chicago academy publication

8/6/2019 Chicago Academy Publication

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GGCVII

A collection of proposals by

the Roosevelt Academy Fellows

Summer 2010



The Roosevelt Academy in Chicago was made possible

through the generous support of the Boeing Company and

the Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation.



The Roosevelt Institute Campus Network, a national student initiative, engages young peo-ple in a unique form of progressive activism that empowers them as leaders and promotestheir ideas for change. Through communication and coordination with political actors andcommunity members, students identify pressing issues facing their towns, counties andstates. Taking advantage of the unique resources on their college campuses, they engagein policy research and writing and then connect the fruits of that work to the politicalprocess, delivering sound, progressive proposals to policymakers and advocacy groups.

We call our unique model of policy activism Think Impact. Adding policy papers to picketsigns, Think Impact engages young people in activism fueled by innovative, student ideas.

The Roosevelt Academy is a competitive and rigorous summer program that attracts manystudents who would otherwise not have the chance to work at a policy-based organization.Each student receives a stipend for living expenses and undergoes 10 weeks of skill-build-ing training in policy, communications, political strategy, and organizing. Their skills andideas are routinely put to work during their internships; the Chicago Academy placed eachstudent with a department of the City of Chicago through the Mayoral Fellows Program.

Founded in the wake of the 2004 election, the Campus Network was formed in orderto strengthen the progressive movement by meaningfully engaging young people inpolitics. Young people can do far more than participate in campaigns; here, studentsare asked to take action on their ideas and create an impact in their communities. Itencourages them to campaign for the progressive policies that they have written. Itgives them an opportunity to reshape their communities. It allows them to experience,first-hand, the power of progressive thought in creating positive change. And the Net-work empowers students to see themselves as progressive leaders in their own right.

Today, the Campus Network boasts more than 7,000 members organized at ap-proximately 80 chapters across the country. Chapters foster debate and dialogueon campus, teach policy courses, engage with local policymakers, generate policy,and promote student ideas through conferences and publications. Since it’s found-ing, Roosevelt members have presented student policies on Capitol Hill, testifiedto city council, implemented legislation, and worked directly in their communities.

The Roosevelt Campus Network is a division of the Franklin and Eleanor

Roosevelt Institute, an organization dedicated to preserving and promotingthe legacy of their namesakes for future generations.



TC

Emily WazlakMount Holyoke CollegeDepartment of the Environment

Ashley HerzoviMichigan State University

Public Building Commission

Shayna PollockUniversity of GeorgiaChicago Transit Authority

Dimitri GroceOccidental CollegeDepartment of Public Health

Jeremy IloulianGeorge Washington University Dept. of Business A ff airs and Consumer Protection

Joe McManusNorthwestern University Department of Water Management

Valiant LowitzUniversity of MichiganDept. of Zoning and Land Use Planning

Samuel Hamer Yale University Chicago Public Schools

Leila Pedersen

University of California - Berkeley Dept. of Community Development

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6

The City of Chicago should invite organizations and businesses to bid on contracts

for new textile drop-o ff containers located at current city recycling centers. The addi-tion of these contracted bin locations will streamline recycling programs in Chicagoas well as promote diversion from landfills, encourage job creation, and develop amutually beneficial recycling partnership between the city and outside organizations.

163,576 tons of textile waste are generatedin Chicago every year.1 Textile recycling, inthe form of reuse and reclamation of prod-ucts, is an existing industry that has inher-

ent environmental and economic benefits.Opening up a bidding process for non-mu-nicipal entities to set up contracted textile-collection bins at the 33 active recyclingdrop-off centers in Chicago, as well as atother high-traffic areas in the city, will helpthe city incorporate textile recycling intoChicago’s larger recycling system.2 Thesecontracted bins would also provide non-

municipal entities with a greater anticipatedconsistency and quantity of textile materials.

Currently, the City of Chicago’s CollectionBin Program includes a permitting processthat allows collection bins operated bynon-city entities to be placed on private property and maintained in accordance withmunicipal codes.3 The city also has 33 actively used recycling drop-off centers oper-ated and maintained through the Department of Streets and Sanitation.

New York City is currently working on innovative approaches to city partnershipswith organizations that utilize textile collection bins. On July 29, 2010, the New YorkCity Council approved plans to install 50 clothing-collection bins in high-traffic areasaround the city. At this time, New York is taking bids for a 10-to-15-year contract witha nonprofit organization that will be responsible for maintaining and collecting fromthese clothing-collection bins.4 This model of diverting textiles from landfills could beeff ectively integrated into the City of Chicago’s existing drop-off system.

AOn a per-ton basis, textile-recycling companies sustain 37 times more jobs than land-fills and incinerators.5 For every 10,000 tons of material, textile reclamation creates85 times more jobs per year than landfill and incineration.6 For Chicago’s 163,576 tonsof textiles in municipal waste, this could mean as many as 1390 new jobs created bydiverting textiles from landfills.

KF

Chicago’s waste stream includes

163,576 tons of textiles, making

up 6.2 percent of the city’s totalwaste stream and 9.9 percent

of its targeted wholesale waste

stream.Per 10,000 tons of textiles, rec-

lamation creates 85 times more

jobs per year than landfills and

incineration.Goodwill Industries conducted a

survey indicating that 65 percent

of people would not go more than10 minutes out of their way tomake a donation.

INPI

TRC

EWMHC



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The city should open a bidding process in which non-municipal entities can seek outcontracts with the city that will give them a claim to these collection bin sites. Enti-ties that win contracts with the city would then be responsible for providing a collec-tion bin as well as maintaining this bin in compliance with current municipal codes.7 Furthermore, diversion from landfills will benefit the city by reducing the municipalgovernment’s resources needed to manage waste.

NS

The City of Chicago should startby awarding contracts to set uptextile-collection bins at the 33current city recycling drop-off centers, along with other hightraffic areas in Chicago. Oncecontracted, the bins’ overseerswill be responsible for providingand maintaining textile-collectionbins, as well as collecting andreporting data to the city. Thesedata reports will include weightcollected from these bins andlevels of contamination found incollected materials.

The City of Chicago alreadyhas an active recycling drop-off system. Contracting textile collection bins at these established collection sites wouldstreamline the recycling process for residents while creating a mutually beneficialpartnership between the city and textile-recycling partners.

