IPWEA World Study Tour Is It Urban Sustainability Or the New

IPWEA World Study Tour September 2009

Is it Urban Sustainability or the new Biosoma-Environmental Paradigm?

Gerhard Joubert Manager Infrastructure Planning North Moreton Bay Regional Council Queensland. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia, Queensland Division (IPWEAQ) and Foundation for providing me the opportunity to undertake this study tour.

I further wish to thank Moreton Bay Regional Council for approving my time off work to undertake the study tour as part of my professional development.

In addition I wish to recognise the assistance provided in the planning and organising of the tour by Chris Champion, Chief Executive Officer of the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia and my fellow engineers from other states making the trip memorable, interesting and enjoyable through their input, debate (heated at times), discussions and questioning at every opportunity.

This was a once in a lifetime opportunity to obtain an insight into how communities across the world have committed to addressing the challenges of climate change. I had the privilege to meet and network with other public works leaders already working towards making a difference in their communities.

I also wish to acknowledge our foreign hosts for their efforts in providing their time, hospitality and interesting itineraries. The hosts were as follows:

1. American Public Works Association, Congress & Expo – Columbus, USA 2. Polytechnic Institute of New York University, USA 3. Københavns Kommune (Copenhagen), Denmark 4. Odense Kommune, Denmark 5. City of Malmö, Sweden 6. Ekostaden Augustenborg, Sweden 7. Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) – London, UK 8. London Development Agency (LDA) – London, UK 9. Thamesway Energy – Woking Borough Council, UK

I dedicate this report to my loving wife Traudel, who selflessly managed the house, children, grand children and pets in my absence.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction ...... 4 2. Background ...... 5 3. Study Focus Areas ...... 6 4. Columbus Ohio - American Public Works Association Congress & Expo ...... 7 4.1 Infrastructure for the 21st Century - This Could Be Our Finest Hour ...... 7 4.2 Green Infrastructure Options for Stormwater Management in a Downtown Redevelopment - Columbus ...... 9 5. New York ...... 11 5.1 Polytechnic Institute of New York University ...... 11 5.1.1 Development of MetroTech ...... 11 5.1.2 Biosoma-Environmental Design of the City of the Future ...... 12 5.1.3 Sustainability Leadership Certificate ...... 13 5.2 New York City - High Line ...... 14 6. Københavns Kommune - Eco-metropolis ...... 15 6.1 Accessibility Initiatives for Copenhagen ...... 15 6.1.1 International Charter for Walking - Walk 21 ...... 15 6.1.2 Urban Accessibility - A City for All ...... 16 6.1.3 More City Life on Nørrebrogade ...... 16 6.2 Nordhavnen - Structural Planning Process...... 17 6.3 Ørestad - Planning and Development ...... 18 7. Odense Kommune - To Play is to Live ...... 20 7.1 Environmental Action Plan ...... 20 7.2 Traffic & Mobility Plan ...... 20 8. Malmö Stad ...... 22 8.1 Västra Hamnen - Western Harbour - City of Tomorrow...... 22 8.2 Ekostaden Augustenborg - Eco-city ...... 23 8.2.1 Eco-buildings ...... 23 8.2.2 Energy efficiency and Energy Generation ...... 24 8.2.3 The Green City ...... 24 8.2.4 Waste Management ...... 25 9. London Olympic Park Legacy ...... 26 9.1 The Legacy Partners ...... 26 9.2 The 2012 Games Legacy ...... 27 9.3 Sustainability ...... 27 10. London Development Agency (LDA) - Climate Change Programmes ...... 28 11. Woking Climate Change Strategy - Think Globally Act Locally ...... 29 11.1 Planning and Regulation ...... 30 11.2 Energy ...... 30 11.3 Transport ...... 31 11.4 Waste ...... 31 12. Conclusions and Recommendations ...... 32 12.1 Community support for Walk21 & TravelSmart ...... 32 12.2 Regulate Development to Reduce its Environmental Footprint ...... 33 12.3 Promote Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) ...... 33 12.4 In Closing ...... 33

Prepared by: Gerhard Joubert Manager Infrastructure Planning North, MBRC Page 3

1. Introduction

Annually the Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia (IPWEA) undertakes a three week (3) world study tour, which includes attendance of the annual American Public Works Association (APWA) Congress and Exposition. The tour group is made up by one IPWEA member from each State with funding through individual IPWEA State Foundation Scholarships. The study tour is led by the Chief Executive Officer of IPWEA, Chris Champion, and the National President of IPWEA generally participates.

The theme of the 2009 Study Tour was Best Practice & Innovation for Climate Change. Due to the varying interests within our study tour group, availability of people within our host organisations overseas, my main study focus was on how some of the most populous cities in the world are taking action by Reducing CO2 equivalent emissions, Adapting to Climate Change and Promoting Sustainable Development.

Locally in Australia we are already identifying the need to act. As part of recent research focussing on the costs of urban development, researchers at Griffith University, instead of looking at conventional economic costs, have calculated the infrastructure, transport, environmental and health costs of both urban redevelopment and fringe development. In summary, the consolidated costs show the price of inner city development is $309 million versus a cost of $653 million for fringe development (per 1,000 dwellings). Therefore a focus on inner-city style, urban or Transit- Oriented Development (TOD) could save Australia the following:

Costs to government: $86 million (or approximately $80,000 per block) – or the cost to provide power, water, sewerage, schools, hospitals and local government services for fringe developments. Road infrastructure is the most significant cost.

Cost to people: $250 million in transport costs over 50 years – people in fringe developments drive more frequently and own more cars and $4.23 million in health costs – people in fringe developments have higher risk of obesity related to lower levels of physical activity for people.

Cost to the planet: 4,400 tons of greenhouse gas is saved for 1,000 urban dwellings, which is roughly equal to the amount emitted from 200 homes – an estimated dollar value of approximately $19.32 million.

I wish to set the tone with a quote that supports the need for us to change how we as engineers think about our role in society and call for action to address Climate Change.

“Improving human well-being while not undermining the natural resource base on which future generations will have to depend” Quote – Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit 1992

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2. Background

The 2009 Study Tour had a total of seven (7) participants who, with the exception of the IPWEA CEO and National President, were all recipients of Foundation grants from the respective state IPWEA Foundations. The 2009 IPWEA world tour group members were:

• Chris Champion, CEO – IPWEA and Tour Leader; • David Harris, National President – IPWEA (VIC); • Wayne Prangnell, Director Infrastructure Services – Augusta Margaret River Shire Council (WA); • Peter Millar - Barnson Consultants, Dubbo (NSW); • David Fricke, Acting Executive Manager City Works and Assets – Moonee Valley City Council (VIC); • Gary Baker, Manager Infrastructure, Assets and Maintenance – City of Port Adelaide Enfield (SA); and • Gerhard Joubert, Manager Infrastructure Planning North – Moreton Bay Regional Council (QLD).

