We need a bold sustainability agenda that inspires us to move into the future in innovative ways. This agenda must be regional in scale. And it must be created by a broad network that transcends regional divisions and leverages the activities of many partners.

GreenCityBlueLake is intended to be a home for this network. It will be a new kind of initiative that will facilitate community discussions and strategic planning and action for sustainability in Northeast Ohio.

The specific objectives will be to:

• Organize a broad-based, regional network of people and organizations who are advancing sustainability in 11 areas of practice – water, energy, economy and sustainable business, regional food systems, land and conservation, transportation, green building and neighborhood development, health, arts, education, and spirit. This network will ultimately involve thousands of people and hundreds of organizations and businesses — all of whom will gain power, awareness, and coordination by being part of a larger context. The network will have members, advisors, and financial sponsors.
• Create an online home to facilitate the work of this network at www.greencitybluelake.org. In addition to allowing users to post calendar items, job listings, and alerts, the site will facilitate online conversations, group agenda setting, and collaborative content creation about the practice areas of sustainability. It won’t be anything like a static, old-fashioned Web site. It will be a true home for civic participation – the kind of site people will visit daily to see what’s going on. GreenCityBlueLake will be a national model for the use of this cutting-edge technology for civic engagement.
• Facilitate the development of regional agendas in the main areas of sustainability. This initiative is about bringing people together to rethink the region. In water, energy, and the other areas of sustainability, we will push the community to think through what needs to happen to move Northeast Ohio into the future. For instance, what will be our energy agenda if we need to reduce carbon emissions? How can we use the disruptive force of climate change to drive innovation and greater efficiency? We will be able to pose such questions, collect the community’s best ideas, and move the conversation forward in productive ways.
• Leverage the activity of major institutions in the region that have the most resources (e.g., big companies, governments and public agencies, universities, health care systems). The real power of this initiative will come from managing the network strategically to influence key decision makers and persuade them to change their practices. The network will help us reach the key people with the right information at the right time. (Go here for more on the theory of managing knowledge networks for sustainable development.)
• Provide the best information and analysis on community planning projects. The GreenCityBlueLake site will become the online guide to important planning processes such as the Innerbelt, Euclid Corridor, casinos, and regional biodiversity. It will provide citizens with what they need to know (explanations, project documents, pictures, timelines, schedule of events, independent research on alternatives, etc.) in order to participate effectively and articulate a sustainability perspective.
• Promote a positive GreenCityBlueLake identity for Cleveland and the region — a new image that will make the outside world see us differently and will make us break out of our tired, Rust-Belt mindsets and imagine new futures.
• Tell the story of Cleveland’s emergence as a cool place that is engaged with the rest of the world. A lot of sustainability-related activities are happening, but currently no one is covering it all and telling the complete story. GreenCityBlueLake is where it will all come together so people will appreciate the magnitude of the transformation.

We believe that this is an opportune time for creating a strong network for sustainability in Northeast Ohio. Throughout the region there is growing dissatisfaction with the status quo. And there are calls for new leadership, new ways of working together, and new ideas for moving the region into the future.

It’s also an opportune time because Northeast Ohio now has a critical mass of people and organizations actually doing the work of sustainability in various areas of practice – energy, water, food, health, land and transportation, building, business, education, and the arts. Indeed, sustainability is bigger than we think. If all of the individual efforts could be seen as part of a larger context, they would have greater impact. The GreenCityBlueLake Network can be that context.

In short, the region needs a transformative vision like GreenCityBlueLake, and now is the time to advance it. The challenges of the 21st century are rushing upon us. This work can drive innovation, attract talent, and make Greater Cleveland a greener, healthier, and more prosperous place for all.

Organize a broad-based, regional network of people and organizations who are advancing sustainability in 11 areas of practice – water, energy, economy and sustainable business, regional food systems, land and conservation, transportation, green building and neighborhood development, health, arts, education, and spirit. This network will ultimately involve thousands of people and hundreds of organizations and businesses — all of whom will gain power, awareness, and coordination by being part of a larger context. The network will have members, advisors, and financial sponsors.

Climate Project

The GreenCityBlueLake Institute is also helping Northeast Ohio address climate change. The project will attempt to:

• Define the greenhouse gas reduction goals required for climate neutrality in the region
• Describe the transition paths for key sectors, such as energy, transportation and buildings
• Educate the public and targeted constituencies about climate change solutions
• Gain commitments for actual emissions reductions, and promote policy changes at the local, state and federal levels

The overall goal is to make Northeast Ohio a leader on climate change—a transition that will promote innovation and economic development, improve the environment and public health, and bolster the image of the region as a place that is moving into the future. For more information, go here.