U.S. residents have a carbon footprint four times the international average (Nature magazine). It's no surprise considering how the U.S. government incentivizes the burning of nonrenewable fuel for energy, despite the environmental repercussions, as we discussed in our last blog.
Every region of the world has different social, economic, technological, and regulatory barriers that make their environmental impact unique. Even still, in investigating the efforts of the world’s most sustainable communities, we determined commonalities that could serve as a blueprint for U.S. cities that struggle to reduce their environmental impact.
Across the board, all the sustainable communities we investigated emphasized the importance of having community members at the forefront of climate action. The residents of the Brickland community in Singapore participated in the Towards Sustainable Living: Role of the Community and Consumers workshop, which gave them leadership skills to lead local climate action. These workshops were led by Nanyang Technological University students and served to “connect and engage residents with interests in sustainability to channel… initiatives [from the] ground up within the community” (EurekAlert). Workshops teaching project management skills enable locals to spearhead culture shifts through their own sustainability projects.The value of workshops in building sustainable communities is further understated in Stockholm Sweden’s Royal Seaport community.
Royal Seaport, Stockholm is one of the largest urban development localities in Northern Europe (Stockholms stad). The city has laid out a Sustainable Urban Development Program that serves as a roadmap for the community's trajectory to reduce environmental impact. Royal SeaPort’s comprehensive program shows the importance of having a plan that substantiates actions made during development. For example, one tier of this plan is to “encourage participation and learning” among community members. To satisfy this, the city hosts workshops for local entrepreneurs and developers that communicate new urban development requirements (Stockholm workshop report). One such international innovation workshop was co-led by climate action organizations, private sector stakeholders, and the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth. The goal of the workshop was to “identify potential technical solutions for seasonal storage of electricity” and discuss innovative partnerships in this space (Stockholm Royal Seaport 2019 Sustainability Report). As Royal Seaport continues to grow, workshops empower city stakeholders to be adaptable and embrace infrastructural changes that reduce environmental impact.
Being adaptable is not just a trait specific to the Swedish city of Stockholm. As natural disasters become more volatile as a result of climate change, the sustainable cities we investigated underlined the need to design communities that are resilient to climate volatility such as dramatic changes in landscape and weather. A community’s resilience is determined by its ability to prepare for anticipated hazards and adapt to changing conditions through preparedness that focuses on prevention, protection, mitigation, response and recovery (National Institute of Standards and Technology). Similar to Royal Seaport, Uruguay has developed a comprehensive plan in response to the climate crisis. Called the National Adaptive Plan (NAP), it focuses on creating communities that can adapt to the extreme weather events using “urban greening” strategies (Relief Web). According to the plan, these NAP cities will develop resiliency solutions on a case-by-case basis through community workshops, communication strategy, and analysis of adaptation options. One example of a solution occurring in Uruguay’s coastal region is the offering of alternative “activities in coastal areas to mitigate the impact of sun and beach tourism” (Uruguay NAP).
Ultimately, every community has to self-determine the most reasonable way it can tackle climate change. Documenting this self-assessment in a holistic climate resiliency plan is a great way to start. Furthermore, hosting workshops to engage the community members who are impacted by changes in culture or policy can further solidify the plan and garner support. There is no one way to respond to the climate crisis, but being proactive and unified in the mission is the first step to building climate resilient communities. If you are interested in knowing how resilient your community is, explore this US climate resiliency map, by the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center, to determine where your community might stand in the face of a crisis.
Writing by Nia-Simone Eccleston, Design Strategist Apprentice. Research by Nia-Simone Eccleston and Emily Zheng, Public Health Innovation Analyst Intern. Illustration by Hannah Ranieri, Design Innovation Strategist.