The Itinerary for the study tour as well as some of my personal destinations was as follows:

Date Itinerary: Route 66, Grand Canyon National Park, Hoover Dam, Las Vegas, Death Valley Saturday - Sept National Park, Yosemite National Park, San Francisco (SF) BART, SF Bay Cycle Thursday 5-10 network & SF Public Transport Friday 11 Santa Monica & Venice Beach Saturday 12 Los Angeles to Columbus. Sunday 13 Columbus: APWA Congress & Exhibition – First timers Reception (breakfast) Monday 14 Columbus: APWA Congress & Exhibition – International Reception (evening) Tuesday 15 Columbus: APWA Congress & Exhibition – Nevada Chapter Dinner (evening) Wednesday 16 Columbus: APWA Congress & Exhibition – Congress Dinner (evening) Thursday 17 Columbus to New York. Friday 18 New York: Polytechnic Institute of New York University (1) Saturday 19 New York: Highline, Broadway & Chelsea Sunday 20 New York to London Monday 21 London to Copenhagen Københavns: City Council – Accessibility, Nørrebrogade, Nordhavnen & Tuesday 22 Ørestad (2) Wednesday 23 Odense: City Council (3) Thursday 24 Malmö: City Council – Western Harbour (4) & Ekostaden Augustenborg (5) Friday 25 Copenhagen to London. Saturday 26 London. Free Sunday 27 London. Free Monday 28 London: Legacy – 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Site (6) Tuesday 29 London: Development Authority (7) & Woking Borough Council (8) Wednesday 30 London to Amsterdam. Amsterdam, Paris, Grez, Verona, Venice, Cruise Mediterranean (Greece & Thursday - Oct Croatia), Sienna, Florence, Pisa, Cinque Terra, Streza, Villeneuve, Freiburg and Wednesday 1-28 Frankfurt Thursday - Oct 29 Hong Kong Tuesday - Nov 3

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3. Study Focus Areas

In this report I will present an outline and findings of the three week (3) week study tour. My personal observation during my extended holidays in USA, Europe and Hong Kong have also influenced and strengthened my current thinking and passion on how we as engineers, and our communities we live in, must act on the challenges of climate change.

My main study focus areas are: 1. Reducing CO2 equivalent emissions 2. Adapting to Climate Change, and 3. Promoting Sustainable Development

Public transport and mobility, as well as energy efficient buildings and alternate energy all contribute to more than just a reduction in CO2 emissions within communities. One of the main drivers in all cases was community engagement by authorities and capitalising on individuals’ commitment to tackling the challenges of climate change.

The Tour kicked off with the annual American Public Works Association (APWA) Congress and Exposition. My main learning’s were centred on the sustainable redevelopment of Greensburg after a tornado destroyed the city (Addressed in Section 4.1). More than one paper was presented on Greensburg. I also discuss the Columbus downtown redevelopment focussing on use or Bio- retention, including rain gardens to manage stormwater runoff (Section 4.2).

After that New York City offered an academic interlude with a visit to the Polytechnic of New York University (NYU Poly) in Brooklyn. The NYU Poly introduced us to their MetroTech development (Section 5.1.1) as well as two (2) academic courses on Biosoma-Environmental Design of the City of the Future (Section 5.1.2) and Sustainability Leadership Certificate (Section 5.1.3). New York included a visit to the High Line Park (Section 5.2), Chelsea and Time Square to see the NYC’s Greener Greater New York strategy being implemented to create more pedestrian oriented and green space.

Our visit to Københavns Kommune (Section 6), Odense Kommune (Section 7) and Malmö Stad (Section 8) covered the topics of the accessibility, mobility, climate change, as well as the sustainable planning practices applied to development. They all demonstrated what strong leadership and policy can achieve in planning and developing while adapting for climate change.

The London Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) showcased what they are achieving, with the sustainable development for the Olympic and Paralympic games in 2012, as well as the long term Legacy outcome after the games (Section 9).

The London Development Agency (LDA) is the Mayor's agency responsible for driving London's sustainable economic growth and Climate Change Program, including Decentralised Energy (Section 10).

And finally we were introduced to the achievements of the Woking Borough Council, over the last few years, achieved through their Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan (Section 11).

I will provide concluding remarks throughout on how each organisation or authority is taking action by Reducing CO2 equivalent emissions, Adapting to Climate Change and Promoting Sustainable Development.

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4. Columbus Ohio - American Public Works Association Congress & Expo

All public works disciplines were challenged at the 2009 APWA Congress and Exposition, through more than 120 papers with in excess of 400 exhibitors. The educational sessions ranged over all disciplines, from Traffic & Engineering, Waste, Facilities to Sustainability. There were a number of exceptional papers that we saw over the four (4) days; however, I’ve included a brief summary below of my two (2) standout papers.

4.1 Infrastructure for the 21st Century - This Could Be Our Finest Hour Presenter: Bob Berkebile, FAIA, Principal, BNIM Architects. Among BNIM’s current projects is the creation and implementation the Greensburg, Kansas, Sustainable Comprehensive Plan.

Greensburg is a city in central Kiowa County, located in Southwest Kansas, United States. With a population of over 1500, it is the county seat and most populous city of Kiowa County. Greensburg is also home to the world's largest hand-dug well. On 4 May 2007, Greensburg was hit by an EF5 tornado. The tornado was estimated to be 2.7km in width and traveled for nearly 35km. Ninety-five percent of the city was confirmed to be destroyed, with the other five percent being severely damaged. The photo below shows the devastated city.

On 15 August 2007, the City of Greensburg adopted a Long-Term Community Recovery Plan that was prepared through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Long-Term Community Recovery (LTCR) program. In addition to the direct recommendation for a Sustainable Comprehensive Plan, the LTCR Plan also served as a foundation for community input and support.

Destruction after Tornado City Hall – Leed Platinum

The Vision and Goals defined in the LTCR Plan evolved through the Comprehensive Planning process and the revised version, included herein, will provide guidance to Greensburg’s redevelopment over the next 20 years. The Greensburg Sustainable Comprehensive Master Plan was adopted on 19 May 2008.

For further information go to http://greensburgks.org/recovery-planning

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As part of the redevelopment of Greensburg the City Council passed a resolution on 17 December 2007, requiring all publicly funded City buildings over 4,000 square feet to be built to the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Platinum certification level and reduce energy consumption by 42 percent over standard buildings. By adhering to LEED Platinum requirements, these projects will teach the community and visitors about the systems used to create highly sustainable buildings. Greensburg is the first community in the world to adopt a LEED Platinum resolution. By setting this example, the City is leading its residents, business owners and all of rural America in sustainable planning, design, construction and living.

Greensburg City Hall (Photo above) was the first of these LEED Platinum buildings, was designed by BNIM Architects and features solar panels, geothermal technology, rainwater collection and re- use, a green roof, use of reclaimed wood and bricks, and many other sustainable characteristics. The total cost of Greensburg’s new energy-efficient LEED Platinum City Hall was approximately U$2,952,500.

Greensburg is rebuilding as a "green" town, with the help of Greensburg GreenTown, a non-profit organization created to help the residents learn about and implement the green living initiative. The city's power will be supplied by ten 1.25MW wind-turbines. Carbon offsets generated from the turbines are being managed by NativeEnergy, and have been purchased by charter supporters including Ben & Jerry's, Brighter Planet, Clif Bar, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, and Stonyfield Farm.

The City is currently working with NREL and Maxon on many policy initiatives including a strategy by which the town will be powered by 100 percent renewable sources by 2010.

