Wisconsin Institute Of Sustainability Technologies

Wisconsin Institute of Sustainability Technologies

Northwest and north central Wisconsin community sustainability planning geographic information systems

Focus on the role of space: zoning (part of the comp plan) SWOT map Bioregion map Where are the resources? Sustainability indicators: examples Where/how are resources being wasted

How does a plan change for different scales? If things change then how are they re- prioritized?

The comprehensive planning can incorporate sustainable planning objectives but the practice of sustainability planning and implementation takes place over a longer period of time and has a broader focus. The time frame for planning is more than statements by the community leadership and some public meetings to discuss directions and alternatives followed by a statement that is acceptable to a majority. Taking a systems view means taking the time for education about the issues, development and evaluation of indicators and tracking the indicators as measures of success (what else).

Sustainability code advocates… (as opposed to traditional zoning plans)  Covers broader range of topics  Integrates natural and man-made systems  Draws on useful features of other code types (design, procedures, etc.)  Based on a sustainable comprehensive plan and civic engagement vs. charettes  Tailored regionally to climate and ecology meet both student and regional demand, develop new academic programs to serve the needs of Central Wisconsin’s economic development, and create an economic development center focused on green energy and related products.

Wind power: siting, protecting prime location,

Community gardening and accessible markets

Water conservation: land practices, protecting areas critical to water access/productivity

Waste treatment: recycle, compost

Walkable, bikeable, access to green/open spaces

Safety: Floods, storm events, emergency response Engage the community at a wider level with emphasis on education, learning and wise decision making, something that is not part of the comprehensive planning process.

Another angle: the community sustainability planning is an avenue to educate and prepare communities to take advantage of practices and products as they are developed and become available.

How do agriculture and forestry benefit from sustainable practices? What are sustainable practices for ag and forestry? Reduce resource degradation from erosion More efficient practices – crop management, fertilizer, pest control

There is a difference between individual or enterprise efficiency and sustainability and the big picture of systems and thresholds.

Circa 1985 (http://www.uwsp.edu/business/cwerb/SR%20PDFs/The%20Central %20Wisconsin%20Forest%20Products%20Industry%20-%20Impact%20and %20Outlook.pdf) Forest products is Wisconsin's second leading manufacturing industry. It ranks first among Wisconsin manufacturers in investment in machinery; second in employment, payroll, value added, number of production workers, and wages paid; and third in value of shipments. The forest products industry is the leading manufacturing employer in 28 Wisconsin counties, including Marathon, Portage, and Wood. Wisconsin produces more paper than any state in the nation. http://www.nwrpc.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Final-2009-CEDS-Report.pdf

Forestry: paper, products, value added products – want to bring in new wood products ventures that feature new technology.

Connect ag and forestry practices with drinking water.

Tourism- is a strong industry. Direction: grow to draw young people into the region (note Haines’ project focus), draw in new capital, expand tourism opportunity and increase employment. Hospitality and artisan starts.

Aesthetic values – attention seems to be on the already outstanding shorelines and areas of special beauty. Protect and enhance…

“orderly and sound land use development based on acceptable resource management procedures”. This isn’t enough for what the future will demand

Housing Communities and small urban centers who want to attract businesses need to present a good live/work environment. Developing a relationship with a new industry or enterprise needs to be integrated with local sustainability priorities.

Decline of Downtown Commercial Areas.

Community gardening helped increase property values and increased tax revenue.

Population growth about 5% 2000 – 2008 (U.S. Census 1980, 1990, and 2000; WI Department of Administration 2008 & NCWRPC)

About 360,000 private, non-industrial landowners care for 10.4 million acres of woodland in Wisconsin.

An exciting project is getting underway in Milwaukee County – planning for a forest science center! This facility and the 68-acre site will focus on sustainable forestry in Wisconsin and showcase the many ways you depend on this valuable resource every day. NOTE: IF SUSTAINABLE FORESTRY IS VALUED THAN COMMUNITY SUSTAINABILITY SHOULD BE RIGHT THERE TOO. LETS INTEGRATE SUSTAINABLE FOREST PRACTICES WITH SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY PRACTICES. http://dnr.wi.gov/forestry/assessment/pdf/WisForestFramework_Final.pdf http://council.wisconsinforestry.org/framework/pdf/SustainabilityFramework.pdf

In Wisconsin, more than 1,850 wood using companies produce nearly $20 billion of forest products every year. Over 64% of their raw material needs are supplied from private land. Over 300,000 people's jobs in the state rely on the forest products industry.

