Is Philadelphia going to be the greenest city in the USA? Move over San Francisco and Portland, if Philadelphia Mayor Nutter has anything to do with it, the 'City of Brotherly Love' may just become the ultimate 'City of Sustainability'.
Mayor Michael A. Nutter and the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability recently announced Greenworks Philadelphia, an ambitious plan to make Philadelphia the greenest city in the USA by 2015. The Greenworks Philadelphia plan sets goals in five areas of reduction and improvement including; energy, environment, equity, economy and engagement. The plan includes more than 150 green initiatives.
“Greenworks Philadelphia is a vision for how Philadelphia can and should seize this moment, building on the assets of the city left to us by the past and creating a better future for ourselves, our children and generations to come,” said Mayor Nutter.
Van Jones, President Obama’s Special Advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, said, “Greenworks Philadelphia is an example of what cities and communities throughout this country can do to develop smart, green solutions on a local level.”
Greenworks Philadelphia plans to make homes and buildings weather-tight, increase recycling and minimize trash, give residents better access to parks and fresh food, reducing driving and capturing the benefits of solar and geothermal energy. It envisions planting thousands of trees, equipping the municipal fleet with less-polluting engines and expanding green job training so that many of Philadelphia’s workers will have the skills to retrofit buildings and install solar arrays.
In particular, the soon to be eco-city plans to lower the local government’s energy consumption by 30%, reduce energy consumption in Philadelphia buildings by 10%, retrofit 15% of housing with insulation, air cooling and cool roofs, and purchase and generate 20% of electricity used in Philadelphia from alternative energy sources. The plans also include reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 20%, improving air quality, diverting 70% of solid waste from the landfill, and provide park and recreation resources within 10 minutes of 75% of Philly residents. This is in addition to creating an additional 500 acres of public spaces, offering local foods within 10 minutes of 75% of residents and increase tree coverage by 30% in all neighborhoods by 2025.
Developing a sustainability framework was a key part of Mayor Nutter’s successful election campaign.
Visit: www.greenworksphila.org
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