Greensburg is the first city in the world to exclusively use LED street lighting throughout the city.

For information www.greensburggreentown.org

Conclusion: Greensburg has ticked all the boxes in terms of taking dramatic action to achieve sustainability in the face of adversity. Through the rebuilding of their city they are reducing CO2 equivalent emissions, adapting to Climate Change and promoting Sustainable Development.

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4.2 Green Infrastructure Options for Stormwater Management in a Downtown Redevelopment - Columbus Presenter: Sandra Doyle-Ahern Executive Vice President, EMHT Inc

The City of Columbus’ Downtown Business Plan was developed in 2002 with the goal of revitalizing the downtown area for the Bicentennial Celebration in 2012.

A significant challenge in the development of the River-South district stage has been inadequate infrastructure to meet the needs of a high density, mixed use neighbourhood. For example: • Existing waterlines and sewers were at or beyond their life expectancy, with no additional capacity to support the revitalization; • Most roadways in the district one-way, which in general tend to experience higher traffic volumes, higher speeds and larger free-flow speeds than an equivalent two-way road; and • While the existing roadway network performs well in conveying peak hour traffic demands, it has the adverse effect of creating an inhospitable environment for pedestrians, residents, workers, and shoppers during all other hours of the day.

The River-South district covers approximately 39 acres. The area currently does not have stormwater quantity or quality controls and is drained by a mix of combined sewers and storm sewers. With redevelopment, combined sewers will be disconnected and all stormwater will drain directly to the Scioto River. Stormwater quantity and quality controls are required for redevelopment projects as defined in the City of Columbus Drainage Manual.

Eight (8) water quality treatment options where assessed with the decision to go with the Bio- retention option, including the incorporation of Rain Gardens, using landscaping and soils for water quality and quantity control. This option will result in: • Reduces runoff volume, heavy metals, nutrients and thermal impacts of runoff; • An identical look and feel to traditional landscaped areas; and • Higher landscaping costs than traditional treatments because of the use specially imported soils and native plants.

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The Bio-retention Rain Gardens (See above) where designed, constructed and were estimated to provide the following abatement: • 100% of all rain events of an inch or less are stored, infiltrated and removed from the Combined Sewer System; • On average, the Bio-retention areas for all rain events will remove 240,000 gallons of rain runoff annually; and • This equates to keeping 91% of all annual rainfall runoff from the combined sewer system.

The 2009 estimate was U$12,500 per water quality unit with plantings at an additional U$22/square foot. Total cost for 25 basins on Main Street and 20 on Rich Street is U$562,500.

Below are typical before and after views of the redevelopment.

Main Street prior redevelopment Completed Bio-Retention Rain Garden

For more information visit www.columbuscitycouncil.org or www.mayor.columbus.gov/biography.aspx?id=974&menu_id=442

Conclusion: The River-South district redevelopment, in downtown Columbus, is a great example of how a city can adapt to Climate Change and promote Sustainable Redevelopment.

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5. New York

Our main visit to in New York was to the Polytechnic Institute of NYU (NYU Poly). We also visited the High Line Park development which is a product of New York’s Greener Greater New York strategy.

We further had the opportunity to see what New York has done with the closing of significant traffic carrying roads such as Broadway, through Time Square, and Ninth Avenue through Chelsea to traffic and opening it for pedestrian, cyclists and social activity.

Broadway & Time Square Ninth Ave - Chelsea

5.1 Polytechnic Institute of New York University The visit to Polytechnic Institute of NYU (NYU Poly) was to learn more about the development of NYU Poly, in Brooklyn, as MetroTech, with investment from the private sector, their current curriculum as well as sustainability agenda. We also had presentations on two (2) courses NYU Poly has to address sustainability, the Biosoma-Environmental Design of the City of the Future and Sustainability Leadership Certificate.

5.1.1 Development of MetroTech In current thinking about science parks there are two models that are proven namely Research Triangle Park and MetroTech. MetroTech is an Urban Knowledge Park or Urban University- Industry Park. The principal catalyst for the project was the NYU Poly and was brought to fruition by a coalition of City and State Government, Industry, the community and the University.

New York has experienced an out-migration of business and traditional industry as well as urban decay over the last few decades. MetroTech was a response to these threats to the City of New York, Community of Downtown Brooklyn and the sustainability of the University itself.

The MetroTech development was created when in 1980 NYC designated NYU Poly as developer of the 16 acres zone surrounding the NYU Poly. MetroTech was developed within the Brooklyn Urban Renewal area of New York City on 16 acres at an approximate cost to date of U$1.2 billion.

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The major investment in MetroTech was as follows: • University = U$42 million (Providing the existing and personnel, including a U$16.5 million loan from the State of New York); • City of New York = U$325 million; and • Businesses (Occupants) = U$1.167 million.

MetroTech created more than 20,000 jobs at an approximate investment of $70,000 per job. The commercial focus was on Technology, Information and Telecommunication users.

NYU Poly has expanded the MetroTech internationally and has signed a deal with financial backers to establish a satellite campus in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.

5.1.2 Biosoma-Environmental Design of the City of the Future We were also briefly introduced to the NYU Poly course on the Biosoma-Environmental Design of the City of the Future which was created to challenge the current thinking of how urban sustainability can be achieved with the evolution of Mega Cities.

The definition of the Biosoma-Environmental Pardigm is as follows: A city is made up by Biological capital (Humans & other species); Social capital (Organisations, religion, customs, etc); Machine Capital (Housing, infrastructure, transport & vehicles) and Environmental capital (Geography, climate, resources, etc). That is a city is not purely a device, “a machine for living”, nor purely a bio- social phenomenon, but a combination of the two. It is, in effect, an indissoluble bio-socio-machine (or, for short, Biosoma) entity. Below is an example of how it applies to a river system.

Cascade of Biosoma and Environmental interactions in a river system

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5.1.3 Sustainability Leadership Certificate How do we meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs?

In an effort to inform future leaders, NYU Poly, in collaboration with John Wiley & Sons Publishers and The New York Times Knowledge Network, has created the Sustainability Leadership Program to educate and train professionals.

Stressing the interdisciplinary nature of sustainability and relating theory to practice and implementation, participants will leave the program equipped with the tactical skills necessary to develop and implement sustainable practices throughout their organization nationally and globally, as well within the local community.

The program is intended for: • Executives, managers, and professionals working in industry, government, and non-profit sectors. • All functional areas: finance, management, marketing, engineering, facilities or product/service development. • Those tasked with projects that encompass going green, implementing public policy around sustainability, addressing environmental health and safety, or addressing corporate wide sustainability programs. • Provides an interactive learning experience that engages busy professionals and that adds new knowledge, approaches, and processes so that teams can implement sustainability strategies in their own organizations.

The program is made up of any eight of the following modules: • Introduction to Sustainability • Sustainability Leadership • Managing the Sustainable Enterprise • Global Sustainability and Corporate Responsibility • Measuring Environmental and Climate Risk in Your Organization • Science & Engineering of Sustainability • The Sustainable Supply Chain: Purchasing and Procurement • Building & Managing Sustainability Teams • Sustainability & Technology • Accounting for Sustainability • Economics of Sustainability • Sustainability in Hyper-growth & Developing Economies

Find out more about the Sustainability Leadership Certificate presented by the Department of Enterprise Learning at Polytechnic Institute of NYU website www.poly.edu/enterprise .

