Sustainability Policy

5Policy Levers for SustainabilityThe Local Level

Introduction

For the purposes of this text, we define local as consisting of dense urban areas. These cities, both large and small, are capable of achieving substantial efficiencies and scale that can enhance the sustainability of built environments. City governments have emerged as laboratories for sustainability and as leaders in designing and implementing sustainability action plans. While environmental performance and sustainable development have been measured at the national level for decades, cities (and some U.S. states and other sub-national regions) are beginning to measure and manage their own impacts. Localities are aggregating sustainability actions at the micro level—in households, ...