Success Stories

Indicators potentially have great

power to DEMONSTRATE problems,

MOTIVATE action, EDUCATE the

public, and show the positive

EFFECT of sustainability policies.” Wheeler, 92




Indicators


Criteria

- Relevance: e.g., Regionalism, Wild Salmon Runs in Seattle- Reflect Community Values - Resonates with the Audience- Attractive to Local Media- Statistically Measurable- Logically or Scientifically Defensible- Reliable - Measured and Updated over time- Leading (No stagnation)- Policy Relevant (and responsive)



http://citylivingseattle.com/ http://sustainableseattle.org/Programs/IndicatorsIntoAction/regionalindicators/1998ndicators/1998IndicatorsRpt.pdf


“The indicators a society chooses to report to itself about itself are

surprisingly powerful. They reflect collective values and inform collective

decisions. A nation that keeps a watchful eye on its salmon runs or the

safety of its streets makes different choices than does a nation that

is only paying attention to its GNP. The idea of citizens choosing their

own indicators is something new under the sun—something intensely

democratic.” —Donella H. Meadows

Conclusion


Best, Aaron, Hans Van Dusen, and Richard Conlin, comps. Sustainable Seattle - Indicators of Sustainable Community - 1998. Rep. Mar. 2004. Web. 28 Oct. 2010. <http://sustainablese attle.org/Programs/IndicatorsIntoAction/regionalindicators/1998ndicators/>

“Information Commons.” Your Central Puget Sound Information Source for Making Sustain able Choices. Sustainable Seattle. Web. 28 Oct. 2010. <http://www.b-sustainable.org/>.

Sustainable Seattle. “Programs, Resources, About Us.” Healthy Communities, Economies, Eco- systems. Web. 28 Oct. 2010. <http://www.sustainableseattle.org/>.

Wheeler, Stephen. “Tools for Sustainability Planning.” Planning for Sustainability: Creating Liv- able, Equitable, and Ecological Communities. London: Routledge, 2004. 85-101. Print.

Wheeler, Stephen. “Theory of Sustainable Planning.” Planning for Sustainability: Creating Liv- able, Equitable, and Ecological Communities. London: Routledge, 2004. 34-52. Print.

Bibliography

Thank You!

Example @


www.b-sustainable.org

Documents

Green Dreams Presentation