Atlanta
· Urban Studies Department- focuses on
interdisciplinary approaches to urbanization in the 21st century
Oglethorpe University
· Urban Leadership Program- focuses on the
Atlanta area and uses courses, workshops and off-campus programs to learn about
interaction between politics, business, arts, and community. Society for Urban
Leaders encourages students to further the goals of leadership and service
projects.
· Environmental Solutions Program-
multidisciplinary program started in 1990 to enhance interaction among academic
researchers, industries, and other organizations seeking creative solutions to
present and future environmental problems. Areas of research include industrial
ecology, pollution prevention, air resources engineering, treatment of water
and wastewater, treatment of sludges, site remediation, risk assessment, fate
and transport modeling, and waste containment and isolation.
· Urban Issues Program- areas of research
include the built environment and housing, community development, demographic
change, economics, natural environment, planning, urban form and design.
University of Denver
· Environment Institute- collaborative,
multidisciplinary approach to environmental research; goals include: applied
research to support environmentally and economically appropriate technology,
business management practices, and public policies for improving community
life, working with students, faculty and staff to become a sustainable
university; faculty projects include: environmental land-use and developmental
impacts, environmental leadership and public policy, ethics and values in
sustainable development, public participation in environmental decision-making,
sustainable community development
Columbia University
· CERC- Center for Environmental Research and
Conservation; consortium of five educational and research institutions; globally
oriented, with a goal of creating long-term solutions to combat the loss of
biological diversity and natural resource while meeting the needs of a growing
human population.
· Columbia Earth Institute- also a global
orientation, but interested in the limits of the planet and its people, how we
can make changes to benefit ourselves and the planet as a whole, how we can use
information from various disciplines (including physics, biology, and social
sciences) to make wise decisions for the future.
Cornell University
· EVI- Eco-Village at Ithaca; intentional
community to explore and model approaches to ecological and social
sustainability; community includes housing, organic agriculture, cottage
industries, an education center, and natural areas (preserve over 80% of the
land as “green space”); goal is to integrate the best aspects of urban and
rural living.
· Applied Research in Human Environmental Relations-
studies the role of ambient physical characteristics in human well-being;
focuses largely on the effects of the built environment.
University of Minnesota
· CURA- Center for Urban and Regional Affairs;
interdisciplinary program with university faculty and students involved in
working on the problems facing the people and communities of Minnesota; Some
programs implemented by CURA include the Center for Community and Regional
Research (encourages social, scientific, and humanities research in
northeastern Minnesota), and Communiversity, for community-based projects. CURA
was also involved in the following:
· AUAR- Alternative Urban Areawide Review; a substitute review process based on review of development scenarios for an entire geographic area rather than for a specific project; Employed in city of Savage on Eagle Creek; a biology professor, aquatic ecologist and a conservation biology graduate student studied this environmental review and proposed beginning the review earlier in the development process, and following ecological rather than political boundaries in such reviews.
· Sustainable Lakes Project- to develop
comprehensive plans for five pilot lakes in Minnesota. Based on sustainable
development, the project includes members of the five lake associations and
surrounding local governments hoping to find a balance between economic
activities, environmental impacts, and the social needs of people.
· Minnesota Sustainable Development Initiative-
collaboration of business, government and civic interests to promote
Minnesota’s long-term environmental, economic and social well-being. Goal is
for a future in which businesses prosper while respecting the natural and human
environments.
· Urban Development Generic Environmental Impact
Statement- Under the direction of the Environmental Quality Board of
Minnesota, the project examines the long-term effects of urban development-
past, present and future. Project is a series of research studies designed to
explore and document the environmental, economic, and social impacts created by
urban development policies and practices. Recommendations will be generated
from the research.
