Pathways to Regional Sustainability Best Practices for Wisconsin’s Capital Region June 2014 Cover photo credits (from left to right): Peter Gorman; Madison Magazine; Matthew Chakmakian Suggested citation: LaGro, J. 2014. Pathways to Regional Sustainability: Best Practices for Wisconsin’s Capital Region. Madison, Wisconsin: Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Contact information: James LaGro, Jr., Ph.D. Professor, Department of Urban and Regional Planning University of Wisconsin-Madison 925 Bascom Mall, Madison, WI 53706-1317 [email protected] Pathways to Regional Sustainability: Best Practices for Wisconsin’s Capital Region page i ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Background research for this report was conducted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison students in Planning for Regional Sustainability (URPL 590). Students in this summer course were: Jeffrey Dhein-Schuldt, Jonathan Fok, Troy Maggied, Jenna Mattison, Andrea McMillan, Joshua Rogers, Daniel Ruggiero, Jody Schimek, and Ben Vondra. The Capital Area Regional Planning Commission (CARPC) staff, Kamran Mesbah, Steve Steinhoff, Bridgit Van Belleghem, Dan McAuliffe, and Jason Granberg supported this effort in multiple ways. Special thanks go to Kamran Mesbah, Deputy Director of CARPC, and Steve Steinhoff, project manager for the Capital Region Sustainable Communities (CRSC) Initiative. This report also benefitted from many discussions with the CRSC Steering Committee and other consortium members, including Jordan Bingham, Curt Brink, Martha Cranley, Brian Grady, Ed Kinney, Edward Lee, Jesse Lerner, Jim Lorman, Michael Mucha, Todd Violante, Bill Schaefer, and Gary Werner. Stephanie Shull and Scott Bernstein, from the Center for Neighborhood Technologies in Chicago, also helped to inform this work. DISCLAIMER An award from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development funded the work that provided the basis for this publication; the substance and findings of this work are dedicated to the public. The author is solely responsible for the accuracy of the statements and interpretations contained in this report. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the federal government. Pathways to Regional Sustainability: Best Practices for Wisconsin’s Capital Region page ii CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......................................................................................................................i REGIONAL SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES.........................................................................................1 1.1 What is sustainable development? 1.2 Geographic context 1.3 Demographics and lifestyle preferences 1.4 Innovation and the global economy 1.5 Compartmentalized governance LESSONS FROM LEADING SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVES.....................................................................4 2.1 Process matters 2.2 Place-making matters 2.3 Scale matters 2.4 Governance matters 2.5 Evidence matters 2.6 Paradigms matter 2.7 Partnerships matter 2.8 Communication matters 2.9 Leadership matters MEASURING WHAT MATTERS........................................................................................................11 3.1 Inputs, outputs, and outcomes 3.2 Goals, indicators, and metrics 3.3 Indicator and metric selection 3.4 Metric targets and units of analysis ADVANCING SUSTAINABILITY IN THE CAPITAL REGION....................................................................15 4.1 Overarching goals 4.2 The Capital Region’s sustainability priorities and indicators 4.3 Strategies to maximize collective impact in the Capital Region CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................................26 REFERENCES.................................................................................................................................28 Pathways to Regional Sustainability: Best Practices for Wisconsin’s Capital Region page iii 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY bridging or backbone support organization. Stakeholders then develop a strategic framework The federal Partnership for Sustainable for collective action around a common set of Communities is an interagency initiative that interests, and implement coordinated strategies to coordinates policies and grant administration produce desired results as reflected by measureable 2 between the Department of Housing and Urban indicators. Indicator targets are revised when Development (HUD), the Department of initiatives meet goal targets. Strategies are adjusted, Transportation (DOT), and the Environmental when necessary, to improve their effectiveness. Protection Agency (EPA). In 2010, HUD awarded Wisconsin’s Capital Area Regional Planning Regions are