Cities and a Green New Deal

The green economy is booming and many cities are connecting climate action with economic development. Although cities making this link are not necessarily topping the most sustainable city charts, the strong economic link can pave the way for more aggressive climate action. This chapter begins by examining how solar and wind technology production has shifted internationally, and how China has become the dominant player in solar and a leader in wind. It then moves to three historically industrial cities that are seeking to transition to different green economy sectors: New York State is paying $750 million of the $900 million cost to build the nation’s biggest new solar production facility in Buffalo; Cleveland has continued its efforts to develop offshore wind on Lake Erie; and Los Angeles is linking electrification of its buses and development of subways to manufacturing.

Electrifying Transportation

Cities have a key role in accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles, particularly in building charging infrastructure. This chapter examines the efforts of five leading cities—three European cities and two in the United States—each with a different set of challenges. It shows that they have different strategies for addressing regulatory and planning issues that determine what types of charging stations can be placed where and how to charge for electricity. Some cities are electrifying their bus fleets and supporting the transition of taxi fleets and delivery vehicles to electric. Several are examining ways to charge using renewable power. And a few cities are pursuing vehicle-to-grid integration—two-way interaction in which cars can push power back into the grid during periods of peak demand. The electrified transportation experiments in these five cities have met largely with success, and their innovations are already spreading to others.

The Elements of Greenovation

This chapter focuses on the “success factors” that define greenovation. Underpinning all of them is a power struggle that will ultimately determine whether the battle to save the planet is winnable. Will the fossil-fuel companies determine whether we move to renewable energy, or will an energy democracy movement embedded in cities win? Will for-profit utilities determine whether we have district heating and distributed energy, or will the remunicipalization movement expand? Will China become the world’s leader in producing most of the green technology? Some of the answers will be determined by which side mobilizes public opinion. Some will be determined purely by economics. The chapter discusses these questions in the context of the success factors of greenovating cities.

Liberating Cities from Cars

This chapter begins with a range of actions cities can pursue to deprioritize cars while making room on their streets for transit, cyclists, and walkers. It then describes how these strategies work in greenovating cities. The chapter presents the case of Oslo, which is moving toward a car-free downtown. It then looks at three American cases that illuminate the technical, political, and cultural barriers to deprioritizing cars. Efforts in Seattle illustrate that even in a liberal city committed to climate action, deprioritizing cars is painful and politically charged. Nashville’s two failed ballot initiatives to fund transit infrastructure reveal the challenges many cities will face in trying to introduce public transit. Finally, Salt Lake City has been successful in implementing transit. With broad public support and constraints caused by mountains and lakes, Salt Lake City has been able to forge new transit links to reduce congestion.

Renewable Cities

While the policy needed to expand renewable energy mostly lies at the federal and state level, cities have a role to play. Cities can require or promote renewable energy adoption, aggregate demand, and facilitate expansion that is ongoing through state and federal policies. This chapter starts by examining the role of cities in developing renewable resources. It then discusses various cities that have committed to obtaining 100 percent of their electricity from renewable energy, with particular emphasis on solar. For instance, cities that own their own utilities, such as Austin, Texas, can require them to adopt renewables in the same way states can. A pathway some cities are taking, particularly in Europe, is remunicipalizing their utilities. In Hamburg, Germany, there is a citizen-led campaign to buy back its utility. This has put the city on a pathway to 100 percent renewable energy.

Energy Efficiency

This chapter presents a continuum of building-level actions cities are taking in light of the political and economic constraints they face. It begins by explaining the continuum of building-efficiency standards cities are using as well as a continuum of action that runs from individual buildings to all buildings in a defined district. It examines two categories of standards: those for constructing new buildings and those for retrofitting existing buildings. The chapter also considers the question of who gets to occupy green buildings—with the reduced energy costs they make possible—highlighting how some cities are building green low-income housing using methods that are then taken statewide. Finally, it examines how cities, in collaboration with the private and nonprofit sectors, are serving as test beds for technical, financing, and equity greenovations that can be scaled for policy in larger political geographies and for private market participation.

How Eco-innovation Districts Can Accelerate Urban Climate Action

Eco-innovation districts are defined areas in which cities concentrate state-of-the-art technologies in green building, smart infrastructure, and renewable energy to create sustainable, resilient, and inclusive districts that accelerate action on climate change and sustainability. This chapter addresses four questions: Does the district perform better than or as well as the rest of the city on per capita carbon emissions? How well does the district serve as a test bed for green technologies that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions? Does the city employ a deliberate process of organizational learning that allows city planners and elected officials to apply effective practices and lessons learned from district-scale experimentation? What measures have been put in place to ensure a diversity of income levels? It also examines whether the experimentation undertaken in European eco-innovation districts can be replicated in the United States.

Cities on the Front Lines

This chapter first sets out the book’s purpose, which is to take readers on a tour of greenovating cities in North America and Europe, exploring their strategies and successes, along with the opportunities and obstacles they have encountered along the way. In general, European cities have lower per capita greenhouse gas emissions than US cities due to their higher density, more diverse transit options, historically high gasoline prices, and long-standing climate policy at the European Union, national, and municipal levels. A broad literature has emerged on urban climate change and sustainability planning, much of it focusing on what constitutes successful practice. In contrast, this book focuses on the how elected officials, planners, and other stakeholders design and implement effective policy and programs. An overview of the subsequent chapters is also presented.

Beyond the Building

This chapter explains the technology behind district heating and cooling, which has the potential to be used throughout the world, and examines how it can be more widely deployed in North America. It explores the different approaches to district energy employed in Copenhagen, London, and Vancouver. It then examines the ice-cooled system in Austin, Texas, and Toronto’s deep-lake cooling. The cases illustrate different regulatory barriers, funding and ownership models (municipal vs. private utilities), and technologies. It is shown that district energy, at its best, is integrated with land use, transportation, community development, and energy planning. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the policy needed at the regional, national, and local levels for broader implementation of both technologies.