Also discussed here: US and Canada Green City Index - Assessing the environmental performance of 27 major US and Canadian cities (71 page pdf, the Economist Intelligence Unit, 2011)
And here: Sustainable D.C. (American Society of Landscape Architects)
And here: D.C. Offers a Bold Vision for a More Sustainable Future (The Dirt, May 2,2012)
And here: In New Study, San Francisco Tops List of Greenest Cities in the U.S. and Canada (The Dirt, July 1, 2011)
The American Society of Landscape Architects has proposed a 20 year plan for the US capital that could bring that city from the 8th place out of 27 in ranking (by the Economist Intelligence Unit) of greenest cities #1 - the top two in 2011 were San Francisco and Toronto. Many of the goals are both achievable and applicable to many other cities, given the political will, and include such targets as zero waste, all waterways fishable and swimmable and to cut energy use and CO2 emissions by 50%.
Key Quotes:
“In terms of carbon dioxide, the city wants to cut emissions by 50 percent by 2032”
“seeks to cut district-wide energy use by 50 percent while increasing renewable energy use to 50 percent.. Given some 75 percent of emissions come from buildings, the District will push for adaptive re-use of old buildings so they can become greener”
“strengthening D.C.’s already considerable urban forest, which stores much of the city’s carbon, reaching a 40 percent tree canopy by 2032”
“seeks to make 75 percent of all trips walking, biking, or transit in 20 years.. just 60 percent of D.C. residents own cars and that number is falling”
“100 percent of District waterways to be fishable and swimmable, and 75 percent of D.C.’s green space to be used as green infrastructure that captures and filters rainwater for reuse”
“the city is going to reach zero waste in 20 years.. The front end of the reuse chain is local food production…75 percent of all food is to be grown within a quarter-mile of the population eating it”
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