complex systems of interracting social, Commission (CARPC) a $2 million Sustainable economic, and environmental systems. Regional Community Regional Planning Grant (SCRPG) sustainability initiatives assess system performance to support the Capital Region Sustainability in order to understand where the region is doing Consortium initiative. well and where it is deficient. These initiatives benefit from systematic approaches and long-term HUD’s livability initiative addresses not only engagement that seek incremental, yet continual, long-term regional outcomes, but the planning improvement. process, as well. Regional process goals are: 1) multi-level coordination and 2) inclusive planning. Selecting meaningful sustainability indicators Regional outcome goals are: 3) land reuse and for a specific geographic area is a complex redevelopment, 4) housing and transportation process requiring multiple selection criteria. affordability, and 5) equitable access to services, An effective suite of regional indicators is education, and living-wage jobs. To these five comprehensive, yet parsimonious, and includes “flagship” goals, the CRSC added three other both leading and lagging indicators. Additionally, regional sustainability goals: 6) natural resources each individual indicator is simple, meaningful, protection, 7) healthy food supply and access, and actionable, relevant, and timely (i.e., SMART).3 8) transportation choices. Bellwether indicators focus attention on issues that stakeholders care most about. A review of the sustainability planning literature and regional sustainability initiatives yielded Successful sustainability initiatives also keep a nine lessons for sustainability planning and compelling scoreboard 4 that is regularly updated implementation at the regional scale. These to gauge progress and to learn from collective lessons emphasize the importance of context- experience. Making indicator data available online sensitive decision-making, sound evidence, and – through an easy to understand data dashboard effective communication. Successful sustainability – can raise public awareness and inform decision- initiatives are also collaborative processes, making on issues ranging from housing and characterized by clearly defined short- and long- transportation policies and investments to land term goals, action plans with defined targets, and a process for regularly monitoring and reporting 1 Kania, J. and M. Kramer. 2011. Collective impact. Stanford performance indicators. Social Innovation Review (winter). 2 Easterling, D. 2013. Getting to Collective Impact: How Five conditions are generally necessary for Funders Can Contribute Over the Life Course of the Work. successful multi-stakeholder sustainability Foundation Review, 5(2): Article 7 initiatives. Stakeholders have a common agenda, 3 National Center for Environmental Innovation (NCEI). 2009. Lean Government Metrics Guide. Washington, D.C.: shared measurement systems, mutually reinforcing U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA-100-R-09-005. activities, continuous communication, and a 4 Covey, F. 2006. Execution Essentials: The 4 Disciplines of Execution. FranklinCovey. Pathways to Regional Sustainability: Best Practices for Wisconsin’s Capital Region page iv stewardship practices. The Capital Region Sustainability Consortium’s (CRSC) mission is to:5 “…protect the environment, provide efficient and cost-effective public services, ensure regional mobility, foster economic opportunity, provide diverse and equitable housing choices, and promote broad participation in planning and implementation.” CRSC’s participatory planning process enabled the consortium to collectively identify several “pathways” to advance regional sustainability priorities. These strategies – comprising a theory of change – involve actions that have multiple potential benefits, such as environmental quality (e.g., protecting essential ecosystem services), regional mobility (e.g., implementing a multi- modal transportation system), and social capacity (e.g., ensuring access to education and job- training). The final section of this report focuses on actions that local, county, and regional governments can take to advance sustainability within the Capital Region. These good governance initiatives – in conjunction with public-private partnerships – can help the region institutionalize policies, plans, and practices that will increase the Capital Region’s long-term resilience and sustainability. 5 Capital Region Sustainability Consortium. http://www. capitalregionscrpg.org/ Pathways to Regional Sustainability: Best Practices for Wisconsin’s Capital Region page v REGIONAL SUSTAINABILITY Wisconsin’s Capital Region is a complex system of interconnected social, economic, and CHALLENGES AND environmental systems, nested within an even OPORTUNITIES