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Economic Sustainability

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Urban Sustainability in the US

Abstract

This chapter explores how cities are moving towards a more sustainable economy. We explore how cities are investing in people (i.e. green jobs and training programs) and how they are investing in places (redevelopment of brownfields and waterfronts) as a way to create jobs and stimulate economic growth. We also look at the ways cities are attracting green businesses, and particularly the clean tech and energy sectors.

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Notes

  1. 1.

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  10. 10.

    ICMA, “Nearly a Third.”

  11. 11.

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  12. 12.

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  15. 15.

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  20. 20.

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  21. 21.

    Chris Bollwage, “‘Building a 21st Century Infrastructure for America: Revitalizing American Communities through the Brownfields Program,’” United States Conference of Mayors, March 27, 2017, https://www.usmayors.org/2017/03/27/building-a-21st-century-infrastructure-for-america-revitalizing-american-communities-through-the-brownfields-program/.

  22. 22.

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  23. 23.

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  24. 24.

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  25. 25.

    City of St. Louis Planning Commission, 67.

  26. 26.

    David Gordon, “Managing the Changing Political Environment in Urban Waterfront Development,” Urban Studies 34, no. 1 (1997): 61–83.

  27. 27.

    Project for Public Spaces, “The Global Waterfront Renaissance,” The Global Waterfront Renaissance, August 1, 2008, https://www.pps.org/reference/theglobalwaterfrontrenaissance/.

  28. 28.

    HR&A Advisors, Inc., “Baltimore’s Inner Harbor: Economic Impact, Importance, and Opportunities for Investment,” October 31, 2013, http://baltimorewaterfront.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Economic-Impact-Study.pdf.

  29. 29.

    University of Delaware Institute of Public Administration, “Benefits of Mixed-Use Development | Planning for Complete Communities in Delaware,” accessed December 2, 2017, http://www.completecommunitiesde.org/planning/landuse/mixed-use-benefits/.

  30. 30.

    City of St. Louis Planning Commission, “City of St. Louis Sustainability Plan,” 82.

  31. 31.

    Christopher Leinberger and Mariela Alfonzo, “Walk This Way: The Economic Promises of Walkable Places in Metropolitan Washington, D.C.” (Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program, May 2012), https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/25-walkable-places-leinberger.pdf.

  32. 32.

    University of Delaware Institute of Public Administration, “Benefits of Mixed-Use Development | Planning for Complete Communities in Delaware.”

  33. 33.

    Sustainable DC, “Sustainability DC,” 49–50.

  34. 34.

    City of Burlington, “The Burlington Legacy Project,” 23.

  35. 35.

    Clayton Scrivner, “Mayor, City Redevelopment Agency to Launch Expansive Downtown Development Project,” accessed December 2, 2017, /mayor-city-redevelopment-agency-launch-expansive-downtown-development-project.

  36. 36.

    City of St. Louis Planning Commission, 36.

  37. 37.

    Detroit Future City, “2012 Detroit Strategic Framework Plan,” 2013, 8, https://detroitfuturecity.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/DFC_ExecutiveSummary_2ndEd.pdf.

  38. 38.

    City of Grand Rapids, Office of Energy and Sustainability, “FY 2011 Through FY 2015 Sustainability Plan,” 2011, 8.

  39. 39.

    City of Grand Rapids, Office of Energy and Sustainability, 8.

  40. 40.

    AJ Latrace, “Inside Method’s Colorful New Soap Making Factory in Pullman,” Curbed Chicago, April 29, 2015, https://chicago.curbed.com/2015/4/29/9966136/method-factory-tour.

  41. 41.

    Melissa Harris, “Chicago Gets New Method Soap Factory, Glimpse of Future with Fewer Workers,” The Chicago Tribune, April 28, 2015, http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-confidential-method-soap-0429-biz-20150428-column.html.

  42. 42.

    Environmental and Energy Study Institute, “Fact Sheet - Jobs in Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (2017),” February 15, 2017, http://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-jobs-in-renewable-energy-and-energy-efficiency-2017.

  43. 43.

    The City of Miami Beach, “Sustainability Plan Energy Economic Zone Work Plan,” November 12, 2009, 18, http://www.miamibeachfl.gov/green/scroll.aspx?id=63975.

  44. 44.

    The City of Miami Beach, 18.

  45. 45.

    City of Chicago, “2015 Sustainable Chicago Action Agenda,” September 2012, 9, https://www.cityofchicago.org/content/dam/city/progs/env/SustainableChicago2015.pdf.

  46. 46.

    City of Palm Springs, “The Palm Springs Path to a Sustainable Community Draft,” March 25, 2009, 20, http://www.palmspringsca.gov/home/showdocument?id=5610.