E

1. Chicago. Department of Environment. Waste Characterization Study. April 2010. Chicago: CDM.2. “Blue Recycling Drop-Off Centers.” Streets and Sanitation. www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/streets/supp_info/blue_cart_program.html (accessed August 9, 2010).3. “Public Way Use .” City of Chicago . N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Aug. 2010. http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/bacp/provdrs/public_way.html.4. Lappin, Council Member, and The Speaker (Council Member) Quinn). “File #: Int 0158-2010 .” The NewYork City Council. http://legistar.council.nyc.gov/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=657936&GUID=933337E5-0EB4-419D-8AB5-64DC9B92572B&Options=&Search= (accessed August 10, 2010).5. Brenda Platt, Weaving Textile Reuse into Waste Reduction (Washington, DC: Institute for Local Self-Reliance, 1996), 6.6. Institute for Local Self-Reliance. “Recycling Means Business.” Waste to Wealth. http://www.ilsr.org/recycling/recyclingmeansbusiness.html (accessed August 10, 2010).7. “Public Way Use .” City of Chicago . http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/bacp/provdrs/pub-lic_way.html (accessed August 10, 2010).

TP

If all of Chicago’s textiles were diverted from

landfills, approximately 1,390 new jobs could

be created through the textile-recycling

industry.

The addition of contracted bin locations will

streamline textile collections with existingrecycling programs in Chicago as well as pro-

mote diversion from landfills, encourage job

creation, and encourage a mutually beneficialrecycling partnership between the city and

outside organizations.

The entities contracted to these new collec-

tion bin locations would then be responsiblefor providing a collection bin and maintaining

these bins at the sites chosen by the city.



8

The City of Chicago should provide discounts on stormwater permits as a way to en-courage better stormwater-management practices on private and public properties.

Urban water runoff is a direct result of ill-planned and unsustainable development.Buildings and civil structures crowd unnecessary amounts of ground space. On whatlittle space is le, impervious pavements prevent water from infiltrating the ground.Instead, stormwater runs off onto pavement and enters the sewer system. In Chicago,these problems are exacerbated by a combined sewer and stormwater system. When acombined water system floods, sewage releases into homes and surrounding freshwa-ter, making flooding a civil nuisance and a public-health nightmare.

It is imperative that the City of Chicago take action to fix its stormwater system. A

erdamaging storms on July 23, 2010, the city infrastructure was forced to temporarilycease operation. Flooding required that parts of the major Eisenhower, Dan Ryan, andKennedy Expressways close. The Chicago Transit Authority closed parts of the Blue,Pink, and Orange “El” lines. Beaches were closed to prevent swimmers from coming incontact with sewage that was flow-ing into Lake Michigan.1 With betterstormwater-management practices,these events could have been less

dramatic or avoided altogether.

Chicago should award discountedstormwater permits to property ownerswho use the Best Management Practic-es (BMPs) outlined by the Departmentof Water Management. The followingstormwater-management practices would qualify for a discounted permit: green roofs,rooop runoff systems, permeable paving, natural landscaping, vegetated filter strips,

bio-filtration systems, drainage swales, and infiltration vaults.

Currently, Chicago stormwater permits are based on the amount of water pipe on agiven piece of property. Their storm water management incentives (SMIs) would comefrom two sources: the Department of Water Management can give a project a rebateon its sewer permit fee, or if the project uses pavement-driven BMPs (permeable pav-ers/vaults), the project would receive a discounted paving-inspection fee.

Opponents of the use of incentives for stormwater management systems might have

safety concerns with the suggested BMPs. In addition to the BMPs referred to in thispolicy, another option is urban ponds. Ponds have been found to increase propertyvalue in some cases while being functional and aesthetically pleasing. However, pondsalso pose safety risks. In 1994, a 37-year-old man drowned in a deep-retention pond in aChicago junkyard.2 To prevent accidents like this, fence ordinances should be enactedif ponds are built.

KF

On July 23, 2010, rains added 60 billion

gallons of water into the Chicago area.3

Chicago has 9000 miles of water and

sewer drains.4

444,500 gallons of water per year are

diverted from Chicago sewers.5

SMI

AHMSU



9

NS

Aer storms on July 23, the need for controlling volume in the Chicago sewer-storm-water system has become exceptionally apparent. Implementation of this policy shouldbe enacted as soon as possible for the maximum eff ect on the Chicago stormwater sys-tem. The Department of Water Management would enact the discounted permit sys-

tem, and the fees would be determined aer examining the volume of water diverted.

E

1. NBC Universal Inc. “City Begins to Dry Out.” NBC Chicago. http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local-beat/Floodwaters-Starting-to-Recede-Chicago-flood-heavy-weekend-storms-weather-damage-Ju-

ly-25-2010-99193489.html (accessed August 2, 2010).2. Caro, Mark, and Jerry Thornton. “Chicago Man Drowns At Summit Junkyard - Chicago Tribune.” ChicagoTribune. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1994-06-29/news/9406290116_1_pryor-drowning-nemeth (accessedAugust 2, 2010).3. Houlihan, Mary . “Chicago Area Continues Cleanup Eff orts Aer Storm: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: Metro& Tri-State.” Chicago Sun-Times. http://www.suntimes.com/news/metro/2532402,flood-rain-warning-chicago-weather-072510.article (accessed July 28, 2010).4. “Water Management: Operations & Distribution.” City of Chicago. http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/water/provdrs/ops.html (accessed July 27, 2010).5. Public Building Commission of the City of Chicago. “LEED Strategy Status Summary.” PBC Projects. www.pbcchicago.com/pdf/LEED_Briefing_Report_Complete_March_2010.pdf (accessed August 9, 2010).

TP

Recent storms in the Chicago area unacceptably strained the water system.

Current incentives focus only on the volume of water diverted.

The Department of Water Management will define the Best [Stormwater] Manage-

ment Practices (BMPs) which will make property owners eligible for a discounted

permit.SMIs are similar to Green Permit Program incentives but focus on improving the

stormwater system rather than promoting sustainable building practices.



10

The Chicago Transit Authority should require Life Cycle Cost Analysis to be includ-

ed in all Project Management Plans, in order to encourage the use of more sustain-able building alternatives for the city that will also save money in the long term.

Under current funding guidelines, the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) does notsystematically account for long-term operating costs or life-cycle costs when allocat-ing capital dollars. Given the city’s current economic situation, both operating costs—yearly spending on maintenanceand day-to-day operations, andcapital spending—large long-

term investment projects—mustbe cut. Thus, capital projectsthat save operating money in thelong term should be identifiedand explored. When undergoingengineering evaluation, projectsshould include an additional sec-tion on Life-Cycle Cost Analysis(LCCA), a form of economic

analysis that evaluates all costsassociated with a new projector facility throughout its usefullife, including owning, operat-ing, maintaining, and disposing.Run through value engineersand estimators, the LCCA wouldidentify the life-cycle cost ofthe project and of the related

alternatives.