Conclusion: NYU Poly is showing strong leadership in developing the MetroTech as part of the Downtown Brooklyn redevelopment, as well promoting sustainable design and leadership through their curriculum.

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5.2 New York City - High Line The High Line Park development is part of NYC’s Greener Greater New York strategy. It is located on Manhattan's West Side. It runs from Gansevoort Street in the Meatpacking District to 34th Street, between 10th & 11th Avenues.

The High Line was originally constructed in the 1930s, to lift dangerous freight trains off Manhattan's streets. Friends of the High Line is the conservancy charged with raising private funds for the park and overseeing its maintenance and operations, pursuant to an agreement with the New York City Parks Department.

Integrated Landscaping, seating & pathways Southern entrance to High Line Park

When all sections are complete, the High Line Park will be a mile-and-a-half-long elevated park, running through the West Side neighborhoods of the Meatpacking District, West Chelsea and Clinton/Hell's Kitchen. It features an integrated landscape, combining meandering concrete pathways with naturalistic plantings. Fixed and movable seating, lighting, and special features are also included in the park. Access points from street level will be located every two to three blocks. Many of these access points will include elevators to allow for equitable access.

Since the first section of the High Line Park opened in June 2009, an estimated 2 million people have visited.

For more information on High Line at www.thehighline.org

Conclusion: The City of New York has demonstrated how they are adapting to the global Climate Change challenge by giving streets back to the people and greening the city at the same time as part their Greener Greater New York strategy

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6. Københavns Kommune - Eco-metropolis

Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,167,569. Every day 1.1 million km are cycled in Copenhagen. Currently 36% of all residents commute to work, school or university by bicycle. Copenhagen has adopted policy that this number should grow to 40% by 2012 and 50% in 2015. The city is also developing a system of interconnected green bicycle routes, greenways, with the aim to facilitate fast, safe and pleasant bicycle transport from one end of the city to the other. The network will cover more than 100 km and consist of 22 routes when finished. The city further provides public bicycles which can be found throughout the downtown area and used with a refundable deposit of 20 kroner. For further information on Copenhagen see www.kk.dk/english.aspx

Our visit to the City of Copenhagen included an overview of their accessibility initiatives such as the Walk21 Charter and the City for All Program. As a practical example of the City for All Program, we viewed the conversion of the Nørrebrogade to a low speed pedestrian space.

Finally we heard how the city’s sustainable planning practices applied to the development of Nordhavnen and Ørestad by the CPH City & Port Development (By&Havn - Founded 2007). By&Havn is one of Denmark’s largest urban development corporations and is owned by the City of Copenhagen (55%) and the State (45%).

The By&Havn Vision is: “Modern and vibrant neighbourhoods in Copenhagen with attractive flats, offices, shops and institutions. World class urban areas that are attractive to live and work in and also exciting to visit.”

6.1 Accessibility Initiatives for Copenhagen

6.1.1 International Charter for Walking - Walk 21 Copenhagen signed the Walk21 Charter in 2008 and it influences all their accessibility and mobility outcomes in the city. A brief background on Walk21 follows.

The International Charter for Walking is about creating healthy, efficient and sustainable communities where people choose to walk. The Charter recognise the benefits of walking as a key indicator of healthy, efficient, socially inclusive and sustainable communities and acknowledge the universal rights of people to be able to walk safely and to enjoy high quality public spaces anywhere and at anytime. The signatories are committed to reducing the physical, social and institutional barriers that limit walking activity. The signatories further will work with others to help create a culture where people choose to walk through our commitment to this Charter and its strategic principles: • Increased inclusive mobility; • Well designed and managed spaces and places for people; • Improved integration of networks; • Supportive land-use and spatial planning; • Reduced road danger; • Less crime and fear of crime; • More supportive authorities; and • A culture of walking.

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The Vision of Walk21 is: To create a world where people choose and are able to walk as a way to travel, to be healthy and to relax, a world where authorities, organisations and individuals have: • recognised the value of walking; • made a commitment to healthy, efficient and sustainable communities; and • worked together to overcome the physical, social and institutional barriers which often limit people’s choice to walk.

More information at www.walk21.com and www.kk.dk/walkcph .

6.1.2 Urban Accessibility - A City for All Janus Steen Møller, Program Manager, for the city of Copenhagen, did a presentation on the City for All Program. 42 % of the people living in the city indicate that they personally will like to see the accessibility of Copenhagen enhanced. The intent of the City for All Program is to make urban accessibility a natural consideration for all city works done through the City’s Technical and Environmental Department. For further information see www.kk.dk/cityforall

The City for All Program is creating a Metropolis for People, based on Copenhagen’s Visions and Goals for Urban Life in Copenhagen 2015. The Visions are: • more urban life for all; • more people to walk more; and • more people to stay longer.

6.1.3 More City Life on Nørrebrogade As part of this strategy Copenhagen is coverting many of it main arterial, mainly traffic carrying routes, to a low speed pedestrian spaces. Developing pedestrian links along routes such as Strøget, Christianshavn, Købmagergade and Nørrebrogade shown on map below.

The Nørrebrogade is one of the trials being undertaken with the above in mind. The first stage is to implement temporary, low cost measures to create more pedestrain space before completing the transformation.

Nørrebrogade - Before Trial Nørrebrogade - Temporary low cost measures to create more pedestrain space

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Pedestrian Routes: Strøget l Christianshavn l Købmagergade l Nørrebrogade

6.2 Nordhavnen - Structural Planning Process. Nordhavnen faces the water on three sides. The new city district of the future will be dynamic and vibrant. Sustainable urban development will be integrated into all aspects of the Nordholmene Urban Delta – green traffic, environmentally friendly energy sources and social diversity.

In 2008, By&Havn launched an open international ideas competition for a structural plan for the whole of Nordhavnen as well as a development plan for phase one (Inner Nordhavnen) of the urban development project. Cobe, Sleth, Rambøll and Polyform were chosen as consultants for the further development of Nordhavnen.

Some background information on Nordhavnen: • Nordhavnen is a 200 hectare site • Fully developed it will have a total floor area of three to four million square metres • Ultimately Nordhavnen will house 40,000 people and provide 40,000 jobs • In the development of phase one, 2,000 dwellings (200,000 square metres) and 200,000 square metres of commercial buildings are being planned • 70,000 square metres of existing non-residential buildings (Industrial) are planned to be preserved • In phase two, which is scheduled to begin in 2018, further 200,000 square metres are to be developed • The district is expected to be developed in the course of the next 40 to 50 years.

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• The ‘5-minute-city’ will become a strong brand for the new district and will be planned around the anticipated 40,000 bicycle users. • All energy in Nordhavnen will be renewable, supplied from offshore wind turbines.

