Alongside Denver Mayor Hancock and former Governor Bill Ritter, Chief Sustainability Officer Jerry Tinianow and other area sustainability leaders released the newly formed 2020 Sustainability Goals. In December Green Print Denver, Denver’s newly formed Office of Sustainability, met with sustainability leaders and members of the community to review the then drafted goals for the Denver community.
There is a consensus that these new sustainability goals will continue to set “Denver in the forefront of innovative city managing, while cultivating new markets and leading industries to drive job creation and economic development,” As described by former Gov. Ritter.
The goals set out include reduction of greenhouse emissions to below 1990 levels, reducing energy consumption by 20 percent, and to provide workforce training and mobility that will allow the City government to fill at least 95 percent of job openings with workers within 90-minute public transit commute of the workplace.
Built into these sustainability goals are also included an added health care goal. Work with health care providers (including Denver Health) to ensure that 95% of Denver residents have access to primary medical care. Ensure that fewer than 10% of children in Denver are obese.
Additionally included in these are new housing goals. Develop at least 1,000 80% AMI Housing Units while siting at least 75% of them within 1/2 mile of a light rail station or 1/4 mile of an enhanced bus corridor Ensure that at least 80 percent of neighborhoods in Denver are rated as "affordable" using the Center for Neighborhood Technology's H+T Index while preserving the diversity of the neighborhoods.
The sustainability goals are set both for the City Government guidelines and separate community goals. Response to these new goals has been positive across the board. Community leaders as well as residents have responded with support, and have come from even visitors from other states. One Florida resident praised the goals and sited the desire that Florida step up to the same kind of goals.
The next step for the newly formed Office of Sustainability will be to implement actions to achieve these goals. In this effort they will look to the community leaders for support and for cooperation. Public awareness will come from the Greenprint Denver Office as well.
Comments