Sacramento: The Up and Coming Green City
by Sean Fisher, Cincinnati, Ohio on 09. 7.07
Buoyed by a directive from the Governator himself that all state office building achieve at least a silver LEED rating, California's capital city has quietly built itself a mini-empire of green buildings. Sacramento's 4.3 million square feet of LEED-certified office space places it only behind Chicago's 5.2 million square feet, and well ahead of fellow California cities San Francisco and Los Angeles. At the head of Sacramento's green building charge is the headquarters for the California EPA. The first LEED platinum office building in the United States, features indoor bike parking, waterless urinals and worm composting for lunch scraps. In addition to the large presence of LEED-certified state buildings, Sacramento is also requiring minimum silver LEED certification on city buildings. Said one Sacramento City Councilman, "Our goal is to become the most sustainable city in America."
::Via Planetizen and Sacramento Bee
I have been to Sacramento many times, and I think that if you factored in land use planning, the city could make no claim to being green. It is sprawl city up there. Farm after farm is being covered by Mega mansions, all large, and all air conditioned. The city is not, to my experience, very walkable and I cannot speak to it's bikabitly. I guess what this brings up is that in my vision a city cannot be green unless it encourages growth limits to ensure green space, discourages car use and encourages other modalities. So tell me Treehuggers, when can a city call itself green. LEED is a great, measurable, evaluation tool. Are there others?
Good point Kirsten. The hope here is that, if successful, the city's new LEED initiatives will lead to other changes in urban form and transportation.
I have worked in a Sacramento archictecture firm for the past 8 years and have been active in local AIA Committe on the Environment and USGBC groups. Here's my view: Sacramento, being the state capital, where nothing is EVER simple, has achieved some green victories. The efforts of the State to implement LEED will increase local understanding, followed by expertise, in green building. The local LAFCO held a series of workshops to address regional transporation issues that received significant participation - a very good sign. Parts of the City are walkable and bikeable and we do have light rail that is expanding. Density and real urban living are happening downtown. I also see glimmers in the outlying areas that green concepts are taking root there, too. Is change happening as fast as we would like? No, but it is happening in Sacramento.
It's all about direction and progression. We are introducing Green the Grid this April alongside launching Sacramento's first annual Earth Month to highlight green, biking, and walking issues in a broader context with Bike Commuter Month in May.
Over the next 3 years we will help the average citizen engage in green habits that will green the city on a more meaningful level that what the government can achieve on its own.
The Sacramento region may suffer from sprawl but the city itself, population 450,000, is building up, not out and doing a tremendous amount of infill in the central core and in the first suburbs, like Oak Park. Visit Ron Vrilakas' new 4th Avenue Lofts.
9onF, the first LEED-for-homes project in Sacramento will push the envelope as well as LJ Urban's efforts in West Sac and Regis Homes' new SoCap Lofts.
I think the market is pushing the developer to act green more out of cost efficacy than philosophy. Jeremy Drucker of 49mile who's building 9onF will tell you that his project fell into being green, but that means that there's maturity in the marketplace. It bodes well for future green growth.
If you have ideas to help us become the most walkable and sustainable city, feel free to share in the dialogue at midtowngrid.com in the Green the Grid section.
Sacramento will catch up, and quickly. We may be slow, but we have always loved our trees and parks and no one can deny that. Let's see if we can turn the I-5 corridor closure into a positive--and put "Sac on the Map" for green alternatives and public participation. Why Not?