A powerful way to accelerate progress is working together in public spaces to make sustainable innovations visible and connect them with clear community benefits. One of the most promising ways to scale up sustainable development is to concentrate efforts in specific areas where there are motivated partners and opportunities for visible change. A commercial or mixed-use neighborhood, a waterfront, a campus, a market zone, a transit hub and surrounding area – all are great prospects for innovation districts to concentrate clean energy, sustainable transportation, building retrofits, green infrastructure and other amenities that reduce our climate impacts and also make the community more resilient.
A movement to create “Eco-Districts” [link: www.ecodistricts.org] is active in dozens of major cities to promote sustainability and resilience. For the small communities of the Hudson Valley, SHV has developed the Guide to Eco-Districts for Small Cities, Towns and Villages [download PDF].
“Placemaking” is an essential framework for these efforts. We have been guided by the Project for Public Spaces [link: www.pps.org] and other innovative groups in the art of designing public spaces that is driven by the community’s interests, values and creativity. We worked with PPS to develop the Placemaking in a Changing Climate workshop that has now served representatives of more than 60 communities and is available throughout the Valley.
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