Equity and sustainability in Greater Kansas City

By Daniel Cash, One KC Voice Program Coordinator

Sustainability is a word that is used today most often to refer to stewardship of the physical environment in order to preserve quality of life for future generations.

I spent nearly 20 years working with indigenous and often marginalized people in developing countries. Our use of the word recognized wise use of limited resources, but more importantly, sustainability dealt with the difference between involving people in community decisions versus treating the symptoms of disenfranchisement. Sustainable development is about creating equitable structures that enable the poor, voiceless and marginalized to not only participate in transformative change, but to be true partners in every aspect of the process. Sustainability is about creating interdependent relationships on equitable community-based structures instead of dependence on inequitable structures.

Through the recent Imagine KC project, citizens told us that creating vibrant, walkable, mixed-use villages connected by multiple transportation options was highly desirable. They also told us that some social and economic equity issues need to be addressed; that redevelopment of the urban core should not create gentrification that pushes disenfranchised groups to new areas of marginalization. Reinvestment in the inner city requires increased integration and improved opportunities for all citizens.

The news lately has been full of radical responses to inequity, discrimination and ethnic tension. We read news reports about violent hate crimes, such as the shooting at the National Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. A recent Supreme Court ruling calls into question the role of race in employment policy and practice. Locally, there have been accusations of discrimination related to the dress code at the Kansas City Power & Light District.

What are some of the equity issues that need to be a part of the Kansas City region’s sustainable development over the next 30 years? Should we begin frank, open discourse about equity in public education, race relations, health and health care, affordable housing and workforce development? How do we begin? Who needs to start the conversation?

The state of the region

By Daniel Cash, One KC Voice Program Coordinator

What is the role of the citizen, in citizen engagement?

We recently completed two major projects that have the potential to have a great impact on quality of life in the Kansas City region over the next 20–30 years. The first, Imagine KC, asked citizens to imagine a sustainable Kansas City — where growth and infrastructure are managed, and personal and corporate behaviors adapt to create an environmentally balanced region. The second, Transportation Outlook 2040, looked at regional policies that will guide future transportation investments.

They were huge successes, with participation from large numbers of citizens in open and candid discussion about difficult issues. In the case of Imagine KC, the conversation reached into about 73,000 households through a live telecast on KCPT public television. Transportation Outlook 2040 engaged citizens across demographic categories and in every county in the region.

Although we had record numbers of participants in these projects, we know some either chose not to participate or didn’t hear about the opportunity to contribute their voices. How do we engage them? Are the voices of some segments of our population simply not heard? What role does individual choice play in engagement?

I recommend you take a few minutes out of your busy day and view the “Song of a Citizen” series of op-eds. Song of a Citizen’s producer, Jeffrey Abelson, has recorded eight great thinkers (so far) who share their thoughts about democracy, or in his words, “re-linking the self to self-government.”

I especially suggest you watch Michael X. Delli Carpini’s (dean of the Annenberg School for Communication at UPenn) piece entitled “Constant Vigilance” and Rick Shenkman’s (historian, NY Times best-selling author, and founder of the History News Network) video entitled “Are citizens up to the job?”

What are your thoughts on these videos? What is the state of citizen engagement in the Kansas City region?

Imagine KC update: Continuing the conversation

How many people have participated in Imagine KC?

• More than 25,000 people have seen the Imagine KC broadcast on KCPT.
• About 250 people attended a public forum on April 22.
• The Imagine KC Web site had nearly 2,500 hits this month.
• About 3,000 people read this blog in the month of April. (But now you’re reading it, so that makes it 3,001.)
• Nearly 200 people have participated in a Conversation-in-a-Box discussion.
• Nearly 200 people have taken our online survey.
• In total, more than 30,000 people have participated in some way.

We want to publicly thank everyone who has participated so far. But let’s not spend too long basking in the glow of civic engagement success; these are small steps. Imagine KC continues to be an amazing conversation that is engaging folks around the region in a dialogue about creating a sustainable community. The immense volume of data that we are collecting from this project is incredibly valuable and will prove highly useful to policy makers.

And the conversation is far from over; it’s just beginning. We encourage even more citizens in Greater Kansas City to take up the conversation, extend its reach and prolong its impact. More people need to be included in the dialogue about our collective future, and we are depending on you to keep the conversation alive.