Portland State University
· School of Urban Studies and Planning- goal is
to assist in developing healthy communities through an interdisciplinary
program; resources include: Mark O. Hatfield School of Government and the
School of Community Health, the Center for Urban Studies, the Institute of
Portland Metropolitan Studies and the Population Research Center
· Center for Urban Studies and Planning- focus
on urban policy analysis and urban and regional planning; areas of interest
include: urban services, determinants of property value, transportation,
regional development and economic analysis, geographic information systems,
urban infrastructure economics, regional decision-making, urban environmental
research and education, and real estate and urban development
· Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies-
serves the metropolitan region by providing new access to the resources of
higher education for area communities, creating a shared understanding of the
metropolitan area, it’s issues and prospects, providing a neutral forum for the
discussion of critical metropolitan policy issues, creating partnerships
linking faculty, students, and community groups to meet community and scholarly
objectives, and sponsoring public service research
Antioch University
· Environment and Community Master’s Program-
goals of the program include gaining in-depth knowledge of
environment-community dynamics of a local region; research of environmental issues
faced by different communities
University of Washington
· Center for Studies in Demography and Ecology- a research, training, and
service unit specializing in the fields of demography and human ecology. It
conducts basic research on problems of population composition, fertility,
mortality, morbidity, migration, and population distribution, and on the
relationship of these phenomena to social, economic, and environmental
conditions. Projects in these areas are directed by faculty members from several
departments, with the support of various grants, and a number of graduate
students are associated with the Center as trainees. As part of the Sociology
Department, the Center incorporates studies of the family, urban communities, patterns of stratification
and social mobility, and other social and economic questions. The Center includes sociologists, economists,
anthropologists, geographers, and other scholars focusing on a program of
research and training on population problems in the United States and Asia. (http://www.washington.edu/faculty/facsenate/handbook/06-02-00.html)
· Natural resource
management- UW scientists are national leaders in developing
approaches to resource management that will maintain both long-term
environmental integrity and economic vitality. Faculty members have been
influential in redirecting federal water policy, for example, to take into
account this "big picture" perspective. They have pioneered important
techniques--known as "new forestry"--that consider biological
diversity, habitat preservation, and social issues as well as economics; and
they are carrying out the scientific studies needed to establish sound public
policy for managing Northwest salmon and other essential resources.
(http://www.washington.edu/research/or/overview/tackling.html)
Washington
D.C.
APA- American Planning Association; national
headquarters in D.C.; APA's objective is to encourage planning that will
contribute to public well-being by developing communities and environments that
meet the needs of people and society more effectively.
Center for Livable Communities-
helps local governments and communities with land use, transportation planning,
preserving natural resources, conserving agricultural land and open spaces, and
creating more affordable housing; several publications including a monthly
newsletter, Livable Places Update, and guidebooks including “Designing Sustainable
Communities,” “Land Use Strategies for More Livable Places,” “Street Design
Guidelines for Healthy Neighborhoods,” also case studies with livable place
profiles and model projects; CLC conducts Community Image Surveys to educate
and involve community members in land use planning (based on Visual Preference
Survey developed by Anton Nelessen, the surveys educate about what makes
communities more livable)
Center for Neighborhood Technology- goal is to create and implement tools for making
communities more livable; projects include:
· Partnership for Regional Livability- policies
foster economic prosperity, environmental quality, and a higher quality of
life; designed to help regions address large-scale problems like air pollution,
sprawl, poverty and unemployment; helps bridge gap between federal and regional
governments, and helps build cooperation between regions; currently at work in
four pilot regions: Chicago, Atlanta, Denver and the San Francisco Bay area;
projects are tailored to each region rather than following a uniform model
· Smart Growth- takes a holistic approach to
growth, supporting solutions for transportation, job creation, and economic
development while preserving and improving the environment
· Community Economic Development- helps with
creating new jobs, identifying ‘hidden assets’ and developing a sense of
community; facilitates communication between residents, community groups,
housing developers, businesses, government agencies, and financial institutions
Corporation for Enterprise
Development- focus on fostering widely shared and sustainable economic
well-being; advise and assist on community-based planning; working with the
Nature Conservancy on many community projects
Growth Management Institute- encourages effective management of growth; promotes
strategies and practices to achieve sustainable urban development and
redevelopment while maintaining the environment
Hudson Institute- public
policy research organization that examines trends and creates policy solutions
for governments, businesses and the public; focus on both domestic and
international issues; areas of research include: domestic and international economics, environment, and housing
and urban development; quarterly magazine, American Outlook, publishes