Get updated on the current planning and development of Nordhavnen at www.nordhavnen.dk

6.3 Ørestad - Planning and Development Ørestad is a planned town, developed on the basis of an international architectural competition in 1994. The competition conditions prescribed that: “The new district must function as a counterpart to the old city centre of Copenhagen and contain an urban environment of exquisite artistic and environmental qualities that may function as a laboratory for new ideas.” But Ørestad is not only a residential area. Right from the beginning, Ørestad was meant to be an intense town, 24-hours-a-day and not a typical dormitory town. This explains why Ørestad is today an area for modern businesses

In Ørestad Nord, University of Copenhagen (KUA), the IT University and the Danish Broadcasting Corporation cooperate in creating an area full of life, diversity and sense of community. Through the association Ørestad Nord Gruppen it is the intention of these institutions to encourage both social urban environment and the professional network between the institutions themselves.

Some more facts about Ørestad: • Ørestad has a 20 year planning and development timeframe. • Ørestad will have an ultimate population of 20,000 people and create employment for 80,000 people • More than 10,000 people are already employed by business in Ørestad. • The Universities currently have 20,000 students

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• Ørestad covers an area of 3.1 million square metres. It is a strip development along the existing Metro corridor of more than three miles long, from the border of the City of Copenhagen to the Kalvebod Fælled nature reserve and an average 600 metres wide. • One third of Ørestad’s area consists of parks and green areas • The world’s most sophisticated Metro runs through Ørestad every 3 minutes during peak hour and every 6 minutes outside peak hour. The Metro links Ørestad with the City of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg and the terminus of Vanløse and with Copenhagen’s other railway systems. The Metro has 6 stations in Ørestad. Metro also takes 29 minutes from Ørestad to Malmø in Sweden • Businesses already located in Ørestad: Ericsson, DR – Danish Broadcasting Corporation, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, DELL, Medicon Valley Academy, UCB Pharma Nordics, Medtronic, Master Food, Nikon, Biogen, Accenture, GlaxoSmithKline, Novo Nordisk Scandinavia

For more information visit www.orestad.dk

Conclusion: The City of Copenhagen is actively reducing CO2 equivalent emissions through their accessibility initiatives such as the Walk21 Charter and City for All Programs. They further demonstrate how they are applying sustainable planning practices to the development of both Nordhavnen and Ørestad, creating strong Transit-Oriented Development.

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7. Odense Kommune - To Play is to Live

Odense is the third largest city in Denmark, over 1000 years old, and the administrative centre of the region. It is located near Odense Fjord and the Odense River (Odense Å) flows through the city centre. The city of Odense covers an area of 304 square km, has a total population of 188,000 (2009) and 95,500 dwellings. More than 100 businesses employ over 17,000 people. Denmark's famous author and poet Hans Christian Andersen was born in Odense on 2 April 1805.

Our visit covered presentations on the following Odense Climate Change policy directions: • The Odense Climate Plan, including Environmental Policy and Environmental Action Plan; • Traffic & Mobility Plan; and • Water Conservation (Not discussed further in this report).

7.1 Environmental Action Plan Odense is currently developing their Climate Plan that will set policy direction as to how the city will become CO2 neutral in the future. It is currently proposed that a 40% reduction can be achieved by 2025.

The City of Odense adopted the Environmental Policy on the 27th of August 2008. Along with the Environmental Policy the City Council has adopted an Environmental Action Plan with concrete proposals for action. In the budget settlement the following amounts are set aside: • 2009: 5,6 million Danish kroner • 2010-2012: 15,0 million Danish kroner per year • In total: 50,6 million Danish kroner

The four strategies in the Environmental Action Plan are: • The creation of a sustainable city; • Achieving Climate City status within European Union; • Becoming the “greenest” city in Denmark; and • A city that delivers sustainability for children and young people.

7.2 Traffic & Mobility Plan Odense has 188,000 inhabitants and 188,000 bicycles! Further the University and different educational institutions have approximately 30,000 students who mainly cycle.

The goals of the Traffic & Mobility Plan are: • To provide the physical framework to create a coherent city centre with focus on city life; Other Cycle • Make Odense easily accessible – in a Walking 1% 27% healthy, safe and sustainable way; 19% • Increasing the number of trips by bicycle by 20%; and Public Car • Decrease accidents involving bicycles Transport 27% by 20%. 26%

The existing modal split can be seen in the adjacent pie chart.

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The Traffic & Mobility Plan further addresses the following: • Bikeway Design Standards; • Both the Signing of Cycle Routes & the development of Commuter Routes; • Setting Standards of Service for Maintenance • Provision of good end-of-trip facilities, eg. Sheltered cycle parking stations in the CBD, cycle counters & free air; • Health campaigns; • Promotional campaigns; and • Campaigns for children, through programs such as Safe Routes to Schools.

Service: Cycle Counters in the CBD Service: Free Air & Water Bubblers

For further information see www.odense.dk/english.aspx

Conclusion: The City of Odense is currently developing their Climate Plan that will set policy direction as to how the city will become CO2 neutral in the future. They are actively reducing CO2 equivalent emissions through their Environmental Action Plan and implementation of their Traffic & Mobility Plan.

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8. Malmö Stad

The Öresund region covers an area of 20,859 km². The region has a population of 3.6 million residents, 1.1 million on the Swedish side and 2.4 million on the Danish side. The City of Malmö is the growth centre of the Öresund region and has a population of 280,000 the third largest city in Sweden.

Some general facts about Malmö: • 28% of the city’s residents were born abroad. • Young population: 47% are under 35 years of age. • 385 km of cycle routes making it easier for you to get where you want to go. • 55,000 commute into and 24,000 commute out of Malmö every day. • Both Copenhagen Airport, with international flight connections and Malmö Airport with national connections, are less than half an hour’s travel from Malmö Central Station. • The Öresund Bridge, 16km long, strengthens Malmö’s position in the Öresund region and Copenhagen

8.1 Västra Hamnen - Western Harbour - City of Tomorrow.

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Västra Hamnen (Western Harbour) was the site of the Kockums shipyard established in the 1870’s. Gradually over the years, land was reclaimed for expansion of industry in the area. In 1987 the Kockums shipyard was closed down and 30,000 jobs were lost. Saab-Scania moved in to build cars. In 1990 Saab –Scania merged with General Motors and the factory subsequently closed completely and the land and buildings were bought by the City of Malmö in 1996. This presented real scope for the transformation and creation of the Western Harbour district in Malmö, the City of Tomorrow. The area covers about 140 hectares of reclaimed land and currently has a number of projects which are at the planning and construction stages. The rehabilitation of the site involved the removal of material, treatment for contaminants and then insitu replacement.