LCCA would aid the CTA in making long-term business decisions regarding capitalexpansion, since many of the agency’s immediate program needs cannot be met. Be-tween 2010 and 2014, $6.8 billion in needed capital projects will go unfunded.1 LCCAcan economically justify both energy and water conservation projects and sustainable-building products by demonstrating the long-term savings and environmental ben-efits that these approaches will bring. Each Project Management Plan (PMP) shouldtherefore include a LCCA in the proposal, and infrastructure and engineering officials

should work to incorporate these life-cycle considerations into capital projects. Unfor-tunately, incorporating LCCA into the CTA’s engineering process requires additionaltime from CTA employees, as they would have to include a LCCA evaluation with everyproposal. However, the environmental and economic benefits of this process have thepotential to outweigh this inconvenience.

KF

Between 2010 and 2014, $6.8 billion in needed

capital projects will go unfunded (CTA 2009).

During 2010, CTA cut $100 million in service to

cover operating costs (CTA 2008).ISO 14000, a listing of environmental-man-

agement standards that is highly pertinent

to transit agencies, specifically enumerates

LCAA as a valuable resource (MTA 2009).The Toronto Transit Commission already

utilizes a 14-step system of LCAA for all new

procurement, and New York’s MetropolitanTransportation Authority is working to imple-ment LCAA as well (MTA 2009).

In a public-transit-oriented study, a section

on LCAA on buses found that over a 12-year

period, 100 Compressed Natural Gas buseswould save $17 million more than Ultralow

Sulfur Diesel buses (FTA 2008).

IL-CCA

ICTASP

SPUG



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The U.S. federal government is at the forefront of the sustainable building and LCCAmovement. The “Federal Leadership in High Performance and Sustainable Buildings”memorandum of understanding (2006), a voluntary agreement between 16 federalagencies to follow sustainable building principles, established their commitment toLCCA and energy efficiency in building. The Federal Transportation Administration(FTA) agreed to endorse the use of LCCA when determining procurement and capitalbuilding projects.2 The EnergyIndependence and Security Act(2007) requires all building manag-ers to evaluate all major renova-tions and all new buildings throughLCCA and to implement allenergy-efficiency components thatare life-cycle cost-eff ective.3 Whilethe CTA’s adoption of LCCA forcapital funding is not dependentupon the federal government’spolicies, federal policy demon-strates that similar standards havebeen successfully implemented ona national level.

Additionally, the U.S. Departmentof Transportation supports theuse of LCCA in capital-fundingdecisions. The Federal Highway Administration specifically endorses LCCA “as an en-gineering economic analysis tool that allows transportation officials to quantify the dif-ferential costs of alternative investment options for a given project.”4 Finally, individualtransit agencies are already utilizing LCCA as an eff ective economic tool for futureinvestment. The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) already utilizes a 14- step systemof LCCA for all new procurements. TTC uses LCCA to determine the lifetime costof a product from procurement to disposal, and emphasizes the purchasing of LCCAproducts when possible.5

A

Currently, the CTA spends a significant sum of money on infrastructure replacement.The CTA projects that “the materials used to maintain the CTA‘s bus and rail fleets, railtracks, facilities, stations and fare revenue equipment,” will cost $98.6 million in 2010.6 According the CTA Operating Budget Summary, “the primary cost driver [of materialscosts]… is from materials necessary to maintain and repair the aging rail car and busfleet.”7 Due to lower-than-projected revenues and subsidies during 2010, CTA couldnot meet all operating needs with the allocated budget.8 Thus, capital funding had tobe reallocated to the operating budget and the CTA had to begin service cuts.

NS

To avoid further operating-budget shortfalls in the future, as the CTA works to main-tain and upgrade the system it should invest in projects and materials with longer life

TP

The Federal government already instituted

mandatory LCCA for all new federal build-

ings and for all major renovation projects.

The Toronto Transit Commission utilizes a 14-

step procurement process that examines thelife-cycle cost of new goods, and the New

York Metropolitan Transportation Authorityis working to adopt a similar policy. As the

second largest transit agency in the country,the CTA should work to incorporate a similar

policy.

Adding LCCA as a component of capital

funding can save hundreds of thousands ofdollars in long-term operating costs.



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cycle costs and thus save operating money in the long term. LCCA is an eff ective andobjective means of calculating life-cycle costs for new buildings, renovations, and capi-tal investments. Using this method, which can be done through a variety of sowarepackages, would ensure that the CTA makes wise long-term investments that coulddecrease its large maintenance and replacement backlog.

E

1. Chicago Transit Authority. An Ordinance Authorizing Reductions in Force to Meet 2010 Oper-ating Budget Requirements. Chicago: CTA, 2009.2. The Office of the President. Executive Order 13423. Washington, DC: Federal Register, 2007.3. The U.S. Congress. Energy Independence and Security Act. Washington DC: GPO, 2007.4. U.S. Department of Transportation. Improving Transportation Investment Decisions ThroughLife-Cycle Cost Analysis. Washington DC: DOT, 2010.5. Toronto Transit Commission. Green Procurement. Toronto: TTC, 2008.

6. Chicago Transit Authority. President’s 2009 Budget Recommendations. Chicago, IL: CTA,2009.7. Ibid.8. Chicago Transit Authority. An Ordinance Authorizing Reductions in Force to Meet 2010 Oper-

ating Budget Requirements. Chicago, IL: CTA, 2009



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MHWM

TC-DP DGOC

By investing in community-development programs that improve and maintain greenspaces, cities can mitigate unnecessary deaths that oen occur during heat waves. So-cial and economic inequalities in urban areas tend to exacerbate the Urban Heat Islandeff ect, in which urban surfaces absorb and radiate heat throughout the city somewhatlike an oven. In 1995, for example, 739 people died in Chicago during a four-day heatwave in which daytime temperatures consistently topped 100 degrees and nighttimetemperatures oen didn’t drop below 80 degrees.1

As this natural catastrophe indicated, consistently high temperatures in urban areas

cause deaths because of the Urban Heat Island (UHI) eff

ect. The UHI eff

ect is danger-ous because it increases nighttime temperatures, inhibiting the body’s ability to recov-er from the day’s high temperatures.2 Nevertheless, the severity of the UHI eff ect canbe naturally mitigated through the cooling mechanisms of urban vegetation areas, or“green spaces”3 . Communities that are already more vulnerable to high temperaturesdue to lack of resources such as air conditioners are also less likely to have access togreen spaces.4 In order to truly mitigate the UHI eff ect in communities most vulner-able to heat waves, cities must invest in community development, create and maintaingreen spaces, and make them safe and appealing for the community.

