Kent Portney's "Our Green Cities" Blog

Good News in Philly

In November, the Philadelphia city council approved a change to the city's charter making the Office of Sustainability a permanent office in city government.  Up until that point, the office, which had been created by Mayor Nutter, existed essentially at the pleasure of the mayor. Undoubtedly because of the incredible work by the office and its director, Katherine Gajewski, the sustainability results achieved there made it relatively easy for the city's policymakers to make this office a permanent part of the administrative landscape there. This decision, and similar decisions in other cities around the country, are testament to the idea that local sustainability is not some sort of fad. It has become an important function of city government, and I expect to see more cities following in Philly's footsteps.  If you read Chapters 7 and 8 in the new edition of my Taking Sustainable Cities Seriously book, you will get the distinct impression that I have been very impressed with what Philadelphia has achieved in its effort to try to become more sustainable.  This is yet more evidence to support that view.

Philly receives major US Department of Energy Grant

Erik Johanson forwarded to me the latest Greenworks Philadelphia Exchange newsletter announcing that the city has received one of the 25 major U.S. Department of Energy grants to promote energy efficiency.  Congratulations to the city and the Mayor's Office of Sustainability.  Click here for a link to the newsletter.

New Sustainability Director for Philadelphia

Mayor Michael Nutter recently appointed a new Director of Sustainability for Philadelphia, replacing the first director, Mark Alan Hughes, who recently left that position to take a position at the University of Pennsylvania. 

The new Director is Katherine Gajewski who had been an official in the Nutter administration.  She served as Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff in the Mayor’s Office since January 2008 where she managed a number of major citywide projects including the Philly Spring Cleanup which, in its first year, was recognized as the largest citywide clean-up in U.S. history.  She worked closely with Mayor Nutter to appoint many Boards and Commissions, identifying candidates, making recommendations to the Mayor, and setting the direction and focus for these entities. Katherine has also led a number of the Nutter Administration’s community outreach efforts, playing a major role in the public engagement during this year’s budget process.  She worked with community organizations across the city to organize eight town hall meetings last year that were attended by thousands of people.

There is an interesting July 30, 2009, interview with Hughes as he departed his city office. A print version of the interview is available online on Jargon etc.  Hughes, of course, has been the principle architect of the Greenworks Philadelphia sustainability plan, which is very ambitious and creative.  I would be very interested to hear your reactions to the appointment of Gajewski, or to the interview with Hughes.  Everything I see going on in Philly looks very impressive to me, and I'd like to see if there are others who share this view.

Sustainability Director in Philly

Congratulations to Dr. Mark Alan Hughes, the newly appointed Director of Sustainability in Philadelphia.  I know that Mayor Nutter and his team did a thorough search for the right person to head this newly created department, and with this move, Philly has taken a huge step in the right direction.  Check the story on the appointment and Dr. Hughes' background at http://www.nextgreatcity.com/node/582 .  Dr. Hughes was at the University of Pennsylvania at the time of his appointment.

Sustainable Visions in Philly

On November 15, a Sustainable Visions meeting was held at the Academy of Natural Science in Philadelphia.  See the flier linked below for information.  The meeting was scheduled for a room that would accommodate about 700 people, the number expected to attend. Apparently about twice that number showed up to discuss where Philly's sustainability effort is moving.  My sense is that the election of the new mayor, Michael Nutter, has truly energized the move toward sustainability.

If you attended the meeting, please share your experience and thoughts. 

Download usf_press11_07pdffinal.pdf

Philadelphia's Sustainability and Climate Change Plan

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.

Philly Sustainability Awards

I saw that Philadelphia has started a program of giving awards to local and regional organizations that are contributing to local sustainability.  After receiving over 50 nominations, ten programs or organizations were given awards at the April 26, 2007 ceremony.  Check out their web site for more information.

http://www.philadelphiasustainabilityawards.org/

It looks like this awards effort is spearheaded by the Pennsylvania Environmental Council working with seven other city and regional partners. 

Congratulations to all the winners.  Philly has a lot of potential for making tremendous strides in becoming more sustainable, and it seems to me that these programs and organizations are pushing the city to move in the right direction.