The transformation of the area started with a trade fair and conference facilities and in 2001. The Bo01 European Housing exhibition was held on the site. Some 350 apartments were completed there in time for the exhibition. This first stage of the Western Harbour set the standard for the rest of the development with its energy efficient designs, architectural quality, high standards for public areas, and large variety of developers. It further demonstrated several integrated solutions for sustainability. The energy concept has attracted a great deal of interest: 100% locally produced renewable energy proves that the zero CO2 vision is possible. Once fully developed the entire area will hold roughly 1,300 homes and over 2,000 inhabitants. For more information visit www.malmo.se

8.2 Ekostaden Augustenborg - Eco-city Augustenborg is a residential area in Malmö, Sweden, where a unique regeneration process has taken place to adapt the neighbourhood to a sustainable future. The original area was developed in the 1950s and was redeveloped in the late 1990s involving the residents in the planning process. It is now a prime example of climate change adaptation measures with green roofs and open storm water management. Ekostaden is working within the residential area of Augustenborg, as well as with the school, industrial area and other local businesses. One of the key aims of the project is to enable residents to take a leading role in the ideas, design and implementation of the project. The project was launched in 1998 and the results so far indicate that Augustenborg has become an attractive, multicultural neighbourhood in which the turnover of tenancies has decreased by almost 20% and the environmental impact has decreased to a similar degree. They showcase examples of multiple use green areas and the local water management. Augustenborg is a prime example of how mitigation, adaptation and increasing sustainability in existing areas can be achieved. See their website at www.ekostaden.com Here follows a summary of the various initiatives and projects that was part of the Ekostaden program:

8.2.1 Eco-buildings The 1950's character of some of the buildings has been damaged in the 1970's by covering the facades with external insulation and steel sheeting. This has also had a negative effect on the internal environment in certain houses causing problems with damp, ventilation and temperature control. The outer covering of the walls on five of buildings has been removed and a new insulation layer has been covered with a skimmed painted render. The appearance of the houses is now more like Prepared by: Gerhard Joubert Manager Infrastructure Planning North, MBRC Page 23

the original and the energy efficiency has increased by about 10 percent compared with the 1998 status of the buildings or approximately 35% more efficient than the original standard of the buildings. A new school building has been erected using natural materials, a high level of natural lighting, ground source heat pump, solar thermal panels, composting toilets and a number of other finishes to create what both pupils and teachers agree are the most pleasant classrooms in the school. The building is a factory made modular construction, which can be removed and relocated in another school in the future if pupil numbers in Augustenborg decrease. Improved accessibility has also been behind the conversion of one high rise block and the construction of a new two storey building, both earmarked for senior residents. The lack of lifts in the area was one of the driving forces behind this. The new building is a lightweight concrete structure built with prefabricated units on the roof of an underground garage. The building has an interesting design, good general environmental performance and green roofs in keeping with all new development in the neighbourhood.

8.2.2 Energy efficiency and Energy Generation A number of initiatives have been undertaken throughout Augustenborg to increase resource efficiency by up to 20% compared to 1995 levels. Measures to increase energy efficiency have been undertaken throughout the neighbourhood, optimising heating and hot water systems and reducing electricity use. MKB have launched a pilot project to find the most efficient and equitable system for individual charging for heat and hot water which are both currently included in the rent. Some residents have taken part in a programme to weigh in their CO2 and then work together to find ways of decreasing their carbon footprint. The residents of Augustenborg have been questioning why they didn’t have any renewable energy production in their area. That became the start of a new project between the city, Malmö University, E.ON and MKB which today has led to a 450 m2 solar thermal plant and 100 m2 photovoltaics producing hot water for the district heating system and electricity. The local football pitch has been fitted with underground piping to pump solar heat out of the ground all summer and the residual heat from the ground all winter, producing hot water for the district heating system. As a side effect, when the temperature drops below 5 degrees, an ice rink can be created, offering the kids from the school and neighbourhood a new and exciting experience.

8.2.3 The Green City Residents, pupils and people working in the area have been involved in the design of the outdoor environment to create new habitat whilst increasing amenity. Flowering perennials, native trees, fruit trees and wetlands are key features whilst bat and bird boxes provide additional accommodation on the housing estate. In 2005 all the 30 gardens in Augustenborg have been renewed. • Rainwater Management Local flooding from the combined sewage system in storm conditions creates major problems in cellars, underground car parks and on roads and paths throughout Augustenborg. In order to minimize these problems, rainwater is being led into a series of surface canals in different dimensions which collects run-off from most hard surfaces and takes it to a number of holding ponds and flooding ponds before some of the water leaves the area. A local resident and amateur water enthusiast has started his own business to work with Malmö´s Water Department in the design and development of a unique system designed to be partially self-cleaning.

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• Augustenborg's Botanical Roof Gardens Scandinavia's largest Green Roof has been laid on 9500 m2 of roof on the industrial estate as a research and development project, supported by the EU´s LIFE fund, to study the benefits of green roofs and technical issues related to their use and development. This Botanical Roof Garden is the only green roof demonstration and research site of its kind in the world. The technique of using sedum and mosses to create light-weight roof covering has a number of benefits including run-off minimisation, extended roof life, insulation, improved microclimate, increased biodiversity and aesthetic improvements. The project is developed in partnership with Nordisk Gröntak AB. For more information see www.greenroof.se

Potential increased biodiversity & aesthetic Using sedum & mosses to create light-weight improvements roof covering

8.2.4 Waste Management Today there are 15 recycling houses with full recycling and composting facilities for the 1800 inhabitants of Augustenborg. The aim is that 90 percent of the waste from Augustenborg will be collected and recycled, re-used etc. Today they have reached about 70 percent recycling. The houses were based on design ideas from some of the residents who had been involved in the initial recycling pilot and who visited recycling programmes in other Swedish cities. In the recycling houses there are containers for paper, cardboard, coloured glass, uncoloured glass, metal, plastic and batteries. Besides that there are compost machines which convert kitchen waste to high quality compost within 2 months.

Conclusion: The City of Malmö demonstrates a zero CO2 vision is possible, through the sustainable planning and development of Western Harbour, creating an energy efficient and strong Transit-Oriented development. They also prove in Augustenborg that through community engagement CO2 equivalent emissions can actively be reduced and up to 35% efficiency improvements can be achieved in existing development.

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9. London Olympic Park Legacy

On 6 July 2005, London was awarded the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The London Development Agency’s (LDA) role is to ensure that London benefits from a lasting social, physical, economic, cultural and sporting legacy from the 2012 Games.

The Olympic site in the Lower Lea Valley is a complex site, characterised by large areas of derelict industrial land. Much of the land is fragmented and divided by waterways, overhead pylons, roads, the London Underground Network and heavy rail lines. It covers 312 hectares of both public and private sector ownership.

Our host for the visit to the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) was Alison Nimmo CBE, Director of Design & Regeneration. Alison is a chartered surveyor and town planner specialising in regeneration. She has worked in both the public and private sectors and is probably best known for her track record in delivering major regeneration programmes in Manchester and Sheffield city centres. In 2004 Alison was awarded a CBE for services to urban regeneration. Later that year she was awarded an honorary degree from Sheffield Hallam University. Alison worked on the London Olympic Bid, advising London 2012 as its Head of Planning and Regeneration. From July 2005 she was tasked with establishing the ODA and in July 2006 was appointed as Director of Design and Regeneration.

We were given a guided tour around certain elements of the Olympic Park development (And Legacy) and then a presentation back at the London 2012 / ODA offices.

2012 Olympic Games Site Development Ultimate Legacy Development

9.1 The Legacy Partners We are working closely with key partners to deliver not just the physical transformation of an area but a real lasting legacy of social, economic and physical improvements. These include: • The 5 host Boroughs (Waltham Forest, Tower Hamlets, Newham, Hackney and Greenwich); • Greater London Authority (GLA); • Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA); • Central government; • London Thames Gateway Development Corporation (LTGDC); and • Lee Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA).

