Bioneer Chicago Conference

Learn more at http://bioneerschicago.org/

Infrastructure trust-fund & economic sustainability

by Michael Rance

Coming from an incredibly environmentally-friendly city such as Seattle, I wasn't sure what to expect when I first step foot in Chicago. I was surprised to see incredibly beautiful parks, sculptures, and sandy beaches on clear open-water in a city that was often known for being industrial, dirty, and very undesirable to live in. All of these new parks and recreational areas for Chicago residents and travelers are all part of a plan from the Chicago city government to create a Chicago that is built to lead the region in sustainability on the environmental, economic, institutional, and social levels.

During a time of economic austerity such as this, federal, local, and state governments are routinely searching for ways to cut back on costs and find private sector help in deep-red budgets. Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his administration passed an act through the Chicago city council that creates an Infrastructure trust-fund, also known as an 'Infrastructure Bank'. An Infrastructure bank meshes together funds from private corporations and labor unions, along with occasional funds from the federal level, and a committee composed of six members on an advisory panel and five members of the group that votes on resolutions. It's an unprecedented move by a major American city, but it seems that the Chicago infrastructure bank will not only help pull the city out of the red, but it will also bring together the various subsections required to have sustainable leadership in a major city.

With the involvement of private-sector lending in the Chicago infrastructure trust-fund along with the infusion of federal and local funds, Chicago has an opportunity to create a stronger bond between the private-sector and public-sector in the Chicagoland area. When both of these economic sectors cooperate more efficiently, Chicago will be closer to more financial and economic sustainability. And with more financial stability and sustainability, the city government can spend more time investing in crucial infrastructure projects such as the repair and construction of water mains throughout the city of chicago. And with the political independence that the city of Chicago will get from using funds mostly from private lenders, the institutional core of the city government will become stronger in handling local issues and will become another part of the sustainable city leadership necessary to prepare the city of Chicago for the future.

Water Systems in Chicago

By Tyler Amodeo

The beauty city of Chicago has been blessed with Lake Michigan and it fresh water source, but the city’s water mains are over  one hundred years old and are prone to leakages. These leakages are a waste of valuable fresh water as well as the envy of the drought ridden south. The Mayor’s office plans on replacing and or upgrading the water mains throughout the city of Chicago. This project will take about ten years and require that all of the water mains be accessed during this process. The process will be grueling for commuters as well as for workers. Fortunately, the city plans to decrease the length of these setbacks by tackling pre-existing road problems at the same time as the water main construction. Such combining efforts will alleviate the need to come back to the same streets for water main repairs. Also, taking care of both issues at once will help conserve the amount of energy that would be needed to rip up the streets twice, and the man power that would be needed. Combining these two efforts will make commuters happier, the price of the work cheaper, the amount of carbon dioxide emitted lower, and repairing the water leaks.

I firmly believe that repairing the water mains would benefit Chicago in a two-fold manner. First, the water wouldn’t be wasted anymore, and secondly, commuters would be forced to travel via public transportations or on bicycles to avoid the enormous traffic delays that follow ripping up the streets. Forcing commuters to use public transportation would significantly help lower carbon dioxide emissions (http://www.newstips.org/2007/08/reducing-chicagos-carbon-footprint/).

As referenced in the article, public transportation vastly outweighs the benefits of bulky, space consuming, hybrid vehicles. Hybrid vehicles do still emit emissions and take up possible public transportation space. One possible way to help drive the public transportation effort would be to offer a discounted CTA long term pass to those switching over from vehicular transportation. Such promotion of the public transportation systems in Chicago would resemble the Pearl District in Portland, Oregon. In Pearl District many walkable areas have been instituted, away from the streets, as well as a light rail system with public transit pickups at each of its stops (http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/kbenfield/portlands_shrinking_carbon_foo.html).

 Though the Pearl District displays environmental advancements, “Compared to 2010, PWB carbon emissions increased 18% in 2011 due to demand for supplemental groundwater pumping and higher vehicle fleet fuel use”, their water related carbon footprints continues to rise. The city of Chicago is steadily increasing the sustainability of its water resource by fixing water main leaks, which simultaneously helps cut down on the cities carbon footprint.

Chicago Public Transportation and Social Safety Net

Economic Hardship in Chicago:
An interactive data mapping Chicago Public Transportation (CTA) in relation to social safety net, economic recession and poverty in the City of Chicago. 

