Published 2/10/2009
While researching so many US cities for sustainability information, we couldn’t fail to notice widespread “green trends.” Below is a snapshot of what we found through conversations with city sustainability staff and officials, keeping up with the news, and of course seeing for ourselves in daily life. This list was compiled before October 2008, when financial collapse and revenue collapse began hitting state and local government coffers.
The Top Green Mega-Trends of 2008, in no particular order.
1--More Bicycling, Bike Plans and Amenities: more city support for bicycling as a transportation mode; 12.3% more cyclists across the US year-over-year (2004-2005 per US City Rankings data; only increasing each year) (Portland, NYC, Oakland, Washington DC, Minneapolis, Columbus)
(photo: A bicyclist in the SF Bay Area's CalTrain "bike car" during morning rush hour. Richard Masoner)
2--Revitalizing Downtowns: with high density, mixed used, infill redevelopment and transit; creating 24hour work/live spaces (Columbus, Oakland, San Francisco, Baltimore, NYC) - livening up downtown “mausoleums,” zoned single use and hollowed out in the 1960s-70s due to suburban investment. Trading places: A "Back to the Future" historic shift back to cities as centers of power, away from suburbs. Cities have historically been centers of wealth concentration and this will increasingly become the case again in the US. Will cities become the new “green zones”? The WSJ commented on the reversal of “white flight.” A better term might be "money flight."
(photo: San Francisco's Embarcadero Plaza, formerly a double-decker freeway and now a pleasant promenade for joggers, couples, ferry building farmers' market shoppers and tourists, serviced by heritage streetcars. by David.)
3--Trains Make a Comeback: New light rail and other public transit infrastructure investment. Much higher ridership. This trend leads us back to more dense, energy efficient and livable cities of the pre-World War II era. (Phoenix, Charlotte, NC; Seattle, Portland, SF, NYC, Detroit(!)(announced 7/08), Houston, Albuquerque, Denver, Dallas, Houston, Austin) Studies also show that investment in transit creates more jobs than investment in highway construction.
(photo: Commuter trains in...Phoenix? Inaugural run of Phoenix's brand new light rail commuter line, December 2008. by simax.)
4--Green Movement Goes Mainstream: more city governments are getting up to speed (appointment of high level sustainability officers; climate change/expensive energy adaptation, biodiesel/hybrid use, green building, planning for all the above) (Houston, etc)
Savvier city governance around sustainability: green city websites (Houston, Dallas, Columbus, Seattle) and more conversations within cities: citizen-led energy and food work groups and sustainability task forces, urban design charettes, increased use of resident-initiated blogs, mailing lists and forums.
(photo: Magazines on display, many with "green" story pitches. by dreamymo.)
5--Alternative/Renewable Energy – support for wind/solar installations and increased energy conservation and efficiency through incentives, performance contracting and community outreach (Boston, San Francisco, Portland, Houston, Austin, Sacramento, Oakland...)
(photo: Moon Rise behind the San Gorgonio Pass Wind Farm, taken in White Water, CA. by Caveman.)
6--More Neighborhood/Community Groups – citizens increasingly getting together to solve problems caused by rising fuel prices and climate change: community gardens primarily growing food, creation of livable spaces, anaerobic digesters (Seattle, Minneapolis, Denver, San Francisco, Oakland, Detroit)
(photo: not a citizen's "green committee" in this case, but rather a LEED-ND Core Committee retreat visit to Chicago's city hall green roof. by cnuinfo.)
Primary motivating force behind the above list of changes: Mostly based on the 300% rise in fuel prices over the last 5 years (“oil depletion”) and somewhat on efforts to mitigate climate change
What's New/Hot
1--Green Building: LEED and other green rating programs are expanding to every type of built environment, some perhaps controversial: parking lots, airports, zoos, museums, city/commercial/residential. (Boston, LA, Portland, Seattle, Chicago, NYC, SF…) – this may be more of a trend than being ‘new’ but it is definitely still ‘hot’
2--Re/Forestation of Cities: tree planting to increase urban canopies on streets, plus green roofs. Effects: Decreased urban heat island effect, cleaner air and water, sequestered CO2 emissions, higher property values, improved quality of life -- using free, ecological low capital cost “technology” to filter out pollution (Chicago, Oakland, Los Angeles, NYC, Tulsa, Atlanta...)
3--Re-use of Rail Infrastructure: some cities are installing light rail and/or green belts (recreational bike/walk paths, new parks) in or alongside former heavy rail track. (Atlanta, Detroit, Chicago, San Francisco, San Diego)
4--Preparing for Climate change: adaptation planning by cities for sea level rise, "climate refugees", less snowpack, lower water supply, and more （Austin, Chicago, NYC, SF, Seattle, Portland, Boston）
5--Waste is Good: Anaerobic digesters, landfill methane gas, etc.（Boston moving composting indoors to take advantage of methane gas produced by formerly outdoor compost sites）
6--Car-Free Streets on weekends (SF, Portland, Seattle, NYC)
