City-Level Decoupling-Case Studies

CITY-LEVEL DECOUPLING: URBAN RESOURCE FLOWS AND THE GOVERNANCE OF INFRASTRUCTURE TRANSITIONS

The 2006 Sustainability Plan was groundbreaking in its scope and approach to sustainable development for large scale mixed-use projects, and provided an exemplary yet practical pathway to sustainability that many international projects have since followed. Rather than treating sustainability as a technical 'add on', the approach emphasizes the integration of sustainability into urban planning, form and social fabric. At the time, the project-tailored Treasure Island Green Building Specifications included in the 2006 Sustainability Plan were unique in terms of regulations for green building, and they represented a high bar for vertical developers to achieve. In 2008, the City of San Francisco codified many of the project’s 2006 aspirations in its Green Building Ordinance (SF GBO), influencing the design of buildings elsewhere in the city. In 2009, the TI/YBI Project was selected as one of 17 projects worldwide to participate in the Climate Positive Development Program led by the Clinton Climate Initiative. In this role, the TI/ YBI Project will support San Fransisco’s goal of climate neutrality and endeavour to set a global example in achieving large-scale urban development that is climate positive and cost effective. The comprehensive design has earned several awards including the American Institute of Architects National Honor Award and The Governor’s Economic and Environmental Leadership Award. On 8 June 2011, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved the development of a new neighborhood on Treasure Island between 2012 and 2022, with the first new residents occupying new sustainable towers as early as 2013. Since Treasure Island and Yerba Buena Island fall under the jurisdiction of the city and county of San Francisco, the project is collaboration between the San Francisco redevelopment board and a private development team. The 2006 Sustainability Plan was updated in 2011 to reflect enhancements to the integrated approach, as well as how the TI/YBI Project will exceed green standards and ordinances in certain cases. For instance, strategies related to energy, water, waste, and materials have been grouped in the Integrated Sustainable Design Chapter to reflect the synergistic relationships between them. The Sustainability Plan also updates some of the 2006 targets to respond to changes in technology, local regulations, and additional commitments made by the Treasure Island Development Authority and Treasure Island Community Development, the project’s Master Developer. Since 2006, California has adopted a new Green Building Standards Code and the City and County of San Francisco have adopted the previously mentioned SF GBO (2008 and 2010). Both of these regulations became effective in 2011 and the increased sustainability performance required under these new codes is incorporated into building designs. The revisions between the 2006 and 2011 sustainability plan mean that many of the innovative features of the early plan have themselves been incorporated into new regulatory structures. Consequently the plan has had to work much harder to produce standards that exceed new environmental targets. Additionally the proposals received some resistance and quationing before they went to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, who unanimously approved a planned US$1.5 billion green redevelopment plan for the island.

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