Planning for Resilient Communities

Resilient St. Joseph Master Planning Project

First Community Action Team MeetingWednesday, August 13, 2014

LIAA is a Section 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation created in 1993 to stimulate & support greater civic engagement.Our mission statement is:

Helping people shapebetter communities through:• participation,• education,• information &• the effective use of technology

Planning for Resilient CommunitiesProgram Partners

Project Grant Support from:KRESGE FOUNDATION, TROY, MICOASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT, MDEQWATER CENTER, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN

Project Start-Up

Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May

Citizen Engagement & Public Participation

Data & Research

Vulnerabilities

Scenarios

Goals

Drafting

Review & Adopt

General Project Timeline

Many Opportunities for Involvement

Community Action Team MeetingsWednesday, August 13, 6:00- 7:30 PMWednesday, September 24, 6:00-7:30

PMWednesday, October 22, 6:00-7:30 PM

Topic-Specific Public MeetingsMarina/Port RedevelopmentLions Park Neighborhood

Vulnerability Analysis Focus-

Group

UM Shoreland Analysis Meeting

Master Plan Open House/Gallery

Walk

Community Briefings

Visit www.ResilientMichigan.org/st_joeand sign-up for our monthly E-Newsletter

Sign-up for E-News to stay engaged

Click on ‘Get Involved’ to provide online feedback

Taking a “systems” approach to understanding community challenges & opportunities, there will be one CAT for each of six community systems.

1. Access & Transportation Systems2. Economic & Energy Systems3. Neighborhoods & Infrastructure4. Agriculture & Food Systems5. Human & Social Systems6. Parks and Natural Systems

Community Action Teams

Key components of each system can be Tangible or IntangibleExamples of intangibles - Festivals or Volunteerism

Most system components appear across multiple systemsFor example, Schools or Lake Michigan

Community Action Teams

Neighborhoods and Infrastructure

Access and Transportation

Economy and Energy

Human and Social

Food and Agriculture

Parks and Natural Areas

Think about how all the components of a system are linked and how the system might relate and connect with other systems

Community Action Teams

Food and Agriculture

Compost

Processing

Distribution

Farmers

Institutional Consumers

Production

Community Gardens

Farmer’s Markets

Food WasteRecovery

Food AccessFood Deserts

Resilient Communities are likely to value and work to enhance a number of key characteristics, including:

1. Social Cohesion/Social Capital – meaningful social supports2. Diversity – economic, cultural & natural3. Adaptive Capacity – problem solving, innovative, creative4. Ecosystem Services – extensive application of natural processes

Community Assets for Resilience

Assets that support or contribute to Social Cohesion and Meaningful Community Support

Union Charter Township, Isabella County – Community Kitchen

• Multi-functional resource• Residents can bring locally grown

produce for processing• Training center for organizations and

nutrition classes• Food preservation and culinary arts

training space

Community Assets for ResilienceAssets that support or contribute to Social Cohesion and Meaningful Community Support

City of Ypsilanti Tree Nursery partnering with ReLeaf Michigan & local volunteers to increase tree canopy & diversity.

Community Assets for Resilience

Assets that support or contribute to Social Cohesion and Meaningful Community Support

The Breezway - Task force of 4 townships, two villages, and one city convened to address economic woes

A strategy to brand the Antrim County route C-48 and market the area as an ideal route for cyclists, motorcyclists, and motorists, complete with art galleries, resale shops, lodging, etc.

Community Assets for Resilience

Assets that support or contribute to Social Cohesion and Meaningful Community Support

Community Assets for Resilience

Assets that support or contribute to Diversity – Economic, Social & Environmental

Trail Towns is an economic development initiative in Michigan working to ensure that trail communities and businesses maximize the economic potential of trail.

Case Study:Over $40 million in direct annual spending is attributed to trail user spending along the Great Allegheny Passage in Pennsylvania.

Community Assets for ResilienceAssets that support or contribute to Diversity – Economic, Social & Environmental

Townships, cities, and villages came together in Gratiot County to coordinate their zoning ordinance to allow for the construction of a 22-megawatt, 30,000-acre wind project in the County.

Community Assets for Resilience

Assets that support or contribute to Innovation &Creative Problem Solving

As a part of Chicago’s Sustainability Plan, a vertical hydroponics garden has been installed at Chicago O’Hare International Airport. Produce from the garden supply restaurants at the airport with produce.

Benefits: 1. Decreased food transportation and

distribution costs2. Fresher produce for restaurants3. The garden provides airport patrons

with information and education on local produce

4. People can feel a connection to nature while at the airport

Source: Chicago Tribune and www.ohare.com

Community Assets for ResilienceAssets that support or contribute to Innovation &

Creative Problem Solving

Love Food Not Waste program in Eugene, Oregon engages local garbage haulers, commercial composters, the City of Eugene and area businesses in turning food scraps turn into valuable compost instead of take up space in our landfill.

Community Assets for Resilience

Assets that support or contribute to Ecosystem Services

Towar Rain Garden Drains in Meridan Charter Township and the City of East Lansing are used to ease the stress of extreme rain events on the stormwater system.

Community Assets for Resilience

Assets that support or contribute to Ecosystem Services

In Thunder Bay, Ontario, the city Parks and Recreation Department has committed to establishing a citywide canopy cover of 50%, as outlined in their Natural System Plan.

Trees can save you money any time of the year, both by buffering cold winter winds and by shading homes from the summer sun. In the US, 100 million mature trees can save up to $2 billion in energy costs (Donovan and Butry 2009).

Laycock City Park,Calgary, Canada

Building community resilience with Ecosystem Services

Activity Deliverables:1. A complete list of assets for your system2. A list of three assets identified by your team that should be on ALL

other Teams’ lists.3. A complete list of threats (weaknesses and vulnerabilities) to your

system or topic area.4. A topic-specific Vision Statement that describes the group’s long-

term desire for the City of St. Joseph.