Raising A City
The face of urban sustainability is comprised of many facets, key among them an open-minded and supportive community that’s conscious of the issues Austin is up against.
As Austin continues its growth spurt outward, trans- forming once-rural farmland into an urban sprawl of new housing developments, retail centers and office complexes, our community approach to sustainability is also evolving.
Sustainability: It’s one of those words that could mean a multitude of things to one person. A 1987 Brundtland Commission Report succinctly defined sustainability as “development that meets the needs of present generations without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.” In a 2013 Southwestern University study titled A Sustain- able Austin, researchers outlined the three main faces of sustainability: economic, social and environmental.
“We are now living in the century of cities,” the Southwestern researchers noted in their report. “[They] are the sites where global problems materialize at the local scale, yet, at the same time, cities also hold the greatest potential for solving these problems. Simply put, cities are sites of creation and destruction, regeneration and degradation, resilience and vulnerability.”
Ask any Austin newcomer why they chose to move here, and you won’t hear them say it’s because of the traffic. Most likely, they’ll run you through an itemized list of positive exaltations—the running and biking trails, the warm winters, the farm-to-table dining scene—that make this city sound like it truly is a dream. We’re not arguing, but sometimes, even the best of the best needs a crash course in humility: a reminder of our roots, an update on the pertinent environmental issues our city is facing and the progress that’s still being made to keep this thriving place we all call home just that –thriving.
In this piece, we enlist the expertise of five female community leaders to draw attention to the past, present and future of Austin’s sustainability efforts.
Water Conservation
The issue: Just because the lake levels are up doesn’t mean we should act like it.
What’s being done: In 2013, Texas voters passed Proposition 6. It dedicated $2 billion in funding to the State Water Plan, and directs 20 percent of that funding to conservation.
Although persistent rain has currently eliminated drought conditions throughout the state, in March, Austin Water Utility proposed new citywide watering restrictions that would mean revising the city’s irrigation schedule and permanently limiting outdoor watering to one day per week.
According to the Texas Water Conservation Scorecard, implementing new initiatives
and restrictions is what, in recent years, has moved Austin to the top ranks of Texas cities practicing efficient water conservation.
State Director for The Nature Conservancy Laura Huffman says the key is not to wait for drought to return before we start thinking about conservation.
“We need to reduce water usage now so we’re better prepared to weather the drier, hotter conditions that are predicted to get worse in the future,” she says.
Part of the solution, Huffman explains, is to change our own expectations. Lawns may not always be green and lakes will likely not always be full.
“Water conservation isn’t about saving enough for us; it’s about saving enough for the future,” Huffman says.
Voice From The Field: Laura Huffman
State Director of the Nature Conservancy
Given current climatic trends...
“It wouldn’t take long for lake levels to go back down again. We cannot rest on our laurels!”
A common misconception is:
“When our lakes are full, our water problems are over. Even if our lakes are full, we can’t declare mission accomplished, especially when our state’s population is predicted to double in size. A lot of that growth will happen in and around Austin.”
Water is a shared resource.
“And we need to think of it as such. it’s not just the City of Austin that we need to worry about. The status of the Highland lakes also affects communities downstream who depend on that water. The health of Matagorda Bay, one of Texas’ largest estuaries and important fisheries, hinges on water from the Colorado River. Farmers on the coast also depend on this water.”
Easy ways Austin residents can better manage their water usage:
1. “Reduce outdoor watering. in some parts of Texas, 50 to 70 percent of total use goes to outdoor watering. This may mean getting used to things looking different: having less grass or xeriscaping.”
2. “Incorporate compost into the soil to help improve water absorption and retention.”
3. “Use mulch around shrubs and garden plants to reduce evaporation from the soil surface and cut down on weed growth.”
4. “When outdoor water use is restricted, use the leftover water from the bath or sink on plants or the garden. Just make sure there’s no bleach, automatic-dishwashing detergent, fabric softener or other chemicals.”
5. “Turn off your faucet while doing things like brushing your teeth and preparing food.”
6. “Utilize pitchers to keep your drinking water in the fridge. So many of us drink from the tap and just let the water run until it’s cool, but think about how much water that just sends down the drain.”
7. “Upgrade to water- and energy-efficient appliances, and explore rebate options the City offers.”
Food Production & Waste
The issue: More than 40 percent of food in the U.S. gets thrown out every day, yet one in seven people don’t know where their next meal will come from.
What’s being done: The City of Austin, in partnership with Austin Resource Recovery, passed an initiative in December 2011 called Zero Waste by 2040. The goal of the initiative is to redirect waste by striving to keep 90 percent of discarded materials out of landfills.
One key component under the Zero Waste by 2040 umbrella is the Universal Recycling Ordinance. Two important dates to note are:
• Oct. 1, 2017: This is when all Austin residential and non-residential properties, including retail, medical and education buildings, will be required to provide recycling services to their tenants and employees.
