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David T. Downey, CAE, President of IDA——A Green Economy and Living a Low Carbon Life


19 November 2011

Zhuhai, China

 

On behalf of the International Downtown Association, I thank you for the honor to attend the Global Mayors Forum, the China Sustainable Development Forum and to participate in this Six Party Talk - Road to Rio + 20.  I am particular pleased to note the sustainable cities focus of these meetings.  It relates closely to the organization I now represent since April of this year and my own personal experiences.

 

The International Downtown Association (IDA) is a not for profit association - an NGO - based in Washington DC.  It was established in1956 as a means of sharing information and experiences among several locally based like-minded business organizations formed to help revitalize historic centers within their cities. Today, IDA counts more than 550 member organizations throughout the world.  The largest percentage is from the United States and Canada, but our connections are growing throughout Europe and Asia through direct membership or relationships with other similar NGOs in these regions.

 

In the last 55 years, IDA members have taken an increasingly direct and active role in partnership with their municipalities to implement important community projects and programs. This culture of cooperation has become even more critical during the recent times of economic stress.  As a result, some of the activities of our members have included: providing a unified voice to advocate on behalf of the downtown area; organizing coordinated advertising and marketing programs to promote the downtown; commissioning planning and feasibility studies for new growth; and providing varied forms of financial and professional support for select projects through techniques such as land assembly, low interest loans, owning and managing parking facilities, parks, recreational, and cultural facilities.

 

Which brings me to today's discussion on building a green economy and living a low carbon life.  My short tenure with the IDA has served to reinforce our belief that creating successful city centers, downtowns, and walkable urban centers provide great promise for delivering sustainable development and a greener economy.

 

The built environment and transportation combined account for more than sixty percent of global carbon emissions.  Often we speak of advancements in green building technologies, development of alternative energies, and more efficient vehicles as strategies for reducing our carbon footprint and building a green economy.  All of this is good however in order to maximize the benefits from these advancements one key ingredient must me added - location. Downtowns of all sizes; small, medium, and large provide the canvas where true sustainable development can occur.  Where the triple bottom line of environmental health, economic vitality, and societal equity can be achieved through an integration of all systems.

 

Downtown environments allow for a more dense mix of uses to meet societal needs for housing, employment, health and human services, recreation, culture, and entertainment. By creating these mixed use, walkable urban neighborhoods, successful downtown environments concentrate the population and demand necessary to support multi modal transportation systems.  This in turn, provides people with options for walking, bicycling, or taking mass transit in an effort to live a low carbon life. 

 

It is often said in North America that the greenest building ever conceived will do nothing to reduce carbon emissions if it is located in a remote area where its occupants must all drive individual automobiles to access the facility.  Alternatively, the same building located in a walkable urban environment such as a downtown will reduce an individuals' carbon footprint immensely and make a positive contribution to the whole city.

 

The good news is demographic projections and lifestyle interests for both the aging segments of society and the emerging knowledge workforce in north america are creating a renewed market demand for these kinds of environments compared to the demand for suburbanization over the past 50 years.The challenge is to now meet this demand, to develop more sustainable city centers, and do so within a business, social, and political environment that was designed to create sprawling single use development.

 

The challenges to build new vibrant urban centers and revitalize older downtowns are not insignificant.  Land assembly, public policy and regulations, private investment and access to capitol, along with competing public interests are among the many.  IDA member organizations play an increasingly vital role in creating successful downtowns by supporting solutions to these challenges.  They are uniquely positioned in-between local government and private enterprise.  They enhance the downtown experience through professional urban place management and create public private partnerships to develop projects and programs that benefit both sides. 

 

Management of a downtown is usually accomplished through business improvement districts (BIDS).  These are special districts whereby businesses and property owners within a defined geographic area agree to pay an additional amount of money.  In return, they receive a level of public services over and above those provided by the municipality. The first such BID was establish in Toronto, Canada over thirty years ago and today in north America alone there are more than 1000. 

 

In the beginning these organizations emphasized heightened security and improved litter removal.  The theme of "clean and safe" was intended to answer public perceptions of older city centers being dangerous and unwelcoming.  Today these organizations are helping to finance new transit lines, building and managing urban parks, researching district wide energy consolidation strategies, erecting performing arts centers and much more. In these difficult economic times where government resources are constrained and access to private investment capitol is limited, these organizations are providing a new collaborative alternative to future development.

 

On the road to Rio + 20 I hope the role of professional downtown management will be viewed as important to maintaining exciting, vibrant, and sustainable cities.  That business improvement districts grow throughout the world, helping to bring new walkable urban projects to reality through public/private partnerships.  And that the resulting urban environment provides for a low carbon life built upon a greener economy.

 

Thank you once again for the honor of speaking and participating in this Six Party discussion.