Mayor Announces Action Agenda for City's First Sustainability Plan

The City’s Sustainability Plan is a 260-page library of ideas developed through two years of public engagement to improve economic, social and environmental conditions by enhancing the City’s natural and built environment.

Commissioned by Mayor Francis Slay, the plan has three purposes: first, to make our City cleaner, safer, healthier, with less waste of energy and natural resources; second, to attract knowledge workers and others who want more-sustainable spaces and neighborhoods; and third, to make life better and easier for all of the City’s citizens.

“Our City is already a vibrant, connected and diverse place of opportunity and innovation. While we are proud of our accomplishments, this Sustainability Plan builds on the many existing assets found in the City and provides a comprehensive blueprint for achieving even greater livability and quality of life,” Mayor Slay said.

This Sustainability Plan will guide City government for decades to come. The plan is extensive. It is a collection of broad goals, specific objectives and direct strategies that have been identified by the people of St. Louis as presenting the best opportunity to advance sustainability in the City.

“By doing so, we will make our community and environment healthier and safer for all living things – people, plants and animals. We look forward to working with the City to use our expertise to support all efforts in environmental conservation in St. Louis and the revitalization of the City’s biodiversity and natural resources,” Dr. Peter Wyse Jackson, Missouri Botanical Garden President, said.

The Sustainability Plan was funded in part by the U.S. Department of Energy with an ARRA Stimulus grant, allowing the City to conduct extensive community outreach before developing the plan.

"It is so exciting to see City staff, stakeholders, and others in our community come together in support of making St. Louis a model of urban sustainability," Catherine Werner, the City's Sustainability Director, said.  "I'm really looking forward to our working together to turn these ideas into reality."

With the Sustainability Plan, the City has identified a path toward being a world-class sustainable city. Since it is not possible to pursue all of the elements of the Sustainability Plan at once, the Mayor’s Sustainability Action Agenda outlines the City’s priority items for implementation in the next five years.

“We want to improve our City in ways that people can feel, touch, understand and measure,” Mayor Slay said. “The Mayor’s Sustainability Action Agenda can be viewed as my firm commitment to advancing sustainability in the City. I will be directing City resources in these priority areas beginning in the upcoming fiscal year.”

 

The Mayor's Action Agenda:

Sustainability Plan Items for City Implementation By 2018

Urban Character, Vitality & Ecology

1. Create a sustainability resource toolkit for neighborhoods
2. Make LRA land available at no cost for smart, productive, creative re-use of the land
3. Provide easy access to greenspace, trails or parks within a half mile or 10 minute walk
4. Increase number of trees planted by 16,000, or 15%

Arts, Culture & Innovation

1. Promote sustainability practices at all public arts and cultural events  
2. Build Phase II of CORTEX bioscience and technology research hub 
3. Advance use of public transit, trolleys and streetcars to connect arts, culture and innovation hubs

Empowerment, Diversity & Equity

1. Employ 500 youth in annual summer job program
2. Form a Mayor’s Community Council for Sustainability Implementation
3. Implement Board Bill 297 pertaining to workforce inclusion
4. Maintain our premier Municipal Equality Index rating for LGBTQ

Health, Well-Being & Safety

1. Decrease obesity by 5% by expanding our Small Changes for Health, Let's Move STL and Good 4 U! Programs
2. Reduce crime by 25%
3. End chronic homelessness

Infrastructure, Facilities & Transportation

1. Advocate for transportation plans and funding that allow more people to be less car dependent
2. Support Citywide greenhouse gas emission reductions of 25% by 2020 and 80% by 2050
3. Achieve a 6% reduction in fuel use in City fleet and expand use of alternative fuels to 85% of Airport’s fleet
4. Increase number of dedicated bicycle lanes by 150% and shared road facilities by 35%
5. Increase bike racks by 150%
6. Have single stream recycling facilities for 100% of City government buildings and double residential recycling to 20% participation
7. Reduce City government use of water by 10%
8. Use green custodial cleaning supplies in 100% of City government facilities

Education, Training & Leadership

1. Create an Office of Sustainability in which the City’s Sustainability Director works with a City Green Team to implement and track the City’s sustainability initiatives 
2. Open 20 additional quality public charter schools

3. Double the current eco-literacy rate by launching a program to foster an enhanced connection between people and urban natural resources

Prosperity, Opportunity & Employment

1. Require a sustainability impact statement for all new City development
2. Create at least 8,500 new jobs at Ballpark Village, CORTEX, Carondelet Coke,St. Louis Army Ammunition Plant, and North Riverfront
3. Remediate and prepare at least 40 vacant properties for redevelopment
4. Create an urban forestry employment training program for high school students

The City encourages its citizens to get more involved. So far, Mayor Slay has held two Mayor’s Sustainability Summits where both technical stakeholders and members of the community were encouraged to participate. The Mayor’s SustainabilitySummitI :: imagine was held in 2011. The Mayor’s Sustainability SummitII :: innovate was held in 2012. In the fall of 2013, the City will hold the Mayor’s Sustainability SummitIII:: implement.

For more information, please contact Catherine Werner, the City’s Sustainability Director, and check the City’s Sustainability website or subscribe to the sustainability e-blasts to be kept apprised of details.

Documents

• Mayor Slay Sustainability Action Agenda 2013-2018