Community-building strategies focused on sustainable development or environmen-tal causes have been popular since the 1970s and are regaining momentum today. Bycreating green jobs in community gardens and local recycling projects, communitieshave benefited economically, socially, and environmentally.5 The Resource Centerin Chicago, founded by Ken Dunn, has been providing jobs and opportunities forunemployed and homeless individuals since 1968 and is known for its success. Youthprograms across the country have also been recognized for successfully empoweringyouth and providing a resource for the wider community.6 Local communities’ eff orts

to improve the environmental conditions in their neighborhoods have played a signifi-cant role in creating a sustainable-development agenda in the United States.

Because a project aimed at improving green spaces in low-income neighborhoodsthrough employing youth would demand substantial resources, Tax Increment Financ-ing (TIF) may provide a legitimate funding source. By involving TIF districts alreadyestablished around Chicago in community projects such as this, the city could mitigatethe threat of heat waves while increasing land-tax revenue in these communities. Be-cause this project utilizes TIF as a community resource, it would lean mostly on city tax

dollars. Nevertheless, the entire city could benefit from increased economic stimulus,environmental development, and investment in and support of these communities.

NS

The first steps in implementing this project would be founding a nonprofit organizationto cooperate with TIF processes, hiring a dedicated administration and teachers, col-lecting tools and resources, and recruiting local youth willing to get involved



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E

1. Eric Klinenberg, Heat Wave; A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago (Chicago: University of ChicagoPress, 2002), 9-10.2. Michael A. McGeehin and Maria Mirabelli, “The potential impacts of climate variability and change on

temperature-related morbidity and mortality in the United States,” Environmental Health Perspectives 109-2(May 2001): 185.3. Yan Zhou and J. Marshall, “Atlanta’s urban heat island under extreme conditions and potential mitigationstrategies,” Natural Hazards 52-3 (March 2010): 644.4. G. Darren Jenerette, et al., “Regional relationships between surface temperature, vegetation, and humansettlement in a rapidly urbanizing ecosystem,” Landscape Ecology 22-3 (March 2007): 353.5. David Naguib Pellow, Garbage Wars: The Struggle for Environmental Justice in Chicago (Cambridge: TheMIT Press, 2002), 106-112.6. Schusler, Tania M. and Marianne E. Krasney, “Environmental action as context for youth development,” The

Journal of Environmental Education 41-4 (2010): 221.



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By coordinating the e ff orts of the key actors within the city’s taxicab industry and implementing a series of economic and public-awareness initiatives, the City of Chicago should drastically increase the number of hybrid taxis within the city’s cab

fleet in the next decade.

The City of Chicago’s Chicago Climate Action Plan has called for the city to reduceits greenhouse-gas emissions level 25 percent by 2020, and 80 percent by 2050. Alarge part of the city’s emission-reduction eff orts will involve making changes to thecity’s transportation system and especially to its taxi fleet. Right now, Chicago has 200hybrid taxis and has begun to phase out its Ford Crown Victorias with a combinationof hybrids, smaller fuel-efficient vehicles, and compressed natural gas engines (CNGs).While hybrids are on the rise in Chicago, the city has the ability to make them an even

greater presence in its taxi fleet.

Chicago already has regulations thatpromote the use of hybrid vehicles, butthere is plenty of room for improvement.A Clean-Air Taxi Grant program wouldsubsidize new hybrid taxis, making itmore economically feasible for taxicompanies to purchase hybrid vehicles.The program would increase the rates at which companies lease hybrid taxis, as well asconduct a public campaign to promote the use of the new hybrids. The grant programwould be created by the City of Chicago and administered by the Department of theEnvironment (DOE) and Department of Business Aff airs and Consumer Protection(BACP), with funding coming from the city, state, and federal levels.

New York City, San Francisco, Boston, and Chicago are the four cities in the UnitedStates with the largest number of hybrid taxis. 57 percent of San Francisco’s taxis arehybrids and many more are CNG vehicles, while in New York, 27 percent of the taxifleet consists of hybrids. However, in 2007 New York and Boston both tried to forcetheir taxicab industries to convert to hybrids by only allowing vehicles with 30 citympg to become taxis (as of now, only hybrid vehicles are able to achieve this number).Taxicab companies took both city governments to court, and courts found in favor ofthe taxi companies under the claim that only the federal government can mandatecertain fuel efficiencies. New York then tried to create economic incentives by raisingthe lease fee for hybrids and lowering it for non-hybrids. The city was brought back tocourt and lost again under the ruling that lease fees indirectly mandated fuel-efficiencystandards, which only the federal government can do.

San Francisco set up economic incentives for companies to join a hybrid-taxi programand initiated a public relations campaign. The city’s Clean-Air Taxi Grant is funded bythe State of California, and San Francisco provided economic benefits for switching tohybrids but didn’t levy penalties for not switching. The city provided two main benefits:it raised the lease fee by $7.50 for low-emission vehicles as defined by the California

CMC’TH

JIGWU

TP

2.98 percent of taxis in Chicago were

hybrids as of July 1, 2010.57 percent of the taxis in San Francis-

co were hybrids as of March 1, 2010.



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Air Resources Board, and connected taxi companies with diff erent grant opportunitiesto cover the initial costs of hybrid vehicles. San Francisco also led a massive marketingcampaign targeting cab drivers, dealerships, and taxi companies, showing how to makefull use of the new economic incentives and what benefits they would provide.Chicago’s Climate Action Plan has shown progress with regard to hybrid taxis. Thecity has already mandated that fleet owners have one alternative-fuel vehicle if they

own 50, given lifetime extensions of six years to alternative-fuel vehicles, and allowedalternative-fuel vehicles to be mid-sized(1103) instead of large-sized (120 3), which isthe size required for non-alternative-fuel vehicles. By July 2010, 3 percent of Chicago’staxi fleet consisted of hybrids.

