Thanks to Erik Johanson, from the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, for information about the City's new climate change plan.
On April 25, Mayor Street announced the city's "Local Action Plan for Climate Change."
http://ework.phila.gov/philagov/news/prelease.asp?id=310
This seems to me to reflect the fact that Philly is starting to put the pieces together into what is emerging as a coherent plan for sustainability. Congratulations to the City, to Mayor Street, to Janice Woodcock, the City's Planning Director, and all the other people who contributed to this new action plan.
Of course, Philadelphia is in the process of selecting a new mayor. The danger is that a new mayor may not be as supportive of the move toward trying to become more sustainable as Mayor Street now seems to be. I have seen the change of mayoral regimes quickly dampen enthusiasm in other cities. Typically, newly elected mayors do not see the political advantage in continuing the initiatives of their predecessors, so they often allow such initiatives to wither on the vine. I have also seen examples where new mayors have seized upon the sustainability initiatives of their predecessors and have given them real depth. My sense is that there is enough momentum, and there are enough people pushing for sustainability, that it will make it hard for the new mayor to let climate change and sustainability die. Tell me what you think.