We have provided the Conversation-In-a-Box guide as a tool to help you hold a conversation in your community with the people you know. Use it, adapt it and make it your own. Click here to download the kit. You can also visit the Imagine KC Web site to find other ways you can participate.

The conversation kit is just one example of how Imagine KC can continue, and how you can become more involved in making some of the things we’ve talked about a reality.

How do you propose we continue this conversation?

Mobility options sustain communities

Editor’s note: This post is part of the Imagine KC sustainability public input project. Don’t miss the Imagine KC public forums tomorrow night, April 22, on KCPT at 7 p.m.

Guest writer: Jim Courtney, Mr. Goodcents Foundation

Do you remember when doctors made house calls? Do you remember the milk and bread truck coming through neighborhoods? Perhaps I am older, but I remember the smells and sounds at my grandparents’ home. I remember the trucks’ bells; you always knew which one was coming. Is it time to start thinking about how to bring goods to people, especially with younger people’s busy schedules and the limitations that aging or chronic illness can place on adults?

When one travels to work and back, hours are wasted in traffic. Look around and see the other vehicles with only one person heading in the same direction. Consider the time you could be using preparing for your day ahead, reading or getting to know those other drivers.

Multi-use areas are a return to our grandparents’ day. The grocery store and pharmacy were within walking distance. People lived with a single car because there was no need for every adult to have a car — many people walked or took public transit to work. Children walked to school. Why is this simpler way of living becoming more attractive?

First, people are worried about personal vehicle ownership costs. When gasoline reached $4 a gallon, financial hardship was experienced by all vehicle owners and businesses. Second, some people are tired of the costs and time commitment needed to maintain a large home. How can multi-use areas with multiple mobility options provide the quality-of-life experience we want?

When we start to think about mobility in terms of moving people, goods and services, and how movement can be facilitated in an efficient, sustainable manner, we begin to see our communities connected to employment, shopping, schools, entertainment, neighbors, family, art and spiritual activities. We begin to imagine the movement of people, goods and services that creates quality living. Each activity links us to the community, and each activity needs an alternative mobility option to sustain itself. When we imagine, let’s not imagine a single part of life, but a sustainable life for all ages that keeps us connected.

Efficient connections promote sustainability

Guest writer: Tom Gerend, Mid-America Regional Council Transportation Department

The Kansas City region is blessed with a high quality of life, expansive highway network, vibrant urban and suburban communities, and a range of big-city amenities and small-town character. Although we have a lot going for us, we are being presented with a range of challenges more complex and more expansive than we have seen in decades. We are currently feeling the effects of a depressed economy, a changing climate, fluctuating energy prices and dwindling financial resources. These local, national and global dynamics are in turn requiring us to think about our region, our infrastructure, and our combined social, environmental and economic capacity in a more integrated context. So the question is: How can we do more with less? How can extract multiple benefits from each and every investment?

One option may be through our nodes and corridors. Our region is made up of a collection of activity centers connected together by our transportation system, public spaces and environmental corridors. For years local jurisdictions have been developing strategies to increase the vitality of these nodes while also creating new centers of activity and revitalization. At the same time, local jurisdictions and planners have been working to enhance connectivity through improved and expanded transportation services and have been identifying environmental corridors for public recreation and preservation.

A deliberate concept or strategy tied to our nodes and corridors may provide a unique opportunity to help build on this local work developed to date and to clarify a more expansive regional strategy that helps better integrate and leverage development and connectivity. Nodes and corridors could help identify and reinforce regional centers of activity along our major regional corridors that are planned for expanded commerce, revitalization and infill. These concepts surely could build on the community’s work in addition to the public’s desire to foster a more sustainable region. Perhaps most importantly, the integration of transportation and land use through clear regional strategies could help to ensure that we fully use our limited resources for maximum benefit at all levels, and that we continue to foster, promote and enhance our region-wide quality of life.

The future success and vitality of our region will depend on how we grow, develop and evolve as a region in the years to come. This quality of life will continue be defined by the diversity of our lifestyle choices, the health of our environment, and our accessibility to jobs, housing options and our range of community amenities. Our quality of life in the future will not be the result of any one decision, any one jurisdiction, or any one variable; it will be based on a culmination of choices we all make over time.

