What if our cities could help solve pressing climate and energy issues instead of contributing to them? That’s the idea behind the 2030 Challenge for Planning, a national movement that asks the global architecture and planning community to find ways to reduce energy use, water use and transportation emissions from new and existing buildings dramatically by 2030.
On October 9, Sustainable America attended the official launch of the Stamford 2030 District, a private-public partnership of 23 property owners and community and professional partners that will work on these issues on the local level. As the sixth such district in the country and the first in the Northeast, the Stamford district is adding another goal to its list: increasing the community’s resilience to storms and sea-level rise.
The 2030 Challenge for Planning was launched by Architecture 2030, a nonprofit organization based in Santa Fe, N.M., with the mission to rapidly transform the built environment from a major contributor of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to a central part of the solution to the climate and energy crises. First established in Seattle in 2011, 2030 Districts are unique partnerships that bring property owners and managers together with local governments, businesses and community stakeholders to provide a business model for urban sustainability through collaboration, leveraged financing, and shared resources. Together they benchmark, develop and implement creative strategies, best practices and verification methods for measuring progress.
Sustainable America is one of 23 pioneering Stamford 2030 members comprised of property owners and community and professional partners working toward the goal of cleaner and greener commercial and other large-scale buildings. With many shared values and goals, we are thrilled about the launch of a 2030 District here in our hometown and are excited to partner with the organization to bring our shared goals to fruition. (Photo: Our Event Manager (right) is pictured at the Stamford 2030 District kickoff with two other pioneering members, William Zoeller of Steven Winter Associates and Diane Harp Jones of AIA Connecticut.)
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