Green Notes
Continued from page 3
All that is changing before our eyes,
as other cities scramble to reinvent
themselves to become the place we
already are. But just because compact
settlements like Philadelphia and its
surrounding counties have enormous
advantages for conserving energy
and climate resilience, it doesn’t
mean we can relax.
Solutions are not self-implementing.
Sustainable solutions especially (since
they require a commitment to the
future) require game-changing leadership. That started when the Mayor
stated his “greenest city” goal.
Now it’s time for next steps. The
Mayor’s goal is not to build just the
greenest city government but the
greenest city in America. And that
means that we have to build new
partnerships with citizens, communities, and institutions throughout
the city and region.
8
Spring 2009
Sustainability is neither a fringe
issue nor a luxury for affluent cities
like San Francisco. Sustainability is
the core mission that will determine
a city and region’s vulnerability to
energy prices and climate change,
our capacity to compete in national
and global markets, and our commitment to providing all residents with
opportunity in a prosperous future.
Last week, the Mayor electrified
Congress with testimony before the
House Select Committee on Energy
Independence and Global Warming.
People often ask me about my
“vision” for a sustainable Philadelphia.
I’m a bit too Quakerly to offer that up.
Instead, let me offer what I hope we’ll
all think and feel about our City in the
year 2015.
For fifty years, Philadelphia has felt
obsolete for living in the present and
future. A fine old relic of the past,
perhaps, but no match for Denver
and Portland as a place to live now
and in the future.
By 2015, I expect that to turn all
the way round: people will walk (and
bike and trolley) the green streets of
Philadelphia on their way to work
and school and play, and will feel
that this is exactly the kind of City
that the present and future demands.
What was old is new again.
Working together, we can make that
2015 vision a reality.
Mark Alan Hughes is a Senior Adviser to Mayor
Michael A. Nutter and the City’s first Director of
Sustainability.