R

Chicago should model its program aer San Francisco’s Clean-Air Taxi Grant program.Based on the average gasoline price ($2.95 per gallon) and in keeping with the citywideratio of company profit to driver profit, lease fees in Chicago for hybrid vehicles shouldincrease by $5 for every 24 hours, or $35 per week. Thus, the increase of the lease feesfor hybrid vehicles would come at no cost to the city or the taxicab drivers.While the State of Illinois does not have any grant programs for hybrid vehicles, thereare grant programs available from the federal government that will most likely beextended this year. An employee within the City of Chicago’s Department of BusinessAff airs and Consumer Protection should be appointed to help taxi companies apply forand receive these grants or tax credits. The federal government off ers tax credits forseveral types of vehicles, one of which is the Chevrolet Malibu, which is already part ofChicago’s taxi fleet and carries a tax credit of $1550.

Finally, the City of Chicago should undertake a publicity campaign involving BACPand the Department of the Environment. This campaign would educate taxicab driverson the benefits of hybrid vehicles by sponsoring meetings and inviting taxicab driversfrom throughout Chicago. In these meetings, the city would explain the benefits ofhybrid vehicles to the drivers and answer any questions or debunk any misinformationabout the uses and benefits of hybrid taxis. A Chicago Green Vehicle Guide shouldbe created biannually and then be distributed to all of the city’s car dealerships andcab companies. The guide would include details about diff erent cars’ fuel efficiencies,safety ratings, sizes, CO2 emissions levels, and any tax credits or grants that they carry.The city should work with dealerships to show the taxicab companies their hybridoptions. The taxi company could then use the grant to lower the price, but the dealerwould receive full payment for the car.

NS

Due to issues surrounding lease-fee regulations and the current financial constraints of

the city, three major requirements need to be met before this plan can be fully imple-mented.

1. Sufficient Funds: Aer the city’s next major sale of taxi medallions, the funds fromthe sale should be used to fix the obstacles to resetting the city’s lease fees. The city’staxi lease fees have long been calculated based on an outdated system of equations,and the fees have not changed since the 1990s. Fixing this problem and creating a new



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Included in the package of lease-fee changes should be the increase in lease fees forhybrid vehicles.

2. Timing: Demand for hybrid taxis was higher in 2008 and 2010 than in 2009. In 2009the average gasoline price was $2.50 per gallon, and in July 2010 it was $2.95. If gasprices remain high, then more people will buy hybrids, and government assessmentspredict another oil spike in the summer of 2011. These higher prices, combined with acitywide public-relations campaign, can convince taxi companies to switch to hybridvehicles.

3. Dedicated Personnel: Once Commissioner Norma Reyes of the BACP feels that theresources are available and the timing based on gasoline prices is right, she and othertop officials should make a strong push to move this plan forward. BACP already hasmembers who are fighting to include more alternative-fuel vehicles and hybrids in thecity’s taxi fleet. A concerted eff ort from top officials will seize the moment and providemotivation for the rest of the BACP staff .

S available upon request



19

To combat longer and more intense summers in the Chicago area, government and

businesses should invest in large-scale cooling systems that deliver more a ff ordableand more sustainable air conditioning to homes and businesses.

In 1995, a record-breaking heat wave ravaged the city of Chicago. For five consecutivedays that July, thermometers hovered around 100°F. The heat index—the combinedmeasurement of temperature and humidity—peaked at 125°F at on July 13. To escapethe oppressive heat, some Chicagoans slept in public parks and on the beach of LakeMichigan. 700 heat-related deaths occurred that week. Many of these tragic losseswere because residents, mostly the poor and elderly, did not have access to cool

indoor spaces. Some of the heat wave’s fatalities did have air conditioning units in theirhomes, but were afraid to turn on the cold air because they knew they could not payfor that much electricity.

According to research recently pub-lished in the journal GeophysicalResearch Letters by a team of Stan-ford University climatologists, suchheat waves are likely to increase in the

coming decades. “According to climatemodels, an intense heat wave—equal tothe longest on record from 1951-1999—islikely to occur as many as five timesbetween 2020 and 2029 over areas ofthe western and central United States,”writes the study’s lead researcher, NoahDiff enbaugh. Perhaps the most danger-ous aspect of our current situation is

its cyclical nature: By purchasing moreand more air-conditioning units for ourhomes, businesses, and public places, weare severely increasing the number of CO2 emissions that pollute our atmosphere. Bytrying to beat the heat, we are in fact making it hotter.

District cooling (DC) is a comprehensive solution for Chicago’s dual priorities of publichealth and environmental sustainability. Using a central aquatic refrigerator and anetwork of pipes, district cooling can provide hundreds of buildings and thousands

of people with sufficient cold water to keep their indoor spaces cool. This service isuniversally more aff ordable than traditional A/C systems, making it a smart choice forbusiness owners. In addition, the decreased cost will finally make air conditioning avail-able to the poor and elderly communities that were so devastated in 1995. The mostimportant reason for Chicago to invest in district cooling is its low carbon footprint.Traditional central air conditioning or window-mounted A/C systems put put a heavy

KEY FACTS

Chicago’s average has risen 2.6°F in

the last 30 years.Even the most conservative, “lowest-

emissions” projections estimate that

Chicago’s average daily tempera-

ture will rise 3-4°F by the end of thecentury.

At 16 percent of total energy con-

sumption, air-conditioning units are

the single largest end-use consumerof electricity in American homes.

District Cooling is five-to-ten times

more efficient than traditional cooling

systems and can decrease CO2 emis-sions by 75 percent.

AC’WC

TNSC

JMMNU



20

strain on peak-energy use. That is, they consume most of their energy between thehours of 9:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. Commonwealth Edison, the main electric company inthe city of Chicago, relies mostly on nuclear energy as its baseload power generator—the supply of energy that remains constant throughout the day and night. However, tomeet the fluctuating energy demands during peak hours, ComEd is dependant on coal-and natural gas-burning plants, which emit millions of tons of CO2 every day. Districtcooling avoids this problem entirely by generating its cold water during the nighttime,when energy demand is lowest, and when ComEd functions on just nuclear energy.Because of this, DC decreases carbon emissions by about 75 percent.

ANALYSISA private district-cooling com-pany called Thermal Chicagocurrently serves about 100buildings in the city. The com-pany’s operations have beenvery successful in the decadesince they began, but they onlyoperate in downtown Chicago,in the blocks nearest to the river.Dave Bump, president and CEOof Thermal Chicago, explainsthat his company was not thecreator of the pipe system(it was a produced in a riskyventure by Exelon Corp. in the 1990s) and that construction of a district-cooling systemmust involve a partnership between local government and utilities companies.