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9.2 The 2012 Games Legacy The hosting of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games is about more than a sporting celebration. The Games will leave a lasting legacy of world-class sporting facilities, jobs, better skilled Londoners, new communities, improved transport links, businesses more fit to compete on a global scale and a transformation of East London. The challenge for the ODA is to ensure that all Londoners are involved in shaping a sustainable legacy.

The Olympic Games and Paralympic Games will leave behind great sporting facilities, including swimming pools, cycling facilities and new tennis courts. These will be open for all Londoners to enjoy, and could help to foster the Olympic champions of the future. The Olympic Games will create thousands of new homes - 9,000 in the Olympic Park alone. Many of these will be affordable for local people. New schools, family health services and other community facilities will also be built. Permanent jobs will be created in diverse sectors such as tourism and hospitality; food and media, and the construction industry. The Games will create the largest new park in London since Victorian times. This park will be as big as Hyde Park and would double the amount of green space currently in the Lower Lea Valley.

9.3 Sustainability Their focus on legacy will help deliver sustainable communities that prioritise walking, cycling and the use of public transport, and provide for healthy lifestyles after the Games.

Their approach is unprecedented for a development of this nature. ODA hope it will raise the bar for industry and provide a challenging step change for urban development in the UK.

The Legacy sustainability key commitments are: • 20% of energy produced by on-site renewables; • Overall 50% reduction in carbon emissions (lean, mean & green); • 50% by weight of construction materials delivered by rail and water; • 90% of material from demolition to be reused or recycled; and • 40% reduction in potable water use.

For more information visit www.london2012.co.uk

Conclusion: The 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games will be a showcase for all aspects of sustainable development by creating a sustainable community with an unrivalled long term Legacy outcome for the whole community.

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10. London Development Agency (LDA) - Climate Change Programmes

The London Development Agency (LDA) is the Mayor's agency responsible for driving London's sustainable economic growth. It's their job to ensure that London remains a global success story. To help LDA deliver this, they work with partners from industry, the public and voluntary sectors.

In addition to driving forward equality, health and sustainability their work is prioritised by four themes: • Places and Infrastructure; • Supporting People; • Encouraging Business; and • Marketing London.

Our visit was with Peter North, Head of Project Delivery – Environment LDA principally reviewing some Infrastructure projects within the climate change agenda of LDA (Places and Infrastructure). London generates around 44,000,000 tonnes of carbon per year. The Mayor of London's target is to reduce this to just 18,000,000 tonnes by 2025.

The LDA is responding to that threat by investing in a number of programmes to cut London's carbon dioxide emissions and to adapt to climate change. The focus of these efforts is in five main areas: • Investing in Decentralised Energy infrastructure is one of the main challenges; • Act as a catalyst to improve the energy efficiency of London's homes and in other buildings; • Investing in London's waste and recycling infrastructure; • Greening London's public spaces; and • Opening up opportunities for a low carbon economy.

One of the Mayor's top priorities for reducing London's CO2 emissions is to reduce the capital's reliance on centralised power stations. This means increasing the use of local, low carbon energy supplies through decentralised energy systems. The target has been set to supply a quarter of London's energy from decentralised sources by 2025. The LDA has allocated up to £16 million for decentralised energy over the next four years (from 2009/10) to identify and facilitate potential projects and to attract private sector finance on key schemes.

There is currently a combined heat and power (CHP) plant under construction within the Olympic Park site. This project will extend the pipe work outside of the Olympic Park to the Stratford High Street and link to the London Thames Gateway Heat Network (LTGHN). The LDA is looking to extend the planned Olympic Park district heating network to supply the Stratford Fringe regeneration area will low carbon heat, saving up to 25,000 tonnes of CO2 per year. The total project cost is £1.9 million, providing 20MW of low-carbon heat capacity at the perimeter of the Olympic Park of which around 3MW will supply a new Genesis housing scheme. The project could save up to 2000 tonnes CO2 per year depending on level of take-up with expected life-time savings of over 25,000 tonnes.

For more information about the LDA go to www.lda.gov.uk

Conclusion: The London Development Agency demonstrates how London is actively reducing CO2 equivalent emissions through decentralised energy and CHP infrastructure projects.

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11. Woking Climate Change Strategy - Think Globally Act Locally

In 2007 the UK became the first country to adopt a Climate Change Bill. This Bill puts into statute the UK's targets to reduce CO2 emissions through domestic and international action by at least 60 per cent by 2050 and 26-32 per cent by 2020, against a 1990 baseline.

The principles of the Climate Change Strategy (Second Revision 2008) for the Woking Borough Council incorporate three overarching themes: • Reduction of borough wide CO2 equivalent emissions; • Adaptation to climate change; and • Promotion of sustainable development.

Although many of the actions in the Climate Change Strategy can be achieved within 1-5 or 5-10 years, this strategy is long term in its outlook. While certain targets and goals can be achieved relatively quickly, they must be reviewed on a regular basis in order to accomplish the long term outcomes. This is highlighted by the Royal Commission’s targets for reduction in CO2 emissions - 60% reduction by 2050 and 80% by 2100. While these targets seem distant, by doing their bit continually, Woking is optimistic they can be achieved.

Woking has accomplished a lot and in the five years since the original Climate Change Strategy was adopted in March 2003. Many of the original seven (7) key strategies have been achieved in a way that has been self-funding and has involved working with commercial partners and related organisations to meet our environmental goals. As a result, the Council has developed a second version of the strategy which builds upon the achievements of the first and develops new key action points. This strategy includes three new strategies for action, which Woking believes play an integral role in the challenge of mitigating and adapting to climate change these areas are: Water, Working with Business and Community and Residents.

Recent estimates for Woking show that in 2005 residents, businesses and visitors produced 604,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions; this is a reduction from the 649,000 tonnes of CO2 produced in 2003. The Council are using these figures as a baseline and aim to further reduce CO2 emissions year on year.

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The following are just a four (4) of the current ten (10) key strategies and achievements (Case Studies) to date:

11.1 Planning and Regulation One of the principal ideas we are working to promote in connection with development and land use is that of an ‘environmental footprint’. This refers to the CO2 equivalent emissions that land use, be it a field, office block or housing estate, produces from heating, methane generation, etc. The aim is to encourage a lower, less harmful level of CO2 in a site’s environmental footprint, with the overall objective that any new land use reduces CO2 emissions by 80% compared to the previous use. This would mean that if an office block was replaced with a housing estate, the housing estate would have to incorporate sustainable/renewable energy which results in significantly lower CO2 emissions than produced by the office block.

The Maybury Case Study: A development of 34 one- and two-bed apartments and 16 three-and four-bed houses (including eight social landlord homes) was completed in Maybury with high environmental credentials. It achieved a 32% reduction of CO2 emissions based on 2006 building regulations through the installation of a biomass boiler to provide space heating for the development and a small scale gas-fired combined heat and power (CHP) engine to supply domestic hot water and electricity.

Further the requirement for the installation of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SUDS) can help reduce surface run-off, thereby reducing the risk of flooding, and can also help with improving the quality of water, especially when low river levels occur during the summer. The creation of areas which can be used for water storage and provide valuable wetland habitats in areas susceptible to flooding is an important part of the strategy to cope with increased rainfall. Some of these measures are and the uses of surface mulches are promoted in the Climate Neutral Development Guidance and have been adopted as good practice for the Council.

