Mindful Metropolis July 2009 : Page 37
let them know that their ideas have merit. If you really care about that idea, there is a way to transform it. There’s a pathway to reach out to other like-minded people. Say we’ve been talking about this idea, now have a meet-up. Have a little party to talk about how we can further strategize. (The website can) connect you to existing resources, literature, or other groups in communities who are interested in the same idea. (It can) connect you to policy- makers who truly understand the value of sus- tainability and who espouse those values of the triple bottom line that defines sustainability— as environmental protection and stewardship, as social justice, and as economic opportunity. how will the site evolve? How user-friendly the site appears is crucial. The website is currently in beta format, mean- ing that we anticipate changes, and that’s part of the process. We’re asking people who are interested to provide recommendations. While I sponsor the website, I do not claim sole ownership. I believe this is a website that belongs to all. Everyone can post on it. I would encourage people to not only post their idea, but use it as a resource for networking in the way that Mindful Metropolis has built a community. GreenEconomyChicago is a product of rough consensus—the notion of starting a project though you may not have planned ev- ery specific detail but you start the project with the expectation that you’ll build upon it. It calls for collaboration. It calls for people to think critically about how we can make things bet- ter. One of our priorities now is to visit with academics, sustainability organizations like the Center for Neighborhood Technology and other entrepreneurs. We want to present the website, show how the website works, and then appeal to their individual members to take ownership of GreenEconomyChicago as a tool to implement what they’ve been talking about. how did you arrive at the title greeneconomychicago, and how large is the community’s scope? It is citywide. But I believe it’s a model that can be replicated for other jurisdictions. We strug- gled with the name: Is it too parochial, too nar- row? I felt that it was important to brand our city as a place where there is a commitment by its community, the people who make up the city of Chicago. They are engaged in a process to make this a hub for clean technology and eco- nomic development using clean technology. I believe that the city of Chicago should be the world’s leading financial, commercial and industrial clean technology hub. We can do that. It’s a lofty goal, but one that I’d like to see achieved. That being said, all of us are interconnected. We all want to live in healthy communities, we all want the best for our children and we all want the opportunity for good housing, good health- care and a good job. Universal aspirations. We must understand and appreciate the level of connectedness and how we’re closer together than we know. The title GreenEconomyChicago is really intended to inspire other communities too.Despite all the resources thatwe have in our city, all the remarkable organizations and leaders who do believe in expanding clean technology opportunities and addressing the triple-bottom- line principles, we still have a long way to go. mayor Daley claims that chicago is the greenest city in america. Is he right? What does that mean? It’s important to rec- ognize the good things that many individuals have done, but we have to raise the bar and ask what else we can do. We need to tie it to results that impact people’s lives—whether it’s growing the number of students who are not only staying in school but graduating with de- grees in math and science, or whether it’s be- ing part of the next Apollo project associated with creating the most sustainable country in the world. How do you deal with, for example, the coal burning plants on the South side that are hurt- ing people, killing people. We need to come together and not have this conflict between environmental justice and the commercial or business community saying, ‘We’re doing ev- erything within the law and we have the right to pursue this economic opportunity.’ There has to be a smarter and healthier way to pur- sue that economic model. Why haven’t we fig- ured out a way not to use coal to power our economy? Also, how do we make communities more sustainable (in terms of) access to healthier food? How do we empower local farmers so that they take advantage of the opportunities that exist by developing new relationships with restaurants, hotels and others in the hos- pitality industry that make Chicago a tourist destination? How do we redefine the way that we develop public housing? Why not create a standard where public housing is the most sustainable housing? The housing that is the most innova- tive, to not only provide a better roof over a family, but also to provide models or an incu- bator for new innovations, technologies, build- ing methods and processes. There’s a way that we can bring different stakeholders together, which historically had not been done before, because of a misplaced belief that these groups were at odds or philosophically opposed. It re- ally does call for a new paradigm. I’m inspired by the opportunity that we have here—to help create a healthy environ- ment where people are helping themselves and helping their neighbors through collaboration. Let’s encourage all the positive things that you see in entrepreneurism, where the prosperity can help a greater group of people. Let’s en- large the economic pie, not shrink it. what can be done to make the 1st ward more sustainable? The skies are the limit. The most important part is creating a culture in the community where people are coming up with ideas of how we can become more sustainable. Plans are important. But in addition to planning, you need a path. The reality is that we live in a world where you just can’t freeze time. Why not make it easy for folks to adopt or implement some of these things? That can make things more sustainable. We know some of these issues. When you brush your teeth, why not turn the faucet off? If you’re going to visit your friend who lives five blocks away, why not walk instead of taking the car? If you have the opportunity to shop locally or shop halfway across the town, shop locally. Why not get involved with chambers of com- merce and other organizations in developing plans? We have in the 1st Ward, for instance, developed a number of smaller neighborhood planning guides, almost like master plans. We talk about what the sustainable principles are that we want to incorporate into our planning. The other thing is, when you have projects that come up, incorporate green technologies, smarter ways of building. The Green Exchange mindfulmetropolis.com 37
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