The Chicago maps showing poverty levels and public transportation (CTA) emerged as part of a larger capstone project entitled The Fraying of Chicago’s Social Safety Net by Christopher Whitaker with Dr. Marco Tavanti's Integrative Seminar for the School of Public Service in Spring 2012. The study analyzed data on the economic recession's effect on Chicago’s social safety net. The interactive map of the social safety net showcases where services are available. The map includes payment history from the State of Illinois and City of Chicago showing the extent of budget cuts to the social service non-profit sector. This map also include demographic information showing poverty, food insecurity, and income levels for each ward. Together, this data is used to showcase how the social safety net has frayed over the course of the recession. One of the effects of the recession has been that long-term unemployment has increased demand for social services while at the same time private and public funding for non-profits decreases. This financial strain causes government facilities to close and non-profit providers to shut down operations. This project demonstrate where needs have greatly increased while social safety providers have closed facilities

Access the interactive map here:

http://www.ctapovertymap.org

Chicago Community Climate Action Tookit

The Field Museum worked with partner organizations in four Chicago neighborhoods—Pilsen, Forest Glen, South Chicago, and Bronzeville—to develop a Chicago Community Climate Action Toolkit. Through this project a collaborative partnership was created to understand the region’s climate action plans
, identify community strengths and concerns and develop and implement local climate action projects to build community sustainability capacity. The goal of the initiative is to improve quality of life of Chicago urban communities while stimulating a larger community and organizational network for social and environmental change. The Chicago Community Climate Action Toolkit includes a broad array of climate science and action tools. Check it out at http://climatechicago.fieldmuseum.org/

Chicago Sustainability - A New Office of the Mayor

The City of Chicago, under the leadership of Mayor Rahm Emanuel, is embarked in a comprehensive and ambitious sustainability plan. Mayor Emanuel's sustainability vision is to create the institutional opportunities for citizen 's sustainability practices. He said: "I want Chicago to be the greenest city in the world, and I am committed to fostering opportunities for Chicagoans to make sustainability a part of their lives and their experience in the city." 

Chicago is certainly among some of the greenest cities in the world, and with some of the new government projects coming up, the future of Chicago’s sustainability looks bright. The city of Chicago’s sustainability are focused on nine categories: water, air and natural resources, energy, retrofit Chicago, waste and recycling, green buildings, transportation, business and permits, and climate action. In some of these areas, Chicago shines, where in others, it falls short of other major cities.
 
One area in which Chicago really shines is Air & Natural Resources. Chicago is home to more than 8,100 acres of parks, the most in the nation. In addition to its parks, Chicago also has many rooftop gardens. Chicago, which has over four million square feet of rooftop gardens, is the first city to have the roof of its City Hall converted into an eco-friendly garden. The benefits of doing this include lower air-conditioning costs and more controlled storm drainage.

The recently created office of sustainability is a catalyst for working with city programs, departments, businesses and nonprofits to make Chicago a greener city and a quality living community for future generations. Check their work at ChicagoSustainability.org and follow these links on their priorities and goals.

Water	Air & Natural Resources	Energy
Retrofit Chicago	Waste & Recycling	Green Buildings
Transportation	Business & Permits	Climate Action

Corporate Solutions for Sustainable Cities

 

Sustainable cities - the Siemens Way

Read the entire article and watch the videos at http://www.usa.siemens.com/sustainable-cities/

The challenges presented by sustainable urban development are immense. In 2010, 82 percent of Americans lived in cities; by 2050 it will be 90 percent. Cities are responsible for around two thirds of the energy used, 60 percent of all water consumed and 70 percent of all

For a real-world look at how our solutions can be implemented today, please download "Smarter Neighborhoods, Smarter City". This report contains detailed recommendations on how to help America's largest urban area - the City of New York - plan for more sustainable growth. You can also view the Clean Energy Solution survey results conducted in cooperation with The U.S. Conference of Mayors and sponsored by Siemens in order to understand how to address today’s urbanization challenges. Just how sustainable North American Cities are today, you can see in the “US and Canada Green City Index”.

Building Cities, Building Futures: Improved transportation, green buildings, water conservation and reuse and smart grid infrastructure are just a few of the technologies helping to achieve sustainable environmental development in cities.

The Siemens Sustainable Communities Awards

In an effort to recognize communities that are leading the way in sustainable development, Siemens has partnered with the Business Civic Leadership Center (BCLC) to recognize communities that are successfully taking on the challenges of 21st century sustainable development. For this, the company has created the Siemens Sustainable Community Awards

Building Cities, Building Futures

Our vision of a sustainable city at the Sustainable Cities Tour.

The Siemens city tour wanted to highlight the challenges our cities face and brought together leaders from various areas of expertise to help provide insight into the solutions and programs that can help make these cities more lasting, livable and prosperous. The interactive tour illustrated how Siemens solutions can help foster the sustainable development of cities. Visitors didn’t just learn all about sustainable cities and communities – they experienced them first hand.

