Sustainable Urbanism is defined as “walkable and transit-served urbanism integrated with high-performance buildings and high performance infrastructure.” High performance buildings meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification standards. In otherwords, they are “green” buildings that reduce energy consumption, are highly energy efficient, use recycled and non-toxic materials, use natural lighting, etc. High perferformance infrastructure refers to streets and other public infrastructure that restores and enhances natural hydrologic (water) systems, reduces energy, provides habitat, etc.

Sustainable Urbanism brings together the three movements of Smart Growth, New Urbanism, and Green Building to create a holistic approach to the built environment that takes into account location, urban design, and building design. LEED-ND is a certification program that establishes measurements to determine if a project qualifies as sustainable urbanism. As such, it seeks to create a brand for sustainable urbanism.

How can we achieve sustainable urbanism in the Madison, Wisconsin area? According to the definition, sustainable urbanism projects would need to be:

Walkable - requires compact (8 dwelling units per residential acre or more) communities with a wide range of housing types within walking distance (1/4 - 1/2 mile) of many daily activities, connected by pedestrian-friendly streets.

Transit-served - LEED-ND defines “adequate transit service” as “during weekday peak periods (5:30 to 10:30 a.m. and 3:30 to 8:30 p.m.) , at least 4 buses (including bus rapid transit), streetcars, or light rail trains per hour OR at least 5 heavy passenger trains or ferries per weekday peak period.”

High Performance Buildings - buildings that meet LEED Certification requirements.

High Performance Infrastructure -  Public infrastructure that maximizes stormwater infiltration, greywater recycling, solar reflectivity, creates landscapes for people and wildlife, and adheres to best management construction practices to minimize erorsion and environmental damage.

There are examples in the Madison area of each of those 4 components of sustainable urbanism, but nowhere as far as I know that combines them all. We have some walkable, transit-served neighborhoods with energy consuming buildings and impervious surfaces that pollute our lakes. We have green buildings that are not located in walkable, transit-served areas. And we have a growing number of green infrastructure examples such as rain gardens, rain barrels, pervious pavers, green roofs, and bio-swales; although nowhere near enough to improve water quality.

Sustainable urbanism is great at the site or project level (of varying sizes or scales). But for a city or metro area it needs to be tied to a robust regional transit system that is supported with policies to tie development to transit nodes. A merging, if you will, of sustainable urbanism with Phil Lewis’ vision of regional design.

How can our existing neighborhoods better achieve all of the elements of sustainable urbansim? How can we come together to create visions for new projects that will significantly raise the bar to achieve and set the standard for sustainable urbansim? Should we:

• hold more community meetings to lay out a sustainable urbanism/neighborhood agenda?
• hold design sessions to create visions and designs for sustainable urbanism?
• start neighborhood level conversations about how to make our neighborhood more sustainable?

Are you interested in any of these or other efforts?

The City of Madison’s zoning code rewrite web pages have links to a number of resources, especially related to “form-based” codes.

The University of Denver, Sturm College of Law’s Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute produces a number of documents addressing sustainability and municipal codes. Search the Law College site for sustainable zoning to access powerpoints and reports. They produce a great document called “Sustainable Community Development Code: A Code for the 21st Century,” (2 MB).

Albuquerque, New Mexico is moving ahead with “form-based” zoning codes. As described in the New Mexico Independent article, “Green growth gambit,” the codes draw mixed response. Some see it as advancing the City’s plans for more compact, walkable development by setting clearer standards for mixed-use development and building forms that enhance public spaces. Others see the danger of an approval process with less neighborhood input (when proposals meet the new zoning requirements). Sound familiar?

System Condition 1: Sustainable society will not extract resources from the earth’s crust, and systematically concentrate them in the environment.

Condition 1 - Built form implications:
- design cities and regions to reduce motor vehicle trips and vehicle miles traveled:
- compact, walkable, mixed communities to replace auto trips with walking and biking
- densities to support transit
- viable transit services

- Building and site capacity for alternative energy production (solar, wind, geothermal) - promote wind power generation availability on local sites

-  Green buildings that reduce energy consumption

Condition 2 - Zoning code implications:
- reduce parking requirements
- car trip reduction incentives
- transit-oriented zoning districts
- standards to promote transition away from auto-dependent areas
- bicycle standards
- public right of way standards (for pedestrian-, bicycle- and transit friendly streets)

- solar/wind/geothermal access rights as standards within zoning districts

- zoning for community gardens and urban agriculture
- green building zoning incentives

System Condition 3: Sustainable societies will not systematically degrade natural environments.

Condition 3 - Built form implications:
- urban environments currently systematically degrade natural hydrologic systems, diminishing aquatic environments and water quality. Sustainable built forms would preserve and restore hydrology to historic conditions:
- promote on-site infiltration, reduce run-off,

Condition 3 - Zoning code implications:
- standards/incentives for reductions in stormwater generation by site or project

System Condition 4: Sustainable societies will not systematically decrease humans capacities to meet their needs.

Condition 4 - Built form implications:
- ensure affordable housing options
- provide community gathering spaces
- ensure mix of housing opportunities

- accessible, affordable tranportation access to working, shopping, education, etc.,

Condition 4 - Zoning code implications:
- promote accessory dwelling units
- require minimum number of housing types, including multi-family and rental
- allow co-housing and coop housing by right
- allowance for Single Room Occupancy (SRO) housing, transitional housing
- require accessible and friendly public spaces with minimum distance of units
- ensure process for public to engage in re-zonings and Planned Unit Developments

- location and access to life needs by walking, biking and transit

- accessible, attractive public spaces within neighborhoods to promote community connections

The second TNS condition (not systematically increasing concentration of human made substances in environment) is less obvious, but could tie into green building and environmental standards in manufacturing zoning districts (although these are mostly regulated by building codes and DNR, respectively).

If you google “sustainable zoning” you can find a lot more resources.

The process started in January and goes through 2009. This year the focus is on the code language, next year the zoning map. A range of new districts have been proposed in an “Annotated Outline” document. The Outline also includes a section on “Principles of Sustainability.” Download these pages here. The treatment of sustainability is pretty general at this point.

The consultants hired by the City to prepare the new code have heard from some City staff and officials that the code should reflect the City’s adoption of The Natural Step framework; and some Advisory Committee members have raised the importance of sustainability. But the opportunity to make the code go farther in promoting sustainable urban environments are:

Submit comments on the City website. If you submit comments, they will be forwarded to members of the Zoning Code Rewrite Advisory Commitee (ZCRAC), and you will receive notices and updates about the process.

Attend ZCRAC meetings and give public comment. ZCRAC formed subgroups to address other issues as a result of consistent public input. Ongoing input about sustainability could lead to a sustainability subgroup. Such a subgroup could provide direct recommendations to the process.

Attend the Community Forums.

No events are listed at this time.

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