Water is becoming the biggest issue for the coming century. http://www.uwsp.edu/cnr/gndwater/info/Subdivision%20Wells.pdf At issue are local and up-gradient groundwater quality and quantity for residences. Potential sources of groundwater contamination include land use practices such as residential septic systems, road salt, and fertilizers or pesticides applied to agricultural fields and residential landscapes. Testing of residential water wells is left to the homeowner, and most well owners do not regularly test their well water quality.

Central Wisconsin energy: http://centralwirenewables.blogspot.com/ Wind power is key.

WIST Goals (http://www.wisconsin.edu/news/2008/10-2008/UW- SP_Academic_Plan.pdf)  Sustainable Resource Utilization  Innovation and support for Paper and Wood Industries  Develop new natural resource based products, services and business opportunities  Educate WI leaders and policy makers concerning bio-based economy

WIST Structure  Interdisciplinary; paper science & engineering, soils & waters, forestry, biology, chemistry, physics, math, business & economics, philosophy, communication...  Flexible with initial focus on bio-fuels (especially non-foods based) and bio- refineries

The goal with bio-fuels is local energy production and commensurate with this direction is REDUCTION of energy demands. Attaining reduction means embracing changes that will lead to practices that are more energy efficient. Implementation of energy efficient transportation infrastructure and practice is as important as optimizing production of energy resources.

Businesses: This runs parallel with the GIS growth industry and needs to be ‘brought home’ to focus on Central Wisconsin. Strategy 1: Pair implementation of GIS with local economic activity: forestry and agriculture. More efficient management translates lowers cost of production an increases profitability. Investment in this sort of IT presents a market for skilled employees. There could be several models for this: educate existing labor pool or inject new talent (students). Both are required because implementation requires receptive management and skilled consultants/employees.

A MS in informatics?

WIST is intended to provide industries in Wisconsin dealing with sustainable resources, like the forestry and paper industries, with technical consulting and practical application- based research.

Faculty who participate with WIST may come from any discipline on campus that can provide solutions to industry and economic problems,” said Ring. “It actually represents the first time that a coordinated research activity will be available at UW-SP.”

Students will be employed to work on research projects on a part-time basis providing real-world experience and allow them to gain contacts with potential employers. helps develop and stimulate growth for new businesses in central Wisconsin

WIST will strive to develop new technologies and create new businesses in central Wisconsin. DEVELOPMENT OF THIS SORT MEANS HAVING AN AREA THAT IS CONDUCIVE TO NEW BUSINESS.

WIST will encourage Wisconsin to lead the world in developing technology needed for sustainable resource utilization. AGAIN, SUSTAINABLE RESOURCE UTIIZATION IS A QUESTION OF SCALE – LOCAL MANAGEMENT/CONSUMPTION OR ECONOMIC PRODUCTIVITY.

Sustainability planning is a growing industry… These federal government proposals will make it much easier for householders, businesses and others to install renewable and low carbon technologies in both domestic and non-domestic settings... The driving issue here is to cut carbon emmissions Site specific design is needed to maximize effectiveness. The Government estimates that more than 30 per cent of our electricity could be generated from renewables by 2030. (http://www.einsidetrack.com/direct/306)

Business reasons for taking up sustainability planning: Customers are asking for it First mover is an advantage over being left behind Image/branding Benefits to future generations

Carbon footprints are a way of life. Make it happen at a personal level and that compliments innovation at the commercial level. http://www.eastcentralrpc.org/planning/economic/pulp_paper/WIST%20brief%2001-09- 07.pdf

Those areas are biorefining, biofuels, and additional expertise in the area of waste engineering, business and economics, chemistry and biology, and forestry. wood products or other sustainable plant life into energy that could be used by existing engines and refineries.

Might work to convert plant life into sustainable energy happen at the local community level?? If so, then more sustainable communities would be better positioned to take advantage of new developments because of their confidence with past sustainability planning and the energy efficiency gained from more sustainable practices.