Special Report on Cities of the Future from Foreign Policy
read the full report at http://www.foreignpolicy.com/cities_issue

Cities of the Future: Made in China

From traffic-jumping buses to electric taxis, China is at the forefront of the world's flashiest urban innovations.

BY DUSTIN ROASA | SEPT/OCT 2012

 For much of the 20th century, the world looked to American cities for a glimpse of the future. Places like New York and Chicago had the tallest skyscrapers, the newest airports, the fastest highways, and the best electricity grids.

But now, just 12 years into the Asian Century, the city of the future has picked up and moved to China. No less than U.S. Vice President Joe Biden recognized this when he said not long ago, "If I blindfolded Americans and took them into some of the airports or ports in China and then took them to one in any one of your cities, in the middle of the night … and then said, 'Which one is an American? Which one is in your city in America? And which one's in China?' most Americans would say, 'Well, that great one is in America.' It's not." The speech raised eyebrows among conservative commentators, but it points out the obvious to anyone who has spent time in Beijing, Hong Kong, or Shanghai (or even lesser-known cities like Shenzhen and Dalian, for that matter).
In these cities, visitors arrive at glittering, architecturally arresting airports before being whisked by electric taxis into city centers populated by modular green skyscrapers. In the not-so-distant future, they'll hop on traffic-straddling buses powered by safe, clean solar panels. With China now spending some $500 billion annually on infrastructure -- 9 percent of its GDP, well above the rates in the United States and Europe -- and with the country's population undergoing the largest rural-to-urban migration in human history, the decisions it makes about its cities will affect the future of urban areas everywhere. Want to know where urban technology is going? Take the vice president's advice and head east.


 
Modular skyscrapers

If the speed of China's rise has been astonishing, it's about to get even faster. A Chinese construction firm has pioneered a modular construction technique that allows it to build energy-efficient skyscrapers in a matter of weeks, dramatically reducing construction costs and waste. This year, Broad Group will put that approach to the ultimate test when it builds a 220-story skyscraper -- to be the world's tallest -- in a mere 90 days in Changsha, in southeast China. (The world's current tallest building, the more than 160-story Burj Khalifa in Dubai, took six years to complete.)
Although the feat might sound far-fetched, Broad has proved itself capable in a series of trial runs. This past December, it completed a 30-story hotel near its headquarters in Changsha in just 15 days. The approach utilizes prefabrication -- 93 percent of the work on the hotel took place in a factory -- resulting in 1 percent of the waste of a normal building project. Also, by assembling large portions of the building beforehand, engineers can seamlessly integrate green features into the structure, such as thermal insulation and electricity-generating elevators. Already, Broad says it has franchised its methods to six Chinese companies and is in talks with two companies abroad.


 

A traffic-jumping bus
 
The Chinese bought 14.5 million cars in 2011 -- a figure that could increase to 50 million annually within a decade -- leading to massive congestion on China's roads. (A recent jam outside Beijing lasted 11 days.) Given these traffic woes, it's a wonder someone didn't think of the 3D Express Coach sooner. The premise is simple: If you can't go through gridlock, why not slide over it?
Known as the "straddling bus," the arch-shaped vehicle operates like a game of croquet, but one in which the wickets move over the balls. Developed by Shenzhen Huashi Future Parking Equipment, the bus can carry up to 1,200 passengers in a carriage straddling a two-lane street, allowing traffic below to flow freely (or not, if it's rush hour). The company claims the vehicle will reduce traffic jams by up to 30 percent, and because it doesn't require a tunnel or elevated track, it's 90 percent cheaper to build than a subway or monorail. The bus saves more money by generating electricity through solar panels mounted on its roof and at stops.


 

Electric taxis
 
Hoping to become the global leader in electric vehicles, the Chinese government wants 500,000 electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles on China's roads by 2015, and more than 5 million by 2020. It is already backing these aspirations with a range of subsidies, including up to $8,800 for every electric vehicle purchased by taxi companies and local governments.
As a result, China has more electric taxis in operation than anywhere in the world and is likely to extend its lead. On Beijing's outskirts, electric Fotons ferry passengers to and from the Great Wall. In the southern city of Shenzhen, which has the world's largest fleet of zero-carbon taxis and buses, cabbies drive hundreds of e6s, electric cars manufactured by Warren Buffett-backed automaker BYD. Shenzhen's government wants 24,000 electric vehicles on the city's roads and 12,750 charging stations by the end of this year. But those plans might have to be put on hold following a fatal crash involving an electric taxi in May -- the battery may have been at fault -- though safety worries in China rarely get in the way of ambitious government projects.


