Sustainability initiatives… sustainability plans…are your eyes glazing over yet? If so, that’s not an unexpected reaction. The term ‘sustainability plan’ often leads to skepticism or indifference because people don’t know what it means for them. We’re hoping to change that through our Sustainable Cities Institute (SCI) City Program.
We’ve selected two cities – Charleston, SC and Fayetteville, AR – to participate in a three-year, $1 million initiative to demonstrate the challenges and successes of implementing lasting sustainability programs at the local level. And these are not pie-in-the-sky programs…the initiatives that each city will be implementing are “sticks and bricks” projects and related policies that will produce tangible, long-lasting results. Each project is designed to provide immediate cost savings for these cities and their residents and also to be easily replicable in other communities.
We’re also making this a fully transparent effort. During this three-year initiative, the results of both cities – both the successes and the challenges – will be shared on a weekly basis at www.sustainablecitiesinstitute.org/city_program.
While the SCI City Program is focused on two cities right now, the SCI website is a treasure trove of information and resources for other cities who are trying to implement cost saving programs that will make their cities healthier and more livable. We know that cities are budget-strapped and continue to see their resources shrinking, so we are providing a forum where city staff can access vetted best practices, downloadable guides, communication tools and interactive forums to get everything they need to quickly move forward with sustainability planning and implementation in a budget-friendly way.
We can’t wait to see the great things that Charleston and Fayetteville are going to do through this program…and we hope that all cities will visit the SCI website to join in the discussion about building healthy communities for the long term. For more details about today’s announcement, read the press release. And to learn more about the Sustainable Cities Institute and access the free resources, visit the SCI website.
Follow me on Twitter