The culture of sustainability

Sustainability planning addresses: Transportation Housing Land use Food production Water conservation Open space preservation Energy Pedestrian mobility Green workforce Sustainable agriculture and farm-scale biodiesel production: http://www.attra.org/video/#biodiesel3

Sustainable agriculture is one that produces abundant food without depleting the earth’s resources or polluting its environment. Sustainable agriculture is also the agriculture of social values, one whose success is indistinguishable from vibrant rural communities, rich lives for families on the farms, and wholesome food for everyone. Attention to biodiversity, recycles plant nutrients, protects soil from erosion, conserves and protects water, uses minimum tillage, and integrates crop and livestock enterprises on the farm. state-of-the-art education to students in industrial sciences, engineering and natural resources, while helping develop and apply sustainable technology solutions to real- world problems with research focused on paper science and nanotechnology, biomass, biofuels and bio-refineries, soil and water resources, air and water resources.

Comp planning by NWRPC is meant to prepare and implement public infrastructure and economic development strategies.

Central Wisconsin has recognition of the area's amenities and challenges Bioregional perspective How sustainability practices will make an important contribution Can these contributions be measured in monetary terms? The comprehensive planning law's focus on smart growth: Smart growth is still growth and is often aimed a unifying parties to negotiate over the means for continued growth. Smart growth does not take a systems or multiscale view of landscape processes sustainability vs sustainable development

How WIST's objectives are addressed: This project responds to WIST's education and laboratory services objectives. It will build upon past and current course offerings in the department of geography and geology focused on the practical implementation of community sustainablility planning PPGIS implementation. The department of geography and geology ovvered a new course in SEM II 09-10 'GIS and sustainability' titled 'GIS and sustainability'. This course meets students need to apply their technical skills toward emerging issues that integrate social, environmental and economic concerns. in undergraduate education, the principal objective of the project is to design and implement linked experiential/service learning activities In students' education will be pared with education of community members while they are engaged with the sustainability planning process. Benefits here are hands-on experience to collect landscape information (GPS, surveys, web apps) and articulate community values and vision of the landscape that are incorporated into the information database. Community members also learn how to apply mapped information from other resources that extend the sustainability discourse to include multi-scale processes, bioregional characteristics and systems thinking. Translation: GPS course, interactive mapping as part of community meetings, Laboratory services comes in the form of experienced GIS professionals with broad experience implementing PPGIS for community sustainability planning. Important principles of PPGIS run parallel with the practices of implementing sustainability principles: include all stakeholders, transperency, access to technology, information availability. The importance of communication and visualization in the planning process and for community awareness.

Education Proposals that seek to develop outreach education applications in WIST are encouraged. These types of proposals are expected to provide courses or educational materials that are compatible with the WIST mission and vision. Successfully funded proposals will include learning-appropriate objectives, curriculum, and a description of the intended audience, an assessment plan, and a list of instructors. The mode of delivery whether face-to-face, online or hybrid should be described for course offerings. Any new educational courses or educational materials developed with support of WIST funding are expected to be offered to stakeholders both on- and off-campus as part of the WIST education division. Laboratory Services Proposals that seek to develop laboratory services in WIST are encouraged. These types of proposals are expected to provide analytical techniques required to support sustainable industries and research and/or development of renewable energy or products. Successfully funded projects in the area of laboratory services should result in publications of new techniques or standard test methods. Any new services developed with support of WIST funding are expected to be offered to stakeholders both on- and off-campus as part of the WIST laboratory services division.

GEOG391 explores the ways GIScience concepts and analysis methods can support sustainability planning and implementation. A brief history and development of the sustainability movement establishes context, motivation and priorities of initiatives and connects with modes of GIS services. In this manner GIS is reconsidered as a social and technical enterprise for knowledge development. Characteristics of public participation GIS (PPGIS) frame the situatedness of GIS engaged for community empowerment. Discovery of sustainability issues, spatial data and analyses follows a conceptual and geographical trend from global to local scales. These include Arctic ice change, sea level rise, population density, land cover change, urban growth, transportation, sprawl, walkable neighborhoods, agriculture, water resources, green infrastructure and landscape prioritization. Approaches with GIS include visualization, measurement of indicators, change detection, resource optimization, siting, least cost and proximity. Spatial data surveyed through the course comprise NSIDC Arctic ice atlas, STRM, US decennial census, road networks, land use, parcels and utilities. Experience with these methods and data resources takes place in eight laboratory exercises presented regularly through the semester. The situatedness of sustainability initiatives and GIS implementation are revisited repeatedly to better appreciate the dynamism of technological support for socially based quality of life decision-making.