Choosing to work toward integrated, collaborative solutions geared toward a regional vision of sustainability may allow us to better maximize our limited resources and create stronger communities. This vision could represent a meaningful step toward a sustainable and prosperous future, and it appears that the choice is ours.

Editor’s note: This is post is part of Imagine KC, a regional public input project on sustainability. Learn more about at www.onekcvoice.org/imaginekc.

Strategy 13: Protect and restore natural amenities

Editor’s note: This is the final entry of Imagine KC’s 13-part blog series on strategies for regional sustainability. Learn more about Imagine KC at www.onekcvoice.org/imaginekc.

Guest writer: Larry Rizzo, Missouri Department of Conservation

I was born and raised in Kansas City. When I returned to the city after having spent most of the ’90s in another part of the state, encouraging things were happening: the River Market was thriving, bringing people back to the place near where our city was born; the 18th and Vine District, birthplace of the brand of jazz that gave the city its personality, was being revitalized; and stately Union Station, the nation’s second largest train station and centerpiece of the city’s core, was finally being renovated and reopened.

In an era when the places we eat, shop and live are increasingly homogenous, it made me glad that people cared about these things that made our town different, special. Places like Union Station are part of our historic and cultural heritage. They represent what it means to be from Kansas City. Without them, we are like anywhere else. Imagine a city composed of nothing but strip malls, chain restaurants and rows of modern houses of the same design. How would the residents of that city have any identity or sense of place?

But our biological heritage extends much farther back in time. Like those historic buildings that are part of our identity, we also have historic landscapes that define what this land once looked like and influenced those who chose to call this place home. Today these landscapes, or natural communities, are all but lost.

Sometimes they are lost almost instantaneously, like when a wrecking ball slams into an old structure. An ancient prairie, its intricately melded fabric of plants, animals and soil microbes built over tens of thousands of years of evolution, can be erased in hours by a plow. An oak forest that stood during the Revolutionary War can be bulldozed overnight.

But many times the loss is much more gradual and insidious. Remove fire from the landscape, introduce exotic species of plants and animals, alter watersheds, and the results occur so incrementally that few people notice. Over time, however, such effects can alter native natural communities almost as completely as the bulldozer.

What remains and thrives in disturbed environments are species that are generalists, ones that can survive anywhere; often these are exotic species. What are lost are landscapes and natural communities with a diversity of native species and their complex interactions. What is lost is our biological sense of place, our knowledge and appreciation of what our landscape once was. It is the biological equivalent of replacing our union stations with modern strip malls and condominiums.

Green is better than gray. That is, from the perspective of ecosystem functions or services, any land cover in the metro area that is not covered by a building, roadway or other impervious surface is better than one that is. But the truth is that some green space is not very “green.” Land covered in invasive species may provide a place for storm water infiltration, but will not provide home or refuge for native plants and animals, nor does it do much to lift our souls from an aesthetic standpoint.

We live in what once was an area of tremendous diversity, where dense shaded forests transitioned to sparsely timbered oak savanna or woodland and then to open prairies. These natural communities contained a rich interwoven fabric of native plants and animals. It is critical that we identify, protect and restore places that represent the greenest of the green — places where this fabric is most intact. Areas where small pieces can be woven together into larger ones, and where multiple pieces can be connected by natural corridors, can also serve to provide high-quality recreational opportunities for urban-dwellers. Doing so will not only protect native plants and animals today, it will protect our region’s identity and biological heritage for future generations.

Strategy 12: Improve air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Editor’s note: This is post number 12 of Imagine KC’s 13-part blog series on strategies for regional sustainability. Learn more about Imagine KC at www.onekcvoice.org/imaginekc.

Guest writer: Dennis Murphey, Kansas City, Mo., Office of Environmental Quality

Improving air quality, particularly reducing ground-level ozone and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, is a critical element in making Greater Kansas City a green region and a nationally recognized leader in sustainability. Both goals can be achieved by taking actions that reduce fossil fuel emissions from coal-fired power plants and transportation sources.