Many other cities have created DC systems including Minneapolis, New Orleans, Phoe-nix, Austin, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Helsinki, and a host of localities in the Mediterra-nean and Middle East. All of these required the involvement of local legislators.

The expansion of district cooling in Chicago would require a tremendous capitalinvestment by the city and state government. Installation of DC systems is akin to theconstruction of a small water-purification plant. However, the benefits vastly outweighthe costs for the people of Chicago, as they have in cities all across the world. Thepredicted increase in heat waves throughout the central United States, coupled withthe dangers of the Urban Heat Island eff ect, make this a simple choice to protect thehealth and environment of the City of Chicago.

NEXT STEPSThis investment will require the cooperation of city, county, and state legislators, utilitycompanies, and business groups. As a starting point, legislative bodies including theChicago City Council and the Cook County Board of Commissioners should adoptlegislation in support of district cooling.

S available upon requeset

TALKINGPOINTS

Doing more with less is an actual option when

it comes to the future of air conditioning.District cooling is a critical tool for adapting to

and mitigating climate change.

Businesses save with lower and more predict-

able expenditures.District Cooling reduces carbon emission

dramatically.

DC benefits public health by providing wider

access to life-saving cooling during times ofextreme temperature.



21

By clearly codifying a green-roof policy in the City of Chicago municipal code and subsequently setting up an inspection system enforced by a bond/fining system, thecity will be able to enforce not only the Sustainable Development Policy, but also the

continued maintenance of all green-roof projects in the city.

Vegetated roofing systems have been empirically proven to help alleviate many of theenvironmental and social issues that plague large urban areas today. According to areport on green urban design published by the City of Chicago, higher surface tem-peratures caused by the Urban Heat Island eff ect, in which urban surfaces absorb andradiate heat throughout the city, are causing a greater amount of ozone. This chemical,the primary component of smog, is being released into the atmosphere, and as a resultthe asthma hospitalization rate in Chicago was nearly double the national average in

2006.1

Vegetated green roofs,however, do not radiate heat andthus keep surface temperature ata healthier level.

The plants also act as air filters andremove pollutants and airborneparticles normally inhaled by cityresidents. A 1998 study conducted

by Green Roofs for Healthy Cit-ies showed that if just 6 percentof rooop surfaces in the Cityof Toronto were replaced withvegetated rooops, over 30 tonsof airborne pollutants would be re-moved each year.2 These roofs arealso able to help address water-management needs during storms

and produce aesthetic benefits forthe community. The Departmentof Zoning is currently consideringinserting the Sustainable Devel-opment Policy (SDP), which usesfinancial incentives to requirebuilding owners to construct vegetated roofing systems on new constructions, into thecity Municipal Code. This would allow the City of Chicago to enforce the maintenanceof newly constructed vegetated roofs on a citywide level. The goal is to dra an ef-

fective policy that will compel developers to comply with the new requirements whilenot unduly increasing the cost of development. Because the roofs are not required bycode, the city is unable to track which roofs were actually built and which still exist. Itis difficult to enforce compliance with green-roof requirements and track the mainte-nance of green-roof projects in the city, and thus harder to ensure that the economicand environmental benefits of green roofs are still provided to the community aer theroofs themselves are constructed.

KF

As of 2006, over 250 green roofs were built

or planned in Chicago, totaling over 5.7 mil-

lion square feet of vegetated roofing.

Over 90 percent of building owners who

obtain financial assistance from the cityhave complied with the policy and have

constructed vegetated roofs.

A 1998 study conducted by Green Roofs for

Healthy Cities showed that if just 6 percentof rooop surfaces in the City of Toronto

were replaced with vegetated rooops, and

were maintained up until plant establish-

ment, over 30 tons of airborne pollutantswould be removed each year.

On a typical hot summer day, temperatures

recorded on Chicago’s City Hall green roof

were 25-80 Fahrenheit degrees cooler than

those on the surrounding buildings withtraditional roofs, mitigating the Urban Heat

Island effect.6

EMVRVLUM



22

In November 2008, the city adopted a comprehensive green planning process namedGreen Urban Design (GUD) to supplement the Sustainable Development Policy.An overall objective of the plan was to create a vibrant green-roof market in thecity and ultimately make vegetated roofs the standard on all building projects. Onegoal outlined as a key step in theImplementation Road Map was to“monitor enforcement of two-yearGreen Roof Maintenance Contractrequirement.”3 The target date ofthis dra was set for October 2008,but as of yet no policy has beendeveloped.

A

The City of Toronto has recentlyadopted a Green Roof Bylaw thatprovides an excellent example ofsuch a policy. Toronto is the firstcity in North America to requireand monitor the installation ofgreen roofs on new construction projects.4 Adopted in May 2009, the bylaw requiresa green roof on any new industrial, commercial, or residential project with a minimumgross floor area of 2000 square meters (21,528 square feet).5 Toronto approached theproblem by requiring that before a contractor can obtain a building permit, he or shemust provide information on the green roof (square footage, design, etc.) as well as amaintenance agreement. This approach allows the city to obtain detailed records on allgreen-roof projects throughout Toronto, and requires contractors to set up a mainte-nance agreement before allowing construction of the building.

NS

To address the absence of data on the vegetated roofing projects already in place,vegetated roofing should be added to the City of Chicago’s building permit process.

A coordinated eff

ort should be made between relevant city departments to collectthe required information on the green-roof projects. This would not only help withenforcement, but with collecting data for future research as well. In order to ensurethat building owners comply with green-roof maintenance policies, a system must beput in place to compel them to do so. The city should look into a bond-type systemas a possible avenue to ensuring compliance, requiring that a service bond be postedto the Zoning Administrator before the permit is issued. A fine should also be leviedfollowing the construction of the roof for non-compliance with the policy. This systemcan be enforced through review of satellite imagery of the City of Chicago, either

purchased through private firms or through imagery previously taken by the city.

This method would be eff ective in allowing city officials to identify the approximatesquare footage of the green roof and see what percentage of the roof is covered byvegetation. Ultimately, they would use these images to ensure compliance with the 80percent coverage/two-year maintenance requirement. Satellite imagery can also serveas a better and more efficient way to collect data, rather than costly on-site inspections

TP

Without codified language regarding the

continued maintenance of green roofs, the

city is unable to track which roofs are stillproviding economic and environmental

benefits to the community at large.