How will community sustainability planning pay off? Recite advocacy literature.

Proposed Activities EDUCATION: Education as courses and training GPS and VGI training Futuring and backcasting Landscape change Walkable neighborhoods Hydrologic cycle Land use Economic Demographics and population density Waste management Energy efficiency Provision of historical and scientific information

Undergraduate student hands on education: Engagement

The setting: The comp planning law is progressive and it accomplishes much. It is being effective: number of counties, municipalities, planning grant awards. The comp plan law is also focused on population centers of more than 12,500 persons. It is weak on sustainability or at least sustainability has not been accorded an appropriate place in the law - Anna Haines. Sustainability should be a central integrating element. It is smart growth and smart growth does not always mean sustainability.

Wisconsin is a 'smart growth' leader with passage of 1999 Comprehensive Planning Law that applies to every city and village with populations not less that 12,500 persons. The law requires http://www.wisconsinplanners.org/aicp/2010%20Presentations/Breaking_the_Mold.pdf Comprehensive planning. of comprehensive planning laws that promote 'smart growth' principles but there are http://www.wisconsinplanners.org/aicp/2010%20Presentations/Breaking_the_Mold.pdf

What are the merits of sustainability and resilience Act 9 and what it does or doesn't do How much of the State is covered by Act 9?

Comp planning is widespread: Sixty-six counties and twenty municipalities have their own interactive web mapping sites. http://coastal.lic.wisc.edu/wisconsin-ims/wisconsin-ims.htm

2007: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/406352/most_americans_favor_local_action_o n.html As much of the country continues to experience unseasonably warm temperatures, the body of evidence for global warming is becoming undeniable. And according to poll results released Thursday, Americans realize that the time has come for action. The poll, conducted by GfK Public Relations and the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, found that nearly three-quarters of Americans are willing to support measures by their local governments to reduce global warming, even if it meant paying more in taxes and other expenses. The poll focused on local government action because it is local governments that are responsible for controlling zoning, building codes, electricity production and transportation systems. Policies made in each of these areas have the potential to influence global warming. "City and local leaders are critical players in the effort to reduce global warming, and it's clear that their constituents want action," said Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Project on Climate Change, one of the survey's sponsors. According to the results of the poll, 72 percent of Americans said they would support local subsidies to encourage homeowners to install solar panels on existing homes for the purpose of producing energy. The support was not merely rhetorical though - the respondents said they would be willing to pay a property tax increase of five dollars per month. The survey indicated that Americans felt the potential savings on energy and utility bills would be worth the tax increase.

Comprehensive Planning Grant Program has awarded $21 million to 1,156 Wisconsin communities. http://www.doa.state.wi.us/docview.asp?docid=5960

The comp plan includes public participation but does not stress sustainability the way Anna Haines does. Opportunity for citizens to contribute to the comp planning process in meetings, comments and votes is different than community sustainability planning (think scale) The planning process and smart growth are not sustainability