The most immediate and cost-effective approach to reducing emissions from coal-fired power plants is to aggressively pursue energy-efficiency and energy-conservation measures. At the local level, the city of Kansas City, Mo., is pursuing energy efficiency as a cornerstone in implementing its climate protection plan adopted by the mayor and City Council in July 2008. Activities have been underway for several years to reduce the city’s energy use in buildings, and by streetlights, traffic signals, and pumping/treating water and wastewater. The city is also promoting greater energy efficiency community-wide by enhancing its energy code requirements for new construction and renovations.

At the state level, legislation is currently under consideration by the Missouri General Assembly that would create incentives for utility companies in Missouri to help their customers/rate-payers use less energy (and save money) instead of continuing to reward utilities and their shareholders for building more power plants and selling more electricity.

At the federal level, recently enacted stimulus funding legislation provides $11.3 billion nationally for local and state government investments in energy efficiency, energy conservation and renewable energy projects. This includes $5 billion for home weatherization projects to assist low-income households in reducing their energy use and utility bills; $3.1 billion for energy assistance and conservation programs; and $3.2 billion in the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program to provide funding for local governments to develop and implement energy-efficiency and energy-conservation strategies.

Our region is recognized as a national leader in the use of alternative fuels in city fleets. Among the 50 largest cities in the U.S., Kansas City ranked number three based on the percentage of its vehicles that operate on alternative fuels. The city’s fleet conversion has been implemented to improve regional air quality and has the secondary benefit of reducing the city’s GHG emissions. We are eager to include plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in the city’s fleet as they become commercially available.

For many years, the Mid-America Regional Council (MARC) has led regional efforts by the public and private sectors to improve air quality. In the past two years, MARC has provided leadership to promote sustainability and climate protection as a metro-area priority, including efforts to make Greater Kansas City “America’s Green Region.”

Notwithstanding the scope of measures implemented by Kansas City, other local governments, MARC and public- and private-sector organizations in the metro area to improve air quality and reduce GHG emissions, our success depends on broad participation by everyone in the region: businesses, schools, community groups, neighborhood associations, nonprofit organizations, faith-based groups, philanthropic organizations, state and federal agencies, and individuals. Public awareness regarding the importance of these efforts has created significant momentum, resulting in individuals across the region taking action at home and in their workplaces to improve air quality and reduce GHG emissions. The actions we’re all taking to achieve these goals will provide long-term benefits that simultaneously improve economic vitality, social equity and environmental quality for those who live, work and play in the Kansas City metro area.

Strategy 11: Generate less waste and recycle, reuse

Editor’s note: This is post number 11 of Imagine KC’s 13-part blog series on strategies for regional sustainability. Learn more about Imagine KC at www.onekcvoice.org/imaginekc.

Guest writer: Phelps Murdock, Bridging the Gap

Imagine a sustainable region where we don’t need landfills. Think about a disposable plastic water bottle you buy at the store: It’s filled with water that’s no better than what comes from your tap, and the bottle itself takes three times more water to manufacture than it contains. That bottle is shipped an average of 1,200 miles in a truck that spews pollutants into the air we breathe. It’s made from oil that costs you about 10 times the value of the water inside. In one year, the average bottled water consumer spends $100 or more for the convenience of not having to remember to fill up and carry a $5 reusable container when they leave home.

Imagine 1,000 of these water bottles filling and spilling out of the average car. Then imagine about 50 million of these cars lined up end-to-end; the line would stretch around the world nearly five times. That’s the quantity of plastic water bottles stuffed into U.S. landfills every year.

These are our landfills. We buy them, fill them and pay for them over and over. We fill them with water bottles and other bottles — most of them recyclable or reusable. We fill them with the stuff we thought was important until we didn’t think so anymore. And although we know that aluminum is easily recyclable, we toss enough aluminum into these landfills every year to rebuild the entire U.S. commercial airline fleet.

Imagine reducing this colossal waste of materials and tax dollars that are needed elsewhere.

We could become a sustainable region that doesn’t need landfills. If we could reduce our waste by just 5 percent each year, we would be close to zero waste by 2030. “We” should include government and business, but “we” really means “you and me.” If most of the nearly 2 million citizens in our region began to reduce unnecessary packaging, including bottled water or convenience foods, and recycled or reused everything possible, we could imagine a time when we won’t need landfills.