By including green roofs in the building

permitting process, the city will be able tokeep detailed records on the construction

and maintenance of green-roof projects.

Purchasing satellite imagery is a cost-

effective and non-intensive way to enforcecompliance with green-roof policy.



23

by city inspectors. The data will already be digitized and setting up a database of still-existing green roofs in the city will require a minimal amount of work. The imagery andanalysis can also be used for projects in diff erent city departments, thus making thedata more useful and aff ordable for the entire city government. The city should alsolook into acquiring already-existing aerial imagery of the city as a possible alternativeto purchasing its own satellite imagery, thereby avoiding unneeded costs.

E

1. City of Chicago, Department of Zoning and Land Use Planning, Adding Green to Urban De-sign, November 2008.2. Green Roofs for Healthy Cities. “Green Roofs for Healthy Cities.” 2010. www.greenroofs.org.3. City of Chicago, 20084. City of Toronto. City of Toronto Green Roofs Bylaw. http://www.toronto.ca/greenroofs/over-view.htm

5. Toronto, ON, Toronto Municipal Code, Chapter 492 Green Roofs. (http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/municode/1184_492.pdf)6. National Geographic. “Plant Covered Roofs Ease Urban Heat.” http://news.nationalgeograph-ic.com/news/2002/11/1115_021115_GreenRoofs_2.html



24

By implementing a walking school bus program, the Chicago Public Schools would provide students with a safe and eco-friendly means to get to school, as well as a

physically active alternative to driving.

A WSB involves a group of children and at least one adult volunteer (“captain”) whowalk along a designated route to school. Although any parent may enroll his or herstudent in the program, a parent who works far away, has young children, or has a dis-abled student stands to benefit the most from WSB participation. Every WSB addition-ally relies on a program coordinator to develop routes, communicate with captains, andrecruit community support.

WSBs benefit a number ofparties, but the focus is on thestudents who get an opportunityto socialize with friends and arriveto school energetic and alert.More than just a way to have funwith peers, walk-to-school initia-tives promote a culture of activeliving, teach students how to be

safe pedestrians, and decreaseautomobile dependence. It will beincumbent upon Chicago PublicSchools to help reverse the trendof youth inactivity—in a 32-yearspan, the number of students living within one mile of school who walked or bicycledthere fell by 24 percent1 —and improve neighborhood safety for its students. In a coun-try where school-bound parents account for 30 percent of traffic between 7:15 and 8:15a.m., CPS can also make headway on pedestrian-safety and environmental issues by

promoting the WSB program.2

The Hertfordshire City Council implemented the first WSB program at St. Albans, Eng-land in 1998. The rate of children walking to Wheatfield consequently increased from50 to 80 percent by 2000.3 Co-opting the British model, Marin County in northernCalifornia secured a federal grant to pilot the Safe Routes to School program. Theresultant WSB engendered a 64 percent increase in student walkers.4 A study conducted at schools with WSB routes in a low-income Seattle neighborhoodreported a 5 percent increase in the number of students who walked to school com-

pared to the beginning of the year. Conversely, 8 percent fewer students were walkingto control schools without WSBs. Walk-to-school initiatives have appeared at severalChicago schools yet have achieved only moderate success due to poor coordina-tion and insufficient funding. Despite its initial popularity at two schools in the LoganSquare community, participation in the WSB plummeted once funding for a coordina-tor had expired.5

DWSBP

SHYU

KF

In 1969, one-half of American children used

active transportation to get to school. In2004, the rate was below 15 percent.7

Nine families particiipating regularly in a

WSB instead of driving prevent about 2000

pounds of carbon dioxide per school yearfrom entering the atmosphere.8

The rate of overweight American children

ages 6 to 11 has doubled in the past 30 years.Chicago’s kindergarten students are over-weight at more than twice the national rate.9,10



25

A

Given its size—675 schools and over 400,000 students—Chicago Public Schools cannotdirectly institute a WSB program. Rather, it must bring focus to the issue of walkingand recruit allies to manage the programs. Route maps, WSB guides, and case studiesshould serve as a public resource on the CPS Go Green website, and curricular sup-port from principals will influence and promote the culture of walking at school. CPSmust also recruit community organizations such as the Active Transportation Allianceto train captains and coordinators. Illinois’ Safe Routes to School Program, local alder-men, and a school’s LSC constitute potential sources of institutional and/or financialbacking.

NS

The WSB program should be piloted at schools with a high proportion of parents whodrive their children. Ask each pilot candidate school to complete a School Travel Plan

to gauge its readiness for a WSB program.

6

Select schools with principals who havea history of commitment to environmental issues. Additionally, schools with an LSCor comparable organization could helpto identify potential parent volunteers.Start small by celebrating Walk to SchoolDay(s) and/or celebrating InternationalWalk to School Month.

As the third-largest school district in the

nation, Chicago Public Schools enjoys anunusual opportunity to impress upon itsstudents a greater awareness of environ-mental, health, and traffic-safety issuesthrough the WSB program. Greening ourschools requires a multifaceted eff ort byseveral parties, and CPS can make greatstrides in its environmental agenda bymotivating students to embrace the walk-

to-school movement.

E

1. “KidsWalk-to-School: Resource Materials | DNPAO | CDC.” Centers for Disease Control andPrevention. http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/kidswalk/then_and_now.htm (accessed July 26,2010).2. “Travel and Environmental Implications of School Sitting | Smart Growth | US EPA.” US Envi-ronmental Protection Agency. http://www.epa.gov/livability/school_travel.htm (accessed July 27,2010).

3. “BBC News | EDUCATION | Walking bus up for award.” BBC News - Home. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/education/880055.stm (accessed July 27, 2010).4. Staunton, Catherine, Deb Hubsmith, and Wendi Kallins. “Promoting Safe Walking and Bikingto School: The Marin County Success Story.” American Journal of Public Health 93, no. 9 (2003):1431-1434. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1447987/pdf/0931431.pdf (accessed July29, 2010).5. Gomez-Feliciano, Lucy. Interview by author. Phone interview. Chicago, IL, August 4, 2010.

TP

Walking School Buses reduce de-

pendence on automobiles and makethe streets safer for students who

commute by foot.

With pressure to keep students in

the classroom leading to reducedrecess and general inactivity, WSB

programs ensure that students get

the 60 minutes of daily exercise

that the Center for Disease Controlrecommends.11

As students walk with friends and

neighbors, they develop a sense of

community and learn critical naviga-tional skills.