• Oct. 1, 2018: This is when all Austin food enterprises, including restaurants, grocers and farmers markets, will be required to ensure their employees have convenient access to organics diversion services, such as composting.
Aside from these citywide initiatives, there are many small organizations that have huddled together on this issue. One such organization is the nonprofit Keep Austin Fed. Started in 2004, the group picks up nutritious surplus food from commercial kitchens throughout town and delivers it to charities that feed those in need. Another is the Sustainable Food Center. With roots dating back to 1975 and located near the Martin Luther King Jr. rail-line stop in East Austin, the SFC practices what it preaches, showing community members how to sustainably grow, purchase and use their food through gardening and cooking classes.
Voice From The Field: Ronda Rutledge
Executive Director of the Sustainable Food Center
Sustainability means...
“Lasting. Having a lasting food supply that comes from a lasting life source, clean air, clean water and clean soil.”
We know that...
“The most affordable and most nutritious food you can feed your family is food that you grow yourself. Obviously, that’s not feasible for everyone in Austin, but we’re trying to make that more accessible, either through container gardening or community gardening.“
Right now, there are 50...
“Community gardens in Austin. There’s so much more potential [to grow that number], particularly on city land that you really can’t do anything else with.”
The challenge Central Texans face...
“Is that we’re losing about 7 acres of farmland a day to development. There’s a high demand for local produce, yet farmland isn’t preserved for agricultural purposes. it’s depressing, particularly east of i-35. That’s some of the richest soil in the country for food, and yet, you see that area being very quickly developed and gentrified, and you see this whole suburbination of poverty.”
Food deserts...
“Are now food swamps. In certain areas of Austin, there has been an influx of fast food and highly processed food sold in corner stores. For a lot of our low-income family members, those are the only places they have access to food in their neighborhood. it’s not even food; it’s food-like substances. But if that’s the only food they have access to, that’s what they’re going to eat.”
Advice for the City:
“Instead of incentivizing fast-food chains to go in, we need to put funding toward a fresh-food financing initiative, where corner stores are incentivized to put in refrigeration so they can have a whole area just stocked with fresh produce.”
Food sovereignty:
“For women, that phrase means we are the leaders in our households. So think, ‘What is a lasting way for me to feed my family?’ Then go and make those choices.”
Energy Consumption & Conservation
The Issue: As our state population—currently sitting at more than 27.4 million— continues to grow, so does our demand for energy.
What’s being done: The last time Austin Energy implemented rolling blackouts was in February 2011, when extreme cold-weather conditions led to an unforeseen spike in electricity usage. Blackouts are short-term, intentional power outages meant to relieve pressure from the state’s energy grid.
The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, is quick to point out that, contradictory to population- growth forecasts, the council has actually started to see a decrease in energy demand from consumers, a fact it attributes to an uptick in consumers implementing renewable and efficient energy resources, from LED light bulbs and televisions to solar panels, as well as those who have simply enhanced their awareness of peak energy hours.
Voice From The Field: Cheryl Mele
Chief Operating Officer Of ERCOT and former COO Of Austin Energy
Important sustainability indicators we look at are:
“How much reserve energy and how much capacity, beyond what we think we’re going to need to meet the demand, [that] we have available [on the grid] statewide.”
One relevant characteristic of Texas is:
“Unlike some regions of the country, it’s seen continuous growth. But it’s not as steep as it once was.”
The biggest challenge ERCOT faces in dealing with energy supply is:
“Regulatory uncertainty. Recent environmental regulations on clean-power plants could impact the supply of resources we have available to use. Because the price of natural gas really drives the price of energy in the marketplace, it may not be viable for the owners of the power plants to keep them running.”
Not too many years ago...
“Natural gas prices were very high. That certainly piqued people’s interest in their use of alternative energy.”
Currently, there’s a lot of interest in:
“The development of additional wind, but also solar. With federal incentives, those areas are economically attractive. We currently have over 15,000 megawatts of wind in Texas and over 200 megawatts of solar, and we see that doubling, maybe even tripling within the next few years.”
Keep in mind...
“That the highest production times for wind—in the early morning and late at night—tend to be the lowest consumption times for energy. That’s a challenge when we have high wind production and low overall system load conditions. you have to really prepare for the unexpected and for the scaling off of that energy. We obviously didn’t have to worry about how fast the wind was blowing before we had these resources.”
Land Revitalization
The issue: How is our city turning contaminated land into treasure?
What’s being done: If you’ve ever taken the Austin MetroRail, you’ve passed by and maybe even disembarked at Crestview Station in North Austin. Just across the rail tracks stands a smattering of single-family homes and apartments, ball fields, restaurants and retail space.
The bustling development is a prime example of the transformative effect brownfield remediation— the practice of returning a once unusable or toxic property to the community as a green space—can have on a piece of property.
