What Happened?
San Jose, California, announced a 15-year plan of sustainable economic growth and eco-friendly developments focused on saving residents and businesses money on energy bills.
The Goal
In a study conducted by the United Nations Environmental Programme, San Jose’s Green Vision policy was showcased as an aggressive move to address climate change while enhancing the economic success of the community. Leveraging resources and brain power in the region’s Silicon Valley, the strategy aims to reduce carbon emissions and energy consumption through the deployment of environmentally-conscious technology and infrastructure developments. By 2022, the city hopes to:
- Create 25,000 new jobs in clean technology
- Reduce energy consumption by 50 percent
- Use renewable energy sources to supply 100 percent of electricity
- Retrofit 500 million square feet of infrastructure
- Convert waste to energy and clean up all landfill waste
- Reuse all wastewater
- Develop performance metrics to guide future sustainable developments
- Convert all public fleets to alternative fuel vehicles
- Replace streetlights with zero emission lighting and plant 100,000 trees
- Design 100 miles of trails and 400 miles of bikeways to encourage pedestrian activity
Since implementing the strategy in 2007, San Jose has made significant strides toward reaching many of these goals. The city has already created 40 percent of the new jobs, is diverting 73 percent of landfill waste into energy conversion and has established 54 percent of trail miles throughout the community.
Challenges Discovered
San Jose has been successful thus far with its strategy as each initiative offers a financial or economic benefit to the community. Public agencies have had to find funding from external sources and create complex partnerships to supplement gaps in support. The need for initial funding will likely continue until the programs are fully established, resulting in agencies spending time and energy on connecting with investors as well as deploying programs. Options for long-term funding efforts include teaming up with other cities to help develop best practices and more uniform adoption plans in the region.
Small Steps
While cities such as San Jose are jumping headfirst into eco-friendly developments and strategies, other communities are making subtle changes and testing results in piecemeal. Nottingham City Transport, for example, is deploying 73 environmentally-conscious buses as the city works to reduce its carbon footprint.
The alternative fuel vehicles offer a 63 percent reduction in carbon monoxide emissions, 71 percent less nitrogen oxide emissions and 87 percent lower particulate matter emissions. The city is spending about $8.5 million on the new buses, which offer tracking technology to help the transport department identify more efficient driving patterns and routes to further optimize the resources.
Joplin, Missouri, is deploying new construction systems that are more energy efficient and resistant to severe weather and storms. The plan involves a partnership with Drury University architecture students and professors working with city officials to construct infrastructure with more environmentally-friendly materials and building techniques. The buildings will be able to produce energy, rather than just consume it, working create a more sustainable city from the ground up.
Eco-friendly Cities
Gov1 has tracked municipalities experimenting with urban farming and green infrastructure to lower carbon emissions.