photo by flickr user e-licious
Once again, Baltimore, you’re making us proud. SustainLane, a web-based, “people-powered” sustainability guide, has recently come out with their annual city rankings for sustainability and Baltimore has finished in the top ten. (Number ten, but, hey, we’re still in there.) And before you stop and think that these rankings are just some crackpot web-scheme, we’ve got to stop you, because these look pretty legit. According to their website, “SustainLane’s rankings are the most comprehensive and credible benchmarking of the state of sustainability in America, and are covered by the Wall Street Journal, CNBC, CNN, NPR and many other media outlets.” And while self-promotion should always be taken with a grain of salt, there are too many verifiable sources there for us not to take them seriously.
A big reason for such a strong showing is Baltimore’s new sustainability plan. The complete plan is here, but you should be warned that it is 132 pages long, not exactly a quick read. The Office of Sustainability — in their cute, eco-friendly way — suggests double-sided printing to help conserve paper. The plan itself is quite comprehensive, covering everything from litter to increasing the city’s tree canopy to creating new green economy jobs, and, looks like, if we may say so, a surprisingly hopeful piece of civic planning.
We don’t call it hopeful because we’re a bunch of pie-in-the-sky dreamers, but because certain aspects of the plan have already begun to be implemented. We’ve even unwittingly written about a few of them: new bike paths, the proposals for the Red Line, farmer’s markets and public parks. Other changes – like the tougher, greener building codes that go into effect this summer, or the plan’s proposed new zoning code encourages denser, more transit-orientated development – point to a city government that is concerned about the environment and is doing its part to push Baltimore towards a greener, healthier future in quiet, legislative ways.
While we don’t agree with everything this administration has done thus far (indictments, anyone?), we do find it necessary to commend them on this now. Thanks, City Hall. Good work.
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[...] 10, 2009 · No Comments The (fabulous) Urban Discoveries Living Blog notes that Baltimore’s Office of Sustainability has nudged our modest city into the upper echelon of [...]