Sustainability Works

APWA, along with several partners including the National Leagues of Cities, the National Association of Counties, the International City/County Management Association, and lead by the National Association of regional Councils, are pleased to share with you a new livability resources, Livability Literature Review: A synthesis of Current Best Practices.  This new comprehensive report describes how livability is understood, provides examples of livable communities in practice and adds context and clarity to several livability concepts.  The new report will help you better understand the resources available to create sustainable and livable communities. 

In June 2009, the Departments of Transportation (DOT) and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) joined together to form the Interagency Partnership for Sustainable Communities.  The Interagency Partnership developed Six Livability Principles to guide its work.  The six livability principles are:

(1) Provide more transportation choices.

(2) Promote equitable, affordable housing.

(3) Enhance economic competitiveness.

(4) Support existing communities.

(5) Coordinate and leverage federal policies and investment. And

(6) Enhance communities and neighborhoods.

NARC convened APWA and tis other partners through a grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration to identify and disseminate tools and practices that local governments can use as to bring sustainability and livability to their communities.  The final project will build upon the report released today by providing replicable case studies and tools for planners, local elected officials and public works professionals interested in creating livability programs in your communities. 

In order to add to our knowledge and the usefulness of this project we are seeking additional case studies from you.  We are looking for case studies that showcase the work that you are doing to help create sustainable and livable communities.  Consider submitting your case study today.  Submitting is easy – we’ve create a simple case study survey form for you to fill out!  Check it out today!

Are you looking for a way to demonstrate the sustainability of the projects you are working on?

A growing number of executives at leading global infrastructure consulting and engineering firms believe that the key to sustainability, which includes balancing the need for economic development with the imperative to use resources prudently, goes well beyond buildings and must include surrounding infrastructure – power, transportation, building campuses, telecommunications, waste and water and wastewater, and all elements must be integrated. A growing number of these profession­als also believe that it is necessary to develop a sustainability rating system for infra­structure, modeled on LEED and based on agreed-upon, and in many cases, quantifi­able metrics.  Such a system would provide a consensus-based measure of how localities are doing in bringing sustainability to their communities, as well as provide a clear yard­stick for achievement by infrastructure de­velopers, who increasingly need to justify their capital investments to stakeholders on the basis clear criteria.   The Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI) and the Envision sustainable infrastructure rating system was developed just for this purpose.

The Environmental Business Journal November 10, 2012 article details how ISI has developed and is expanding on the Envision sustainable infrastructure rating system, which does just that. To read all about it, use the link (http://ebionline.org/excerpts/1543-zofnass-project-combines-with-isi-to-generate-metrics-for-sustainable-infrastructure) to access the full article and visit their website.  Provided courtesy of Environmental Business Journal. Click here to learn more about the Consulting & Engineering 2013 edition of Environmental Business Journal and to review all EBJ back issues, go to http://www.ebionline.org/ebj-issues.