information on institute research; some projects:
· Urban Policy- focus on collaborative efforts
with positive, practical results without relying on federal government bail
outs; current research has used local and regional communities as laboratories
for testing race relation initiatives, crime control strategies, and welfare
and housing reforms
Indiana- looked at race relations initiatives and
Indiana’s education system, and created crime control strategies
Michigan- created an urban policy initiative with
benefits for low-income families
The Natural Step-
environmental education organization that helps businesses, communities,
academia, government, and individuals to employ more sustainable activities;
founded in Sweden in 1989; takes a systems approach to long-term planning
Renew
America- founded in 1989, coordinates a network of community and
environmental groups, businesses, government leaders, and civic activists in
exchanging ideas about improving the environment; presents annual awards for
environmental sustainability for natural resource conservation, economic
progress, and human development
Rocky Mountain Institute- fosters the efficient and restorative use of
resources to create a more secure, prosperous, and life-sustaining world; focus
on corporations, communities, individuals, and government; emphasis on
market-based solutions; some programs:
· The Economic Renewal Program- pioneer of
sustainable economic development; program to help communities develop without
necessarily growing by strengthening the local economy and enhance the quality
of life without depleting natural resources
· Natural Capitalism Practice- consulting
service that advises communities on economic development and other issues like
land use, building design, water and energy infrastructure, and business
development
· Rapid Growth- “smart growth” initiative to
promote sustainable economic development; the Green Development Services focuses
on the benefits of more efficient community design and infrastructure and makes
these ideas available to government and local authorities; publications
include: “Grappling with Growth: What to Do When You Want a Strong Economy and
a Great Place to Live,” “Paying for Growth, Prospering from Development,”
“Sustainable Development: Prosperity Without Growth,” and “Critical Thinking
for Sustainable Community Decision-Making: A Community Leadership Tool”
· The Built Environment: Local Community Design-
initiative to help communities design their built environments in ways that
enhance quality of life, economic efficiency, and the environment, in the
present and in the future; worked with community of LaPine, Oregon on a design
workshop that matched community residents with city planners to plan a town
center; publications include: “Project Assessment Worksheet: A Community
Decision Making Tool,” “Critical Thinking for Sustainable Community
Decision-Making,” and “Human Capitalism”
Sierra Business Council- association
of businesses working to secure economic and environmental health of the Sierra
Nevada; work includes research, policy, analysis, and advocacy
Sonoran Institute- founded in 1991 with funds from the World Wildlife Fund to fill the
growing need for conservation strategies that address both environmental and
community concerns; operates in the western U.S. (northwestern Mexico to
Alaska), working most closely with communities adjacent to protected areas or
public lands with significant natural resources; examples of community
stewardship (focus on economy, people and environment):
Bluff,
Utah- small town that created the Bluff City Historic Preservation
Association to protect their history, community, and environment from the worst
effects of growth; some policies include raising funds to purchase an easement
of the Curtis Jones farm (last working farm in town) to protect it from
development, researching renewable, small scale wastewater treatment
alternatives, adopting land-use planning tools to handle growth (especially
low-density sprawl threatening agricultural and other lands)
Moab,
Utah- local, state and federal agencies cooperating to overcome pressures
of growth and recreation demands; trying to manage tourism and recreation
without depleting natural resources; created the Canyon Country Partnership to
ally county commissioners, state agencies and federal officials, and created a
regional recreation management strategy in order to manage the more heavily
impacted lands
Kremmling,
Colorado- town lost its major employer and is trying to diversify its
economy with new environmentally sustainable industries; traditionally relied
on extractive industries (timber, mining, agriculture) as primary economic
base; the Kremmling Economic Development Committee focuses on encouraging
sustainable and diversified business development that is environmentally sound;
committee includes members of the Chamber of Commerce, town government, U.S.
Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, and local residents
Spring
Island, South Carolina- island community developed to preserve the area’s
environmental and cultural features; the Spring Island Company purchased the
island and created a development plan for 500 homes and a golf course that have
minimal impact on the environment, and established the Spring Island Trust- a
community stewardship organization to protect the island’s natural environment
and cultural history
Sustainable Conservation-
goal is to achieve conservation through innovative strategies that incorporate
incentives and capabilities of the private sector; active in urban areas
through Brownfields program
Urban Land Institute-
nonprofit education and research institute; initiates research to anticipate
emerging land use trends and issues, and proposes solutions based on this
research; publishes information on land use and development
Worldwatch Institute- goal of
creating an environmentally sustainable society by focusing on
inter-disciplinary research; mission is to raise public awareness of global
environmental threats to initiate effective policy responses.