By Christine Knapp
WHYY, January 5, 2010
In April 2009, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter released a plan called Greenworks. It is his administration’s vision of how to make Philadelphia the greenest city in the nation. Many of the ideas in the Greenworks plan can be traced to The Next Great City Initiative that challenged citizens to help develop policies that would promote sustainable economic vitality. One of the major organizers of the Next Great City was Penn Future. We asked Christine Knapp to give us her take on Nutter’s first two years in office.
Mayor Nutter’s Midterm Grade
Sustainability: A-
Overall: B
The economic crisis obviously played a large role in shaping decision making and outcomes in Mayor Nutter’s first term. Ambitious reform items had to be scrapped in lieu of keeping basic city services functioning and talented new staff was forced to do more with less.
While Nutter has not met all of his promises yet, there have been significant changes that deserve to be recognized. The crime rate - and particularly homicides- are down significantly. The city’s 311 system is helping to address quality of life issues. The number of people living on the streets is down. An increased level of transparency and public engagement has renewed civic activism. As the economy rebounds, Mayor Nutter and his administration can focus again on the reforms promised during his candidacy. I have already seen promise; in October the Reform Team Summit was attended by various city department and agency heads, as well as outside experts, designed to discuss and provide feedback on various reform initiatives.
In the field of sustainability the Nutter administration has been excellent. An early supporter of the Next Great City agenda, Nutter has already implemented many the ten recommendations put forth by the coalition of over 120 city organizations. He created the city’s first ever Office of Sustainability, and appointed Mark Alan Hughes as the director. Hughes created an ambitious, yet achievable sustainability plan- Greenworks Philadelphia- with the goal of making Philadelphia the greenest city in the country. Greenworks is organized around 15 targets in 5 areas and encompasses over 100 initiatives to meet these targets.
But more than great ideas and plans, there has been real implementation of sustainability policies and programs:
In two years, Philadelphia’s pitiful residential recycling rate has gone from 5 percent to almost 15 percent through the expansion of recycling collection every week and change to single-stream collection. Those rates should climb even higher with the roll out of the Philadelphia Recycling Rewards program this year. On-street recycling was also launched through the Big Belly solar-compacting trash cans throughout Center City and soon-to-be on neighborhood business corridors.
In the energy arena, a $1.4 million federal energy efficiency block grant is being used to replace traffic signals with LED lights, install solar panels at a sewage treatment plant and to upgrade city buildings to be more efficient. These and other projects will save the city money while also reducing its carbon footprint.
The city has hired its first Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator in Charles Carmalt. New bicycle lanes have been rolled out on Pine and Spruce streets. New bike racks have been installed and more are being created out of old parking meter stumps. And the city is studying how public bike sharing could work.
The Philadelphia Water Department continues to be one of the best, and most forwarding thinking in the country. First, storm water fees from commercial properties will now incentivize best practices like green roofs or porous pavement. And their Green Cities, Clean Waters program attempts to manage storm water not through expensive and ugly pipes and tanks, but through green infrastructure that will keep storm water out of pipes and beautify our neighborhoods.
The parks and recreation departments are being merged into one unified and cohesive department under the excellent supervision of Michael DiBerardinis. The Parks and Recreation Commission has been appointed in an open and transparent process in which over 200 individuals applied.
After years of inaction and empty promises, Mayor Nutter is finally making progress in revitalizing the Central Delaware. A newly appointed Delaware River Waterfront Corporation has been named and replaces the tainted Penn’s Landing Corporation. They have already selected a Master Planner to carry out the Civic Vision created with strong public input. And a new riverfront park is being created at Pier 11, providing new amenities for Philadelphians and visitors alike.
The innovative “Erase Your Trace” project was launched to help calculate carbon footprints and encourage offset donations to the Fairmount Park Conservancy to plant trees.
There is of course much work still to be done. We must hold Mayor Nutter accountable, but we must also remember the pride call to duty we all felt when Mayor Nutter first took office and find a way to put our talents and enthusiasm into a solution that improves our great city.
Mayor Nutter’s Midterm Grade
Sustainability: A-
Overall: B
The economic crisis obviously played a large role in shaping decision making and outcomes in Mayor Nutter’s first term. Ambitious reform items had to be scrapped in lieu of keeping basic city services functioning and talented new staff was forced to do more with less.
While Nutter has not met all of his promises yet, there have been significant changes that deserve to be recognized. The crime rate - and particularly homicides- are down significantly. The city’s 311 system is helping to address quality of life issues. The number of people living on the streets is down. An increased level of transparency and public engagement has renewed civic activism. As the economy rebounds, Mayor Nutter and his administration can focus again on the reforms promised during his candidacy. I have already seen promise; in October the Reform Team Summit was attended by various city department and agency heads, as well as outside experts, designed to discuss and provide feedback on various reform initiatives.
In the field of sustainability the Nutter administration has been excellent. An early supporter of the Next Great City agenda, Nutter has already implemented many the ten recommendations put forth by the coalition of over 120 city organizations. He created the city’s first ever Office of Sustainability, and appointed Mark Alan Hughes as the director. Hughes created an ambitious, yet achievable sustainability plan- Greenworks Philadelphia- with the goal of making Philadelphia the greenest city in the country. Greenworks is organized around 15 targets in 5 areas and encompasses over 100 initiatives to meet these targets.
But more than great ideas and plans, there has been real implementation of sustainability policies and programs:
In two years, Philadelphia’s pitiful residential recycling rate has gone from 5 percent to almost 15 percent through the expansion of recycling collection every week and change to single-stream collection. Those rates should climb even higher with the roll out of the Philadelphia Recycling Rewards program this year. On-street recycling was also launched through the Big Belly solar-compacting trash cans throughout Center City and soon-to-be on neighborhood business corridors.
In the energy arena, a $1.4 million federal energy efficiency block grant is being used to replace traffic signals with LED lights, install solar panels at a sewage treatment plant and to upgrade city buildings to be more efficient. These and other projects will save the city money while also reducing its carbon footprint.
The city has hired its first Bicycle and Pedestrian Coordinator in Charles Carmalt. New bicycle lanes have been rolled out on Pine and Spruce streets. New bike racks have been installed and more are being created out of old parking meter stumps. And the city is studying how public bike sharing could work.
The Philadelphia Water Department continues to be one of the best, and most forwarding thinking in the country. First, storm water fees from commercial properties will now incentivize best practices like green roofs or porous pavement. And their Green Cities, Clean Waters program attempts to manage storm water not through expensive and ugly pipes and tanks, but through green infrastructure that will keep storm water out of pipes and beautify our neighborhoods.
The parks and recreation departments are being merged into one unified and cohesive department under the excellent supervision of Michael DiBerardinis. The Parks and Recreation Commission has been appointed in an open and transparent process in which over 200 individuals applied.
After years of inaction and empty promises, Mayor Nutter is finally making progress in revitalizing the Central Delaware. A newly appointed Delaware River Waterfront Corporation has been named and replaces the tainted Penn’s Landing Corporation. They have already selected a Master Planner to carry out the Civic Vision created with strong public input. And a new riverfront park is being created at Pier 11, providing new amenities for Philadelphians and visitors alike.
The innovative “Erase Your Trace” project was launched to help calculate carbon footprints and encourage offset donations to the Fairmount Park Conservancy to plant trees.
There is of course much work still to be done. We must hold Mayor Nutter accountable, but we must also remember the pride call to duty we all felt when Mayor Nutter first took office and find a way to put our talents and enthusiasm into a solution that improves our great city.