Systainability in the City

This was the first persentation I attended at the University of Pennsylvania Institute for Environmental Studies. It was given by Spencer Finch of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council. Spencer is Director of Sustainable Development, Penn Environmental Council.

This is part of a series of presentations provided by Department of Earth and Environmental Science. There is a permanent link to the left University of Penn IES.

Date: April 09, 2008
Time: NOON - 1:30 pm
Place: Carolyn Hoff Lynch Auditorium
On the Penn campus: Chemistry Building; 34 & Spruce St

The presentation description was:

"Nicknamed by some the “world’s most sustainable mayor”, Jaime Lerner came to Philly in February of 2006 and was a major hit – a sell out audience packed the Academy of Natural Sciences, the mayor gave him the keys to the city, Lerner charmed Brenda Jorett on WHYY radio, and many in the non-profit, government, and private world were inspired into action.

But what has happened in Philadelphia and the region since then? Where are we today, compared to 2 years ago? Do changes in this urban environment matter – especially when compared to a species (or an entire habitat) going extinct in the middle of Amazon or of Indonesia; or to climate change being a potential threat to humans for generations to come?

What is sustainability – for you, for me, for us residents of Philadelphia and the region? How do you bridge the science and the politics, the passion and the resistance to change, the ideal and the doable? What is, after all, sustainability in the city? Jaime Lerner and his hometown of Curitiba, Brazil are a model. But can Philadelphia be one as well?

Come hear from Spencer Finch, an engineer and Penn alum who went from a private engineering firm to the non-profit sector – and join the dialogue!"

I was very impressed with the facility and the presentation.

The presentation started with a historical perspective. There were some great slides of Bridesburg vacation homes from long ago. Yes that is right. At one time there were homes along the Delaware River front that were vacation homes. People would retreat to thees places for a week end of fishing. I wish the slides were made available, they are truly wonderful.

I was really surprised to see this emphasis on changing the city. Having been born in Philadelphia and moving to the green suburbs as a child I always equated the city with ecological disaster. It was further reinforced when I moved to California and Florida, both environmentally orders of magnitude above an beyond then Philadelphia metropolitan area. However, this speaker spoke with great conviction and point to other organizations trying to move the city into a new direction.

Apparently Philadelphia, Chicago, and New York have made major commitments to be the greenest cities in the United States. The are 3 models that are being used to accomplish this goal:

1. Business Led Model
2. Political Legislative Led Model
3. Other based on Business, Legislation, Non-Profits

New York is an example of being a business led model. It is coming from the business community as self initiated efforts primarily in new construction projects. Chicago is an example of then mayor setting a green goal for the city and using legislation and other methods to achieve the goals. Philadelphia is a combination of New York and Chicago but adds the additional element of non-profits. Each city is able to point to some great accomplishment as an example. Philadelphia can point to the new Comcast building as being the tallest green building in the USA.

Some of the other links are:

Delaware Valley Green Building Council
Penn Future