Developments in Sustainability and Implications for Columbus

Developments in Sustainability and Implications for Columbus The Ohio State University Public Policy Analysis Capstone March 2011 By Chelsea Brown Sarah Fries Lowell Howard Glennon Sweeney Ben Williams 1 Introduction The notion of sustainability is a multi-faceted concept that has recently received much attention from the United States and the international community at large due to its innate global importance. It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to construct a consensus definition on the topic. However, a broader conceptual framework can be deduced that focuses on the relationship between individuals and their physical and social environment. This relationship is imperative and foundational to understanding the overall notion of sustainability. As the concept of sustainability has evolved, related topics such as sustainable development, sustainable communities, and the overall sustainable levels of the world’s cities have incrementally garnered more clout in tackling this inevitable issue of concern. Overall, the fundamental question, for both the purposes of this project and for the broader topic of sustainability, is how seriously are cities taking the pursuit of sustainability? To better understand the importance of this question, one must be aware that many avenues for pursuing sustainable projects are available and that all projects will vary according to their geographic location, governance structure, the overall ideological mood of the location, and many other factors that all deserve consideration, as they contribute to this vital and global topic. Further, a myriad of topics can be included in the realm of sustainability, most importantly are the areas of economic development and ensuring environmental vitality. Additionally, and contrary to the progress of the concept, some cities might not place significant value on sustainability and therefore efforts to improve sustainability measures will ultimately be stifled, or simply non-existent. A key concern, then, is considering the overall level of acceptance of the sustainability movement in a particular place, which ultimately varies significantly due to several significant, complex, and interrelated factors. 2 One area of sustainability that deserves adequate attention is sustainable development. Sustainable development, for the purposes of this report, will be defined as “meeting the needs of the present generation without comprising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (Portney, 2003, 7). The focus of sustainable development centers on the pursuit of economic growth accompanied by significant consideration to the ecological impacts of that growth. Essential to understanding this area of concern is the ecological carrying capacity, a concept each city should attempt to minimize its resource use to ensure sustainable development. The idea behind the ecological carrying capacity is that the earth’s resources have a finite capacity to preserve life and therefore sustainable initiatives should be forged to create economic growth plans in accordance with the interests of the earth and the overall level of resources available. The concept of sustainable development is also multi-faceted, but the primary and over-arching theme of the subfield is critical to sustainability. Specifically, it is necessary to search for a symbiotic relationship between economic development and the environment. The efforts of cities and communities pursue these initiatives should determine how they are judged in respect to taking sustainable measures seriously. Sustainable communities and cities play vital roles in achieving greater levels of sustainability, particularly in the United States where the overall level of the federal government’s involvement is viewed with significant aversion. The primary underlying notion behind the reliance on sustainable communities and cities, in galvanizing the sustainability movement, focuses on cities’ ability to strive towards creating healthy and livable places by focusing primarily on their respective geographic areas. Cities, as opposed to communities, are also vitally important in spearheading sustainable programs; possess the necessary legal 3 authority to address environmental and ecological results. Upon closer examination of a city’s sustainability efforts the overall notion of sustainability becomes more complex. Pursuing sustainability programs at the city level is an intricate process that ultimately varies according to the particular characteristics of each city. In the realm of sustainability, no two cities will possess the same factors or characteristics, but that should not devalue the significant similarities that some cities share. In particular, cities that have been successful in taking sustainability seriously have maintained both a strong political will to assume significant effort in the process and strong grassroots support for sustainable initiatives. Ultimately, then, the seriousness of a city’s commitment to sustainability is determined by the nature of the local governance regime. Therefore, it will be the comprehensive focus of this project to discuss the interaction of private-public partnerships, as well as local non-profit and grassroots efforts that have been instrumental in creating viable sustainability programs. It is our hope that by comparing Columbus, Ohio to the pioneers in this movement, such as Seattle, Washington, Boulder, Colorado, and a few others, that Columbus can be more informed of how to achieve real sustainable programs, initiatives, and ultimately results. Defining Sustainability. Our definition of sustainability is as follows: pursuing a greater quality of life via improved environmental and economic conditions, without jeopardizing the ability of future generations to enhance their quality of life. This definition is intentionally broad in order to perform a comprehensive analysis and tailor a package of recommendations to Columbus’ diverse needs. Portney’s definition of sustainability is “maintaining the earth’s carrying capacity, usually through alteration of individual and collective human behavior” (6). Portney goes on to cite the United Nations’ World Commission on Environment and Development 4 (WCED) in saying that “sustainable development consists of economic development activity that “...meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (8). His definitions are broad because too specific a definition would not allow for the necessary comprehensive evaluation that sustainability uniquely considers. Methodology. In addition to ranking Columbus according to Portney’s thirty-four indicators, this report seeks to examine what sustainability initiatives other cities in the United States as well as the state of Ohio’s Northeast regional consortium are pursuing. Employing a case study approach, we examine a number of successful sustainability plans and initiatives in the first section of this report. Beginning with the model sustainability plan in Seattle, Washington, we next examine initiatives in Boulder, Berkeley, Austin, and Indianapolis. Each plan and initiative was chosen either because it is renowned nation wide or because the particular city in question shares similarities with Columbus, providing instructive examples. The case studies conclude with an examination of the Northeast Ohio Consortium for a Regional Plan for Sustainable Development. The final section of this report consists of conclusions and recommendations for the City of Columbus, Ohio in its pursuit of a comprehensive and successful citywide sustainability initiative. Ranking Columbus Professor Kent E. Portney of Tufts University has sought to evaluate sustainability efforts at the scale of the city. This is an important endeavor, as cities have taken an increasingly important role in adopting innovative approaches to improve the local quality of life. In his book Taking Sustainable Cities Seriously: Economic Development, the Environment, and Quality of Life in American Cities, Portney catalogues and evaluates the actions of many major U.S. cities, 5 seeking through comparison to better understand the development of sustainability efforts and to identify best practices that can be employed in the future. To perform such a comparison, Portney devised a simple Yes/No index of issues ranging from governance structure to pollution prevention, which tabulates whether a city’s programs include each element as a result of public policy effective before January 1, 2000 or not (2003, 65). Portney’s analysis included 24 cities with scores ranging from 30 for Seattle to 6 for Milwaukee, corresponding to the number of Yeses earned out of the possible 34. Columbus is evaluated below in table II according to Portney’s schema with qualifying paragraphs following each element to be found in the appendix. It is important to note Columbus was evaluated based on what policies were in place as of February 2011, not the original date Portney used. According to our evaluation of Columbus using Portney’s instrument, Columbus fulfills 20 of the criteria, placing it eighth of the 25 cities listed by Portney (see table I). This high score could be a good indication that Columbus is taking sustainability seriously or it could simply be an indication of the rudimentary nature of Portney’s instrument. For this reason the qualifications made following the Y or N score are imperative to truly grasp Columbus’s sustainability. Furthermore, the index may simply

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