66.1027.3 or 66.1027(3) CITY AND VILLAGE REQUIREMENTS. (a) Not later than January 1, 2002, every city and village with a population of at least 12,500 shall enact an ordinance that is similar to the model traditional neighborhood development ordinance that is developed under sub. (2) (a) if the ordinance is approved under sub. (2) (b), although the ordinance is not required to be mapped. http://www.legis.state.wi.us/lc/committees/study/2008/LPOP/files/03821.pdf: In 2009 and amendment to section 66.1027(3) was proposed whereby cities and villages with a population of less than 12,500 are encouraged "to enact an ordinance that is similar to the model traditional neighborhood development ordinance that is developed under sub. (2) (a) if the ordinance is approved under sub. (2) (b), although the ordinance is not required to be mapped." http://www.legis.state.wi.us/statutes/Stat0066.pdf 66.1027(1) “Conservation subdivision” means a housing development in a rural setting that is characterized by compact lots and common open space, and where the natural features of land are maintained to the greatest extent possible. “Traditional neighborhood development” means a compact, mixed?use neighborhood where residential, commercial, and civic buildings are within close proximity to each other. What is the 'model ordinance' mentioned in 66.1027(2).... http://urpl.wisc.edu/people/ohm/tndord.pdf Issues addressed: density, transportation, walkability, infrastructure/services,mixed use, cultural and environmental settings Lots of formulaic recipes, use of hexagons and centers to model neighborhoods, open space (undevelopable chanracteristics), vegetation

“Community-based organizations” refers to organizations whose activities are geographically specific within a locality – directed at fostering change within a defined area in a city – with no implication that the social community represented is singular, unchanging, or uncontested.

Principles of VGI Historical: everyone is using GPS and web mapping applications to engage with and produce spatial information. Information is an important contribution to construction of knowledge and decision making. VGI efforts on behalf of the community need to be coordinated and guided to be productive and applicable. knowledge construction, and the relationships between citizens, government, and institutions of civil society. Today, these volunteered geographic information (VGI) services are a similarly significant development altering how spatial data are produced and shared, as well as the relationship between public, private and non profit actors in these processes. Some current NSF research grants are focused understanding what sort of spatial knowledge VGI groups produce, and how they use this knowledge to influence their material and social environments. The most important emerging research needs on VGI are the issues that remain unresolved from this project: Persistent problems with public spatial data resources and unanswered calls to expand the role of citizens and community organizations as data contributors.

Principles of PPGIS

Abilities and roles of the project leaders:

Martin: I have studied the rising use of GIS and digital spatial data by non profit, grassroots, and community-based organizations, to understand their accessibility, sustainability and appropriateness for these groups, and their implications for citizen participation in planning and policy making. My role as a consultant has been to guide clients as they learn to use spatial data and GIS, worked with them to develop a diverse spatial data library to support their activities, and monitored their GIS applications and continuing data development.

From Elwood's proposal:

The proposed research seeks to better understand the mutually constitutive relationship between GIS-based knowledge production by community-based organizations, and the changing role and power of these institutions within urban political processes shaping land use, neighborhood revitalization, and community development efforts.

This research will develop stronger conceptualizations of how GIS use by such organizations, and application of the knowledge produced alters the processes and socio- political relations through which urban spaces are constituted and transformed.

The project will advance urban geography and social studies of spatial technologies by building a better understanding of changing relationships between state and civil society in contemporary urban governance practices shaping city spaces, and conceptualizing the significance and impacts of spatial technologies and knowledge in these changing relationships and practices.

Key research questions include: How and through what means does GIS-based spatial knowledge production by community-based organizations alter urban political processes through which neighborhood level change in urban spaces is negotiated, planned and implemented, and what are the implications of these changes for the relationship between the state and institutions of civil society in urban governance? How do changing urban governance practices within planning, revitalization, and service delivery affect the priorities, strategies, and goals advanced through GIS-based spatial knowledge production by community-based organizations? What forms of democratic practice and citizen participation are fostered through these changing governance strategies? More specifically, within GIS-based knowledge production by community organizations, what is the relationship between local state agendas, priorities and strategies for revitalization, planning, and service delivery, and those of community organizations? build stronger theorization of the urban spatial and political impacts of GIS technologies and GIS-based knowledge production by community-based organizations as they seek change in urban neighborhoods and involvement in political processes and decisions through which these places are transformed. The project seeks to develop a better understanding of how community-based organizations are able to affect change in urban spaces through their involvement in planning, revitalization, and service delivery; and how relationships between state and civil society may be altered through deployment of GIS-based knowledge in these activities. The primary significance of these objectives lies in their capacity to extend geographers’ understanding of the role of spatial analysis technologies in the construction of space and place, the changing nature of democratic practice being fostered in urban political processes through which urban spatial change is negotiated, and the importance of spatial knowledge in these negotiations. http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/environment/2010-04-15-land- protect_N.htm