  47. 47.

    City of Portland, “The Portland Plan April 2012,” 17.

  48. 48.

    Louise Story, “As Companies Seek Tax Deals, Governments Pay High Price,” The New York Times, December 1, 2012, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/us/how-local-taxpayers-bankroll-corporations.html?pagewanted=all.

  49. 49.

    The City of Madison, “The Madison Sustainability Plan,” 2011, 44.

  50. 50.

    City of Chicago, “2015 Sustainable Chicago Action Agenda,” 9; The City of San Jose, “San Jose’s Green Vision,” 2007, 11, http://www.globalurban.org/San_Jose_Green_Vision.pdf; City of Chicago, “2015 Sustainable Chicago Action Agenda.”

  51. 51.

    Sustainable DC, “District of Columbia Mayor’s College and University Sustainability Pledge,” accessed February 2, 2018, https://sustainable.dc.gov/page/district-columbia-mayor%E2%80%99s-college-and-university-sustainability-pledge.

  52. 52.

    City of Boston, “Greenovate Boston: 2014 Climate Action Plan Update,” 2014, 33, https://www.cityofboston.gov/eeos/pdfs/Greenovate%20Boston%202014%20CAP%20Update_Full.pdf.

  53. 53.

    The City of Madison, “The Madison Sustainability Plan,” 2011, 52.

  54. 54.

    The City of Madison, “The Madison Sustainability Plan,” 2011, 47.

  55. 55.

    City of Grand Rapids, “FY 2011 Through FY 2015 Sustainability Plan,” June 21, 2011, 16.

  56. 56.

    Emily Robbins and Dana D’Orazio, “Economic Priorities at City Hall: Employment, Entrepreneurship, and Equity,” National League of Cities, June 15, 2017, http://www.nlc.org/article/economic-priorities-at-city-hall-employment-entrepreneurship-and-equity.

  57. 57.

    Harris, “Chicago Gets New Method Soap Factory, Glimpse of Future with Fewer Workers”; City of Chicago, “2015 Sustainable Chicago Action Agenda: Year Two Progress Report Fall 2014,” 2014, 7, https://www.cityofchicago.org/content/dam/city/progs/env/SCYear2Report.pdf.

  58. 58.

    Chattanooga Green Committee, “The Chattanooga Climate Action Plan,” February 24, 2009, 67; Glenn Hasek, “Chattanooga Launches Green Lodging Certification Program,” Green Lodging News, July 31, 2009, http://www.greenlodgingnews.com/chattanooga-launches-green-lodging-certification-program/.

  59. 59.

    Charleston Green Committee, “Charleston Green Plan,” 2007, 95, http://www.charlestongreencommittee.com/charlestongreenplan2010.pdf.

  60. 60.

    City of Chicago, “2015 Sustainable Chicago Action Agenda,” 9.

  61. 61.

    The City of Madison, “The Madison Sustainability Plan,” 2011, 44.

  62. 62.

    The City of Madison, 44.

  63. 63.

    Lauren Hirshon et al., “Report: Cities, the Sharing Economy and What’s Next” (National League of Cities Center for City Solutions and Applied Research, 2015), http://www.nlc.org/sites/default/files/2017-01/Report%20-%20%20Cities%20the%20Sharing%20Economy%20and%20Whats%20Next%20final.pdf.

  64. 64.

    Hirshon et al., 6.

  65. 65.

    Arun Sundararajan, The Sharing Economy: The End of Employment and the Rise of Crowd-Based Capitalism (Boston: MIT Press, 2016), http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1c2cqh3.

  66. 66.

    David Wachsmuth et al., “The High Cost of Short-Term Rentals in New York City” (Urban Politics and Governance Research Group, 2018), https://mcgill.ca/newsroom/files/newsroom/channels/attach/airbnb-report.pdf.

  67. 67.

    National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Broadening Understanding of the Interplay Between Public Transit, Shared Mobility, and Personal Automobiles (Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2018), https://doi.org/10.17226/24996; Regina Clewlow and Gouri Shankar Mishra, “Disruptive Transportation: The Adoption, Utilization, and Impacts of Ride-Hailing in the United States” (UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies, 2017), http://www.reginaclewlow.com/pubs/2017_UCD-ITS-RR-17-07.pdf.

  68. 68.

    National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Broadening Understanding of the Interplay Between Public Transit, Shared Mobility, and Personal Automobiles.

  69. 69.

    ICMA, “Nearly a Third.”

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Keeley, M., Benton-Short, L. (2019). Economic Sustainability. In: Urban Sustainability in the US. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93296-5_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93296-5_3

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