 

Safer, cleaner nuclear energy
 
Frustrated by electricity shortages in many of its cities, China is racing to develop nuclear technology fueled by thorium, which some energy experts predict will revolutionize an industry racked by safety concerns following Japan's Fukushima meltdown in 2011. Compared with the global standard of uranium, thorium is more abundant in nature, doesn't cause meltdowns, and produces less radioactive waste, making it a more attractive option for filling China's electricity deficit (though detractors warn that it is untested on a commercial scale and still has significant safety and waste problems).
Ironically, the United States pioneered thorium research during the Cold War before abandoning it in the early 1970s because of its limited use in making weapons. China (along with France, India, and Norway) has now picked up that early research and aims to become a global leader in thorium innovation. China is building 40 percent of the world's new nuclear plants, and if it masters thorium -- work on the country's first prototype plant is scheduled to be completed as soon as five years from now -- the technology is sure to play a major role in the government's plans to increase its nuclear power supply by 20 times over the next two decades and lessen its dependence on coal.


 
Bullet trains
 
With the world's longest network of tracks and some of its most advanced trains, China's high-speed rail system effortlessly evokes the future. But the country's latest innovation takes unlikely inspiration from the past. Shaped like an ancient Chinese sword, China's newest bullet train slices through the air at a maximum speed of 311 miles per hour, capable of traveling from Beijing to Shanghai in less than three hours and four-and-a-half times faster than the average speed of trains plying Amtrak's busy Boston-Washington Acela route (where speeds are limited by conventional train traffic).
In the future, trains like this might also be able to dart from city to city without even having to stop for passengers. Designer Chen Jianjun has dreamed up a system of pods that slide on and off the tops of trains in transit, loading and unloading passengers at high speed without the train actually stopping, which currently adds two-and-a-half hours to the journey from Beijing to Guangzhou. And with China's rail industry continuing to push the speed envelope -- researchers at Southwest Jiaotong University are working on a maglev-style train that shoots passengers through tubes at more than 600 miles per hour -- innovations like these might just make air travel a thing of the past.


 
The world's newest airports
 
Nowhere is China's ability to rapidly and efficiently build infrastructure more apparent than in civil aviation. From 2005 to 2010 alone, the Middle Kingdom built 33 airports and renovated or expanded an additional 33, at a cost of nearly $40 billion. This dizzying pace is set to continue over the next three years, when China will build another 70, including a mega-airport in Beijing -- the city's third -- that will have as much as double the annual passenger capacity of Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson, currently the world's busiest.

All this has transformed intercity travel in China, effectively shrinking a country that until recently relied heavily on trains and buses. Airlines are rapidly expanding their domestic networks (though traveler demand has not always kept pace with supply, as evidenced by the $57 million airport built five years ago in Guizhou province, which saw just 151 paying passengers in all of 2009).
China's airports also feature the latest industry advancements, including green technology, automated immigration lines, and cutting-edge explosives detectors. Passengers have taken note: China has two airports on Skytrax's influential World's Best Airports 2012 list -- more than any other country.

 
Solar power -- by the gigawatt
 
In 2010, China surpassed the United States to become the world's largest energy consumer. To meet its seemingly limitless electicity needs, China is turning to its solar industry, which already leads the world in panel production, and gearing up to produce gigantic solar plants.

A solar farm capable of generating 1 gigawatt of power is planned in Datong, a city in Shanxi province known for its coal reserves, while in Inner Mongolia a Chinese firm and an American company have teamed up to build a solar plant capable of cranking out 2 gigawatts, making it the world's largest, with double the capacity of most active U.S. nuclear reactors. Hong Kong-based China Merchants Group, meanwhile, is building a 500-megawatt solar farm with panels mounted solely on roofs, rather than on the ground, the industry standard. The company will use 32 million square feet of roof space, alleviating concerns about the environmental impact of land-gobbling conventional solar farms.

 
Reinventing garbage
 
As China's major cities swell in size, their residents are creating mountains of waste that ring urban areas, with Beijing alone generating 18,000 tons of garbage every day, enough to fill 29 Rose Bowls each year. In response, Chinese companies are developing cutting-edge recycling technology that could soon render landfills and incinerators obsolete -- or at least much less common.
Goldenway Bio-Tech in Beijing has developed a system that can transform up to 400 tons of food waste per day into fertilizer. The odorless process uses a specially manufactured enzyme that breaks down waste in just 10 hours, resulting in a brown powder Goldenway says is ideal for growing organic crops. The company operates 10 such plants throughout China, though it encountered resistance from residents worried about health problems and foul smells when it unveiled plans for a facility in Beijing.

