Kent Portney's "Our Green Cities" Blog

Car Sharing in Wilmington

Also thanks for Jeff Friedman for alerting me to the launch of the new car sharing program in Wilmington.  The program allows residents to relatively inexpensively use highly fuel efficient vehicles just paying for the time they use them. The Wilmington program is based on the model dveloped in Philadelphia as PhillyCarShare by the non-profit organization of the same name.  Check the press release here.

Download city_of_wilmington.pdf

Wilmington DE Mayor Urges Residents to "Think Green for a Change?

Many thanks to Jeff Friedman for alerting me to the recent challenge issued by James Baker, the mayor of Wilmington, Delaware, for the residents to "Think Green for a Change."  Read the press release at:

http://www.ci.wilmington.de.us/newsroom/2007/0523_thinkgreen.htm

I am pleased to see so many northeastern cities finally starting to express concern about the bio-physical environment, and this announcement by mayor Baker certainly seems to move Wilmington a step closer to having a comprehensive sustainability initiative.  Even though the press release outlines a fairly large number of different kinds of activities that promote being green in the city, there is a sense that as a matter of local public policy, the environment is something that is separated from other important issues.  Cities that are really serious about sustainability have a deep understanding of how interrelated the environment, the economy and economic development, and liveability are, and they act on this understanding by providing comprehensive approaches to achieving sustainability.  Let's hope that this is the direction that Wilmington is moving in.