We can reduce the trash we create through wastefulness. We can recycle useful materials to be used again. We can divert solid waste expenses for the greater good.

Imagine KC as a sustainable region where we waste not, want not — because we learned how to use all of our resources efficiently.

Strategy 10: Develop programs that protect water quality

Editor’s note: This is post number 10 of Imagine KC’s 13-part blog series on strategies for regional sustainability. Learn more about Imagine KC at www.onekcvoice.org/imaginekc.

Guest writer: Jennifer Blattman, Mid-America Regional Council Water Quality Program

Watersheds cross city, county and state lines. When different communities share a watershed, the residents of all the cities and counties in that watershed need to address issues such as flooding and water quality together. All of our actions impact our upstream and downstream neighbors.

In the Kansas City region, all runoff eventually drains into the Missouri River, the world’s 15th longest river. The Missouri River watershed drains one-sixth of the water in the United States, from the mountains of western Montana to its confluence with the Mississippi River in St. Louis, Mo. The Kansas River watershed is nested within that of the larger Missouri River, and drains about one-third of the state of Kansas.

Thinking about watersheds helps remind us that our actions can impact — for better or for worse — all of the streams and rivers in our region. There are actions that we can all take to improve regional water quality, such not littering and washing our cars at professional car washes, which use water more efficiently and filter wastewater. Home owners can use lawn chemicals wisely and manage water on their property more efficiently by redirecting downspouts or installing rain gardens or rain barrels. Pet owners can dispose of their pet’s waste properly.

These simple, individual actions can protect regional water quality and help keep our communities healthy. But local governments and businesses must also use these practices as part of a broader sustainable water management strategy — and many already are.

Clean water is essential to healthy life and the well-being of our region. By thinking how our everyday actions have far-reaching effects, we can all play a role in ensuring a more sustainable future.

Strategy 9: Promote energy conservation, renewable resources

Editor’s note: This is post number nine of Imagine KC’s 13-part blog series on strategies for regional sustainability. Learn more about Imagine KC at www.onekcvoice.org/imaginekc.

Guest writer: Kim Winslow, Kansas City Power & Light

When KCP&L encourages customers to use less electricity, many think the practice seems counterintuitive. Although it may not make sense to the average person, it makes sense for a utility that is planning for the future with its customers and the environment in mind.

We are motivated to encourage energy efficiency because it is a more cost-effective way to meet our customers’ power needs than building a new power plant. It is better for the environment and our customers.

Energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources can be an important solution as our nation finds itself at the crossroads of volatile fuel costs, the need for greater energy independence, and increasing environmental constraints. Our challenge is defining a shared commitment to improving the life of our company, customers and the communities that we serve. Energy efficiency can address this challenge by establishing a “first” fuel resource that can help put off investments in new generating capacity as part of long-term resource planning. It allows for a more effective use of our nation’s scarce natural resources and provides customers with solutions to control their energy use, which can help manage monthly budgets.

We have developed energy-efficiency products and services to meet the needs of our customers. Since the launch of these programs in late 2005, we have recognized reduced demand of 114 MW, with customer energy savings of approximately 50,000 MWh — the equivalent of taking more than 6,300 cars off U.S. roads each year.

We are also engaged with various initiatives that promote and demonstrate leadership in energy efficiency on a local, regional and national level. Utilities are uniquely positioned to advance energy efficiency, but there are challenges that must be overcome. The most important challenge is educating customers about the benefits energy efficiency provides. To address this, we offer customers online tools that help them evaluate their energy use and provide recommendations that increase energy efficiency. We also encourage our commercial and industrial customers to reduce their energy needs by offering a rebate to upgrade to more efficient equipment.

Investment in energy efficiency and renewable resources should be viewed over a long horizon to ensure we achieve the right economical and environmental balance. In 2008, Missouri voters recognized the need for renewable power and passed Proposition C, which supports the installation of renewable systems. We supported this legislation and believe in the marriage between renewable energy resources and energy efficiency. In fact, we are already using enough wind power to meet the standards that this legislation mandates utilities reach by 2011.

Our nation’s commitment to energy independence is finally on everyone’s mind. We are continuing our commitment to promoting energy efficiency and the use of renewable resources. We hope you will, too.