11.2 Energy Woking Borough Council is also seeking to promote the use of renewable and sustainable energy sources in order to reduce emissions that are harmful to the environment. A prime example of this is its use of CHP technology for its own offices and other town centre locations where the fuel may initially be a low carbon fuel such as natural gas. This can be replaced later by a renewable fuel such as biogas, biomass or a fuel cell deriving its hydrogen from renewable fuels. Another example is the use of photovoltaic cells (solar panels as they are commonly called) that collect energy from the sun and convert it into energy.

The Brockhill Energy Case Study: Brockhill Sheltered Housing is an ‘extra-care’ sheltered housing scheme operated by Woking Borough Council for elderly residents. It boasts a large scale domestic solar photovoltaic installation and a CHP system. This innovative and unique combination of technologies enables Brockhill to receive sustainable energy from the CHP plant and renewable energy from the photovoltaic roof. This approach makes a positive contribution to the Council’s Climate Change Strategy targets. The solar photovoltaic roof alone saves around 25 tonnes of CO2 emissions a year. The combined system of photovoltaics and CHP will save around 4,734 tonnes of CO2 emissions in its lifetime and provide a 100% renewable and sustainable energy source. Brockhill a total generation capacity of 111.5 kW (81.5kWp photovoltaics and 30kW CHP).

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11.3 Transport In October 2000, Woking Borough Council introduced its own Staff Travel Plan for Council staff. Policies such as car sharing, encouraging cycling and working from home are designed to result in a measurable reduction in the number of journeys and miles undertaken by Council officers whilst vehicle emissions limits will ensure that car journeys undertaken for Council Business will result in reduced environmental impacts.

The Government’s ‘Powering Future Vehicles’ Strategy has a key objective that 10% of new UK vehicles will be low carbon – using less than 100kg per kilometre of CO2 equivalent - by 2012. This has encouraged the investigation into vehicle fuel efficiency and zero or low emission fuels. Technologies are becoming increasingly available which enable this goal of zero or low emissions e.g. vehicles which run on liquefied natural gas, electricity, natural gas and compressed natural gas. The Council will encourage use of these sustainable alternatives for its own operations, the local taxi fleet and across the wider community.

11.4 Waste Since the introduction of the alternate weekly waste and recycling collection scheme in Woking, the Borough has seen a significant reduction in the amounts of waste being sent to landfill. This is due to the increasing proportion of waste collected for recycling which has risen from 6,5 tonnes in 2004 (before the scheme was in place), to 14,3 tonnes in 2006/07 – an increase of almost 120% in three years. In February 2008 just over 42% of Woking’s household waste was being sent for recycling.

Woking is currently promoting home composting as well as kerbside organic collections and have developed kerbside recycling and developing site collection systems to achieve or exceed recycling and composting rates of 40% by the year 2010 and 45% by 2015, regardless of any lower national targets.

For more information visit www.woking.gov.uk

Conclusion: Woking, as with Greensburg, has ticked all boxes in terms taking dramatic action on Climate Change and has established themselves as world leaders in best practice. Through their Climate Change Strategy, they are achieving reductions in CO2 equivalent emissions, adapting to Climate Change and achieving sustainable development.

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12. Conclusions and Recommendations My main study focus on the 2009 Study Tour was on how some of the most populous cities in the world are taking action by Reducing CO2 equivalent emissions, Adapting to Climate Change and Promoting Sustainable Development.

This was a once in a lifetime opportunity to obtain an insight into sustainability and international best practice, while addressing the challenges of climate change. I had the opportunity to meet other public works leaders working towards making a difference in their communities. I have also now seen what professionals as well as communities can achieve if there is passion.

The tour provided an insight into how some of the most populous Cities in the world are increasing the attractiveness of alternative energy, mobility and transport through not only the provision of infrastructure, but mainly engaging their communities and capitalising on their communities overwhelming commitment to tackling the challenges of climate change.

The three (3) main drivers that in my opinion will achieve the biggest gains in Australia are already on some proactive Local Governments’ agendas:

12.1 Community support for Walk21 & TravelSmart My realisation is that after addressing the major carbon impact relating to providing energy and heating, as well as the significant associated cost for alternate sources, mobility is the cheapest, healthiest and most cost efficient way to achieve a reduction in Green House Gas Emissions through a fundamental shift to walking. The international Walk21 Charter is a consistent driver in all world cities that take the mobility aspect of climate change seriously.

TravelSmartTM is the signature brand used by a number of Australian state governments. In Queensland, TravelSmart is managed by Queensland Transport's Smart Travel Centre. In Australia at both State and Local Government level TravelSmart has proven it can begin making a difference in travel behaviour change. TravelSmart encourages us to reduce our car use and instead consider environmentally-friendly travel options such as public transport, cycling, walking and carpooling. The TravelSmart team works with communities, schools, destinations and workplaces to raise awareness, improve access to information and generate opportunities to use sustainable transport modes (walking, cycling and using public transport).

TravelSmart projects receive funding from Queensland Transport, the Australian Greenhouse Office in the Australian Government Department of the Environment and Water Resources and other contributors.

Focus on the journeys that can be easily changed. More than 50 per cent of the trips made in urban areas are less than 5km. These trips can often be taken by walking, cycling, carpooling or using public transport instead of a motor vehicle.

TravelSmart offers many benefits, including: • Improving health; • Reducing traffic congestion; • Helping the environment; • Saving money; • Saving time (exercise as you travel, read on the bus, escape traffic jams); and • Reducing stress (relax on a bus and avoid road rage).

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12.2 Regulate Development to Reduce its Environmental Footprint Adaption to climate change will involve the encouragement of a lower, less harmful level of CO2 in a site’s environmental footprint, with the overall objective that any new land use reduces CO2 emissions by 80% compared to the previous use. This would mean that if an office block was replaced with a housing estate, the housing estate would have to incorporate sustainable/ renewable energy which results in significantly lower CO2 emissions than produced by the office block.

12.3 Promote Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Current Australian trends in low density residential development, separating living from employment is now significantly contributing to the existing Carbon footprint through inefficient energy, water and transport use. Cities around the world are now heavily investing in creating more sustainable energy efficient, walkable Transit-Oriented communities.

Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) is the creation of compact, walkable communities centred on high quality transit systems. This makes it possible to live a higher quality life, with greater choice about where to live and how to travel. TOD success is evident with most similar developments across the world where the appropriate planning was done to influence development.

A successful TOD is: • designed for walking; • a vibrant place worth staying in; • effective in moving people; • capable of taming the car; • able to offer local services; • able to offer housing affordability; and • able to support a strong local economy.

12.4 In Closing As Australia moves forward into the 21st century, facing the prospects of a hotter and drier climate, increasing storm frequency and intensity and greater population densities in most centres, a more sustainable approach to planning, development and transport is only the responsible action to take.

This study tour also had a personal impact on my thinking and belief system as to how I both professionally and personally can face up to the climate change challenge.

I now have the opportunity to practice what I have learnt. I wish to close with the Woking Borough Council Climate Change Strategy (2008) vision:

Think Globally and Act Locally

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