Weekly Assignment #12

Article 1: "Master plan calls for higher density downtown"

http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2009/03/10/news/mtregional/news07.txt

This article was published on 3/10/09 by the Missoulian newspaper in Missoula, Montana. Missoula is one of the larger towns in Montana, but still has a population fewer than 100,000. Several organizations in Missoula, including the Business Improvement District, the Missoula Downtown Association, the Missoula Redevelopment Agency and the Missoula Parking Commission. This article describes the "Downtown Master Plan" being set forth by these agencies. This is a good example of how sustainability planning can be accomplished outside the standard urban environment.

Wheeler describes "The role of institutions" (p. 98) and the importance of collaboration towards the goal of sustainability. Missoula is putting this concept into practice, with many local agencies working together on the Downtown Master Plan. These agencies are hoping to work with Federal agencies to make use of stimulus grants in order to achieve many of the goals in the plan. While the plan seems to be mostly focused on traffic patterns and housing development, there are also some facets that address the need for alternative transportation such as bike lanes.

It seems that the authors of the Downtown Master Plan are also trying to address the need for public involvement in the process, although their efforts may be coming up a bit short. Wheeler (p. 100) states, "Particularly important are structured community processes through which participants can get to know one another over time, build trust, establish a common base of knowledge and data, and develop networks that can bear fruit in the long run." This article shows that the local agencies in Missoula are attempting to educate the public stakeholders about what goals and plans have been set, but it does not appear that they are seeking true involvement from the public. Rod Austin, director of operations for the Business Improvement District, says in the article, "The BID is taking comments on the document, but...the basic ideas are essentially set."

In sum, this is a good example of how collaboration at the local level can produce goals and plans to achieve sustainability, with the least possible level of sacrifice for citizens. However, the process outlined seems to be lacking in the area of communication. From this article, it appears that the public was not involved in the initial stages of planning. The eventual outcomes of this project will show whether there was a cost associated with the choice not to include the public's opinions and values.

Article 2: "Missoula urged to hire sustainability coordinator"

http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2008/07/08/bnews/br66.txt

This article was published on 7/8/08 by the Missoulian newspaper in Missoula, Montana, although it mostly describes a process undertaken by the town of Fayetteville, Arkansas. In Fayetteville, a "sustainability coordinator" is employed to manage the issues related to sustainable energy and development in the town. The Missoula County Conservation Roundtable is using the example of Fayetteville's success to encourage Missoula to follow suit.

In an opposite stance from the first article reviewed in this blog post, it seems here that the community groups are taking an active role in voicing their opinions and making recommendations for local environmental policy. In addition to the Missoula County Conservation Roundtable, the Advisory Board on Climate Change and Sustainability is also encouraging the Mayor to address this issue. Wheeler also supports this building of local coalitions, stating that "a core task of sustainability organizing at any level is to establish a positive and proactive agenda, rather than simply opposing bad projects." (p. 101) The Missoula coalitions described here seem to be doing well at being proactive in their recommendations to local government.

However, in this case, it seems that local government is being somewhat unresponsive to the community's requests. Mayor Engen states, "This just isn't the budget year for it. Otherwise, I would have had it in the executive budget. So we'll be talking about that next year." Even though the article reports that in Fayetteville, the sustainability coordinator was able to save $180,000 on the first energy bill, while his salary is only $57,000. It seems that this would be a positive budgetary decision, especially if Missoula County could mimic the energy savings that Fayetteville had.

Wheeler focuses quite a bit on showing how extensive the sustainability planning and implementation processes can be. This concept is backed up by the number of local organizations and coalitions dedicated to affecting positive change in the community, where sustainability is concerned. Given the many tasks and roles required to achieve these outcomes, it certainly seems that the local agencies in Missoula are on the right track by recommending a sustainability coordinator for the local government.