By Brett Rosenberg and Judy Sheahan
July 26, 2004

Burlington (VT) Mayor Peter Clavelle, the City of Burlington, and numerous nonprofits and organizations including the Conference of Mayors hosted a major meeting on sustainable development July 14 — 18. The Sustainable Communities 2004 meeting had an interactive, collaborative format in which participants, including mayors, focused on a variety of issues, including revitalizing local economies, institutionalizing sustainability in cities and towns, sustainable city design, participatory governance, and discussions about food, energy, water, construction and transportation. Participating Mayors included Clavelle, Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris, Santa Barbara Mayor Marty Blum, and National League of Cities' President Charles Lyons Selectman, Arlington (MA). A number of other notable speakers also made presentations, including Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy, Vermont Governor James Douglas, and Enrique Penalosa, former Mayor of Bogotà, Columbia.

Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It is a term used to describe communities that look at the impact that today's decisions will have for the future of their community. A sustainable community seeks to encourage a better quality of life for all its residents by limiting waste, preventing pollution, maximizing conservation, promoting efficiency, and developing local resources to revitalize the local economy.

Burlington's Sustainability Efforts — The Legacy Project

Clavelle, former Chairman of the Conference of Mayors Sustainable Development Task Force, opened the Conference, presenting his city's efforts toward sustainable development. In citing the "Four E's" of sustainable development — Economic Development, Environmental protection, social Equity, and Education — Mayor Clavelle underscored the importance of civic responsibility and public/private partnerships in achieving long-term community goals.

Clavelle described the conditions and events leading to the creation of the Burlington Legacy Project. The Legacy Project, according to the mayor, is an on-going series of community development projects and programs meant to foster a sense of the needs of future generations while also addressing current residents' concerns. It was created in 1999 to help maintain those qualities that residents value in the city, and create a comprehensive plan to guide change for the economic, environmental, and social health of Burlington for years to come. The vision behind the Burlington Legacy Project includes maintaining Burlington as a regional population, government, cultural, and economic center with livable wage jobs, full employment, social supports, and housing that matches job growth and family income; improving the quality of life in neighborhoods; increasing participation in community decision-making; providing youth with high-quality education and social supports, and lifelong learning opportunities for all; and preserving environmental health.

None of the Burlington's success stories could have occurred without an engaged public, according to the mayor. "Every community has assets...in Burlington, the people are the greatest assets," he said.

Honolulu: Building a Sustainable Community

Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris presented his city's future-oriented efforts during a session devoted to effectively bringing sustainable practices to communities at the Conference.

Honolulu adopted several strategies, with the broad goal of changing the economy to one that respects the environment. Through a mixture of smart growth strategies, including boundaries to urban development, watershed protection, converting streets to more pedestrian-friendly thoroughfares and implementing rapid bus transit, Honolulu is becoming more sustainable. In addition, Honolulu is working to improve the conditions at its tourist attractions to better reflect indigenous cultures and ecological conditions and further diversifying its economy to reflect technological advances in the Asia-Pacific region.

Harris stated, "We are indeed a planet in peril...the federal government may talk the talk but it comes down to cities to solve the problems." Harris concluded, saying, "good environmental policy is good economic policy."

Salt Lake City Green

First elected in 1999, Salt Lake City Mayor Ross "Rocky" Anderson has implemented numerous strategies to create a more sustainable community. To describe some of his programs, Vicki Bennett, Environmental Programs Manager for Salt Lake City, and Lisa Romney, Mayor Anderson's Environmental Advisor, described the Salt Lake City Green program during a session dedicated to institutionalizing sustainable programs in communities.

Stating "that getting our house in order was the most important thing," Romney noted that Salt Lake City Green has a vital public participation aspect that meets regularly with the mayor to address issues such as environmental management systems, green businesses and buildings, water and energy conservation, smart growth and open space management, climate change, and transportation.

In the many initiatives of the Salt Lake City Green Program, the processes are as important as the end results. Through its environmental management systems, partnerships and citizen involvement programs in particular, Salt Lake City has moved forward on establishing several LEED-certified green municipal buildings, multi-modal public transportation, recycling and waste reduction programs, and buying wind-powered electricity. Among these and similar projects, Salt Lake City Green has become a major part of the city's daily operations. "This is something we can do and institutionalize," Bennett said, referring to the mayor's efforts at making Salt Lake City more sustainable well beyond his tenure.

League President Links Revitalization of Communities and Achieving the American Dream

National League of Cities President Charles Lyons spoke at the closing banquet of the Conference regarding the need to resurrect the American Dream and close "the ever widening divide in this country due to place, class, and race."

"We are all here to learn more about creating sustainable communities around the world," Lyons said, "the message of this conference is that we need strategies in all our communities, not just American communities, but communities in all countries that meet the needs of every individual for economic security, social services, good governance, and environmental health."

Lyons outlined the League's plan to hold town hall meetings throughout the United States on September 28 that will share local stories of successful efforts to broaden access to the American dream. He also said that the Conference of Mayors plans to join this effort.

"We hope that as a result of our efforts between now and the end of the year, our nation's leaders will share our concern and join with us to develop policies and strategies for taking us all a step closer to expanding opportunities for all Americans — a step closer to resurrecting the American dream," Lyons said.

For more information about the conference, please visit the website at global-community.org.