Leadership, lead and community change

In 1997, community member, founder, and Executive Director of Fuller Park Community Development Michael Howard was concerned about the serious lead poisoning problems affecting the neighborhood children. He did some research and discovered that Fuller Park contained the highest lead levels in the city of Chicago. As a community leader he wanted to make some serious changes for the sake of his family and his entire neighborhood, and he decided that this work would start with the illegal dumpsite located across the street from his home. Two story mounds of waste encompassed the entire three acres of land. Mr. Howard acquired the deed for the land and involved the community in a large scale, three year clean-up of the dumpsite. With the help of many volunteers and community members, over 200 tons were removed from the site. Those were the trying first days of what is now called Eden Place.

A Chicago family leads their community to convert an illegal garbage dump into Eden Place: a three-acre nature center for their struggling South Side neighborhood. Jay Shefsky has the remarkable story.

Read more at the Eden Place Nature Center website

Watch the video from Chicago Tonight here http://chicagotonight.wttw.com/2011/06/15/eden-place

City of Chicago: Green Meeting Industry Council Has Chosen Chicago as Host City for 2013 Global Sustainable Meetings Conference

Chicago City Mayor Rahm Emanuel leads a comprehensive plan for building a new Chicago. In a $7 billion, three year infrastructure program, Building a New Chicago is an investment in the city infrastructure that has green all over. According to the Business Civil Leadership Center, the Plan includes several sustainability initiatives that will help build a new Chicago. Beside the 30,000 jobs planned to be created in the next three years, the plan provides to expand and maintain:

1. Over 5 million square feet of green roof space;
2. More than 250 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified buildings, twice as many LEED certifications as any other U.S. city;
3. 26 miles of open and free public lakefront access;
4. The nation’s second largest public transportation system, serving 1.6 million rides on an average weekday;
5. More than 8,100 acres of Chicago Park District green space, making Chicago home to the largest municipal park in the nation;
6. The nation’s largest urban solar plant, Exelon’s 10 megawatt solar field; 
7. 28 miles of Chicago River within city limits.

The City of Chicago sustainability agenda continues to move forward through:

1. Eliminating food deserts through a city ordinance increasing community garden plot sizes and removing permit barriers;
2. Improving water efficiency by replacing over 1,500 miles of pipes and sewer lines;
3. Improving air quality and energy sources through reduced coal-powered energy, closing the Fisk and Crawford coal plants within city limits.
4. Advancing clean energy by creating an electric vehicle infrastructure of over 280 charging stations in Chicagoland;
5. Creating a world-class bicycling network through installing 25 miles of protected lanes in 2012 and launch a bike sharing system of over 3,000 bicycles;
6. Improving transit systems through a $1 billion investment to eliminate slow zones and make other improvements; 
7. Reducing waste with the implementation of citywide curbside recycling in 2013, as a result of competitive bidding.

In the words of Mayor Emanuel: 

“Whether it is renewing our parks or repairing our pipes, repaving our roads or rebuilding our rails, retrofitting our buildings or revitalizing our bridges, we must restore Chicago’s core... Our plans are comprehensive because our needs are comprehensive -- because no city in America relies on its infrastructure more than Chicago. While our infrastructure challenges are not unique, our resolve and determination to see them through is. I look forward to rebuilding our city’s infrastructure so we may continue to lead in the 21st century.”

Read more at City of Chicago: Mayor Emanuel Announces $7 Billion Building a New Chicago Program

Welcome to Sustainable City Leadership

Discovering, learning and leading urban sustainability...

Welcome to the official Blog of Sustainable City Leadership. This is a forum for sharing learning and insights on the topic of urban sustainability for Chicago and other global cities. The Blog is managed by Dr. Marco Tavanti and connected to a DePaul University’s Discover Chicago course with the same title: Sustainable City Leadership. The course is designed to expose students to the current trends in sustainable community development from a social, economic, environmental and policy level. Through site visits, panel presentations and critical discussions students will learn about leadership visions, organizational best practices and community initiatives promoting sustainability practices throughout the city of Chicago.    

Metropolitan Chicago as Green City

Chicago has become a world-class city with a strong reputation in sustainable policies. From its park conservation history to its contemporary Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green building efforts, the city is in the process of becoming a leader in sustainability practices. However, there are still many challenges to effectively integrate city-based green development with community-based economic and social justice. This course highlights current organizational and policy leadership examples in line with the environmental, social and economic trends across the city of Chicago. Through discussions and visits of organizations and sites starting with the City of Chicago to Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP), Growing Home, Slow Food and Fair Trade Chicago, students will be exposed to the leaders responsible for Chicago’s sustainability values.