26

6. KidsWalk-to-School: Resource Materials | DNPAO | CDC.” Centers for Disease Control andPrevention. http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/kidswalk/then_and_now.htm (accessed July 26,2010).7. “Barriers to Children Walking to or from School --- United States, 2004.” Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5438a2.htm (ac-cessed August 2, 2010).

8. “Green Communities | Active & Safe Routes to School (ASRTS).” Green Communities | Active& Safe Routes to School (ASRTS). http://www.saferoutestoschool.ca/ (accessed August 9, 2010).9.“KidsWalk-to-School: Health Benefits | DNPAO | CDC.” Centers for Disease Control andPrevention. http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/kidswalk/health_benefits.htm (accessed August3, 2010).10. “CLOCC: Childhood Overweight in Chicago.” Welcome to CLOCC, the Consortium toLower Obesity in Chicago Children. http://www.clocc.net/coc/index.html (accessed August 5,2010).11. “Physical Activity for Everyone: Guidelines: Children | DNPAO | CDC.” Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/everyone/guidelines/children.html

(accessed July 28, 2010).



27

DD

SJDCLPUC-B

Develop the reuse market and deconstruction industry in Chicago by implementingan online database of salvaged materials from construction worksites. Access tothese materials will expand consumer access and invest in environmentally con-scious economic development.

Mayor Daley’s Climate Change Action Plan identi-fies Waste Reduction and Industrial Pollution as anintegral element in the strategy to reduce the city’scarbon footprint. Construction and Demolition(C&D) debris accounts for 30 percent of all solidwaste produced in the city. In 2007, amendmentsto the Construction or Demolition Site WasteRecycling Ordinance increased the amount of C&Ddebris that must be recycled in Chicago from 25percent to 50 percent.

As opposed to demolition, deconstruction divertsthousands of tons from landfills by salvagingmaterials for reuse and reducing the need for newproducts. Compared to cities on the west coast such as Portland, the deconstructionindustry in the Midwest has been slow to develop. Investing in deconstruction willrevitalize Chicago by reducing waste, lowering carbon emissions, and creating green

jobs. Barriers such as cost, training, and demand make it difficult for deconstruction tocompete with demolition. For deconstruction to be economically feasible there mustbe a demand and market for salvaged C&D debris. There must be concerted eff ortsto make purchasing reused goods more convenient. If these goods are made moreaccessible, consumers will have greater incentive to buy used materials rather thancommercial products.

Through the first round of stimulus funding, the Delta Institute, a nonprofit that pro-motes environmentally responsible economic development, was awarded $4,559,000in Community Development Block Grant Funds for a two-year project. The ultimategoal of this project is to train 140 ex-convicts in deconstruction contracting, strengthenthe deconstruction industry, and create more sustainable green jobs. On-site traininghas been successful, but the Rebuilding Exchange, the reuse center where salvageddeconstruction materials are sold, is suff ering from a lack of consumption.

Minnesota and California both have web interfaces that allow users to search formaterials by material type or facility location, thus linking consumers to reuse retailers.California’s Recyclers Database allows contractors to search for reuse centers acrossthe state and post information about their own facility. Waste Management Special-ists in California confirms that the database is a low-cost, low-maintenance tool thatreduces the amount of C&D debris sent to landfills. Creating a similar database fordeconstruction projects in Chicago would give contractors the opportunity to market

KF

Construction and De-

molition Recycling Ordi-nance requires that 50percent of construction

waste must be divertedfrom landfills.Deconstruction diverts

thousands of tons ofindustrial waste fromlandfills.



28

salvaged goods to a large population. Using online tools for technological businesstraining will encourage deconstruction entrepreneurship and equip disadvantagedtrainees with marketable skills. Aer the termination of the training program, individu-als can advertise their own deconstruction businesses online and train new employeesin digital inventory.

A

The costs of creating a website of thiscaliber are initially minimal and taperoff as systems are up and running.Merging funding from DCD and De-partment of Energy will result in negli-gible costs to each department. Oncethe database proves to be successful,

tax credits will generate revenue fromproducts sold and facilitate broadeconomic development. The websitewill serve as a tool to leverage fund-ing for future projects from new sources by providing evidence of a successful projectthat has diverted waste from landfills and reduced carbon emissions. Developing thereuse market in Chicago by creating an online directory of reuse retailers in the citycontributes to goals beyond those of the two-year Community Development program.Building a technologically skilled labor force will put Chicago on the map as a leader in

deconstruction, facilitate civic entrepreneurship, attract companies’ investment in thecity, create jobs, and reduce unemployment. Public and private entities that specializein waste reduction, environmental conservation, and/or economic development will beinterested in this opportunity for technological investment.

NS

Creating an online database of reuse centers and material inventory should beincorporated into the current deconstruction-training curriculum. The labor neededto maintain the website will decrease as trainees create their own deconstruction

businesses and responsibility is spread across a range of suppliers. Aer the onlinedirectory is established, Chicago should continue to expand the website’s capacity byencouraging suppliers across the state of Illinois to track and submit reuse inventoryonline, thus granting more consumers the ability to view and buy reused goods.

SDepartment of Environment. “Construction & Demolition Recycling.” City of Chicago. http://egov.cityofchi-cago.org/city/webportal/portalContentItemAction.do?blockName=Environment%2FNoise+Ordinance%2FPromo+Item&deptMainCategoryOID=-536887205&channelId=0&programId=0&entityName=Environment&topChannelName=Dept&contentOID=536909079&Failed_Reason=Invalid+timestamp,+engine+has+been+restarte

d&contenTypeName=COC_EDITORIAL&com.broadvision.session.new=Yes&Failed_Page=%2Fwebportal%2FportalContentItemAction.do&context=dept (accessed July 1, 2010).

Hampton, Dave. “Deconstruction: The Next Step for True Sustainability in Chicago.” Urban Habitat Chi-cago. (February 6, 2008). http://www.urbanhabitatchicago.org/projects/uhc-lecture-series/deconstruction-uhc-020608.pdf.

Delta Institute. “ReBuilding Exchange” http://www.rebuildingexchange.org/ieindex.htm

TP

The success of deconstruction relies on

a stable market for salvaged materials.

Consumers value convenience and ac-

cessibility when purchasing goods.

An online database links all parties in

the Construction and Demolition recy-

cling chain.

Digital outreach is a low-cost tool that

equips trainees with marketable skills.



29

E~E~P



30

chicago academy publication

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