A Sustainable Stimulus Plan

From Sustainable Shelby (Memphis and Shelby County) comes a simple set of criteria for stimulus spending:

Principles:

1. Focus on projects that will spur local job growth by awarding contracts to local and minority owned businesses (multiplier effect).
2. Focus on projects within areas with under utilized infrastructure in order to promote infill and reduce sprawl.
3. Focus and prioritize projects that incorporate sustainable design principles, such as green building retrofits for schools and public buildings or using natural infrastructure in roadway design.

Sustainable Stimulus Criteria:

Does the project ...

• reduce VMT
• promote infill development/discourage sprawl
• promote alternate modes of transportation (BRT, Lightrail, Trolley, Carpool, Carsharing)
• provide infrastructure that encourages biking and walking
• locate infrastructure improvements near approved substantial infill development projects in an effort to add value to community redevelopment initiatives.
• encourage school and public building retrofits to include energy efficient and green building standards

The basic idea is that the projects selected/prioritized for the stimulus money should be those that help to reduce our dependency on foreign oil, reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, revitalize our cities and provide good jobs to local employees.

Not a bad list.

 

  

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