From 1949 to 2005, this was not what Crestview station looked like. The former site of a 71-
acre chemical research facility, the modern-
day community hub was better known for the manufacturing and onsite toxic disposal of soaps, foams and glues.
When the property was placed in the hands of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, it was very much a Leslie-Knope-meets-the-Pit, Parks and Recreation-like situation.
Except, unlike the massive-eyesore situation featured on the popular TV comedy, organizations like the TCEQ and the Austin Brownfields Revitalization Office work on many brownfield- remediation projects each day. They’re constantly working to redevelop abandoned or contaminated properties, from closed landfills to former auto repair shops, into something new and lasting, transforming the unsustainable into something new and eco-friendly.
Voice From The Field: Christine Whitney
Program Manager For the Austin Brownfields Revitalization Office
It’s hard to just look at a piece of property and know...
“Whether or not it’s been contaminated. Someone might say, ‘oh, i really want to open up a café. This [site] would be really great.’ And they go, ‘oh, it’s a flower shop! it’s been a flower shop since 1960. isn’t that sweet?’ But across the street at the same time was a gas station and the tanks are still [underground]. Nobody knows that, but the environmental report would probably say there’s potential for contamination at that site.”
Some contaminants...
“Don’t degrade readily, and when they break down, they are actually worse than they were to begin with. Some brownfield sites take 20 years to clean up.”
The site of the Austin American-Statesman building is a brownfield... “Because they’ve been doing printing for years. Those massive amounts of equipment needed to be oiled and de-greased using solvents, which aren’t easily decomposed. When that building sells, someone will go in there to test the soil.”
Before you buy a house...
“Doing an environmental site assessment through your bank could save you anywhere from $10,000 to $80,000 [if the site shows signs of contamination].”
Looking at aerial images of a property...
“You might notice that, for some reason, there’s scarring on the property and it looks like there were dead trees or dead patches of grass in some areas. That might indicate dumping of chemicals or trash. you can tell if there’s been an issue.”
The overarching goal of land remediation is...
“To remove blighted properties from the community, ensure health and safety for humans and improve the environment. Basically, to ensure that everything is safe and sustainable.”
Active Living
The issue: The American Fitness Index continues to rank Austin one of the top 20 fittest metropolitan cities in the nation. So, what’s in store for the future of our city’s outdoor trail networks?
What’s being done: The most popular and some would say most beloved recreation area in Austin
is the Roy and Ann Butler Hike and Bike Trail. Constructed in the 1970s, the trail sees more than 1.5 million visitors each year, which means anywhere from 3,000 to 15,000 people utilize it every day.
There’s no need to do the math on how that number will balloon if approximately 150 people are moving to Austin each day. It’s obvious we’re going to need more trail outlets to help us find solitude.
Enter the Violet Crown Trail, a 30- mile master-planned trail system that will eventually wind from Zilker Park south through Sunset Valley to the Veloway and the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center before stretching further into the rolling countryside of Hays County. Consider it our
city’s eco-sequel to constructing the Greenbelt. The first 6-mile segment of the VCT opened to the public in August 2015, and peters out at Ben White Boulevard and Brodie Lane.
Voice From The Field: Heidi Cohn
Director Of Development for Hill Country Conservancy
The story starts with...
“The Austin Peace Treaty. in the 1990s, the environmental community and the real-estate community in Austin were at odds, so, the mayor held what was called the Peace Talks. After 18 months, both sides came out with the Peace Treaty, a 17-page document that agrees to preserve land on the Edwards Aquifer.”
The original goal in 1999...
“Was to conserve 50,000 acres of land in the Barton Springs segment of the Edwards Aquifer. That segment is about 250,000 acres total. Right now, we’ve conserved 44,000 acres. Those acres will never be developed; they will be there forever.”
Not every city...
“Sits on top of an aquifer like Austin. A lot of new residents don’t realize that, and they don’t understand what kind of impact [we have on it], which is why, in 2006, we started thinking about how we could start providing access to that land. We want to offer people the opportunity to enjoy this quality of life that we’ve all come to expect from Central Texas.”
The violet Crown trail...
“Is a way to connect people to nature when nature is starting to dissolve and evaporate around us. Putting this trail on conservation land means this trail will be there in perpetuity. it will become a real thread between Travis County and Hays County.”
In August 2015...
“REI chose the Violet Crown Trail as one of 10 national trails to spotlight in their national marketing campaign. We were literally right alongside the Appalachian Trail. The day that REI’s campaign kicked off, we opened the trail. It was thrilling.”
The trail system is...
“Good for our soul and our sanity, as well as the sustainability of our water. This is a legacy project that will benefit our community for generations to come.”
While differing, complex and ever-developing in nature, these issues have one thing in common: They’re all connected in the same way we, as members of the Austin community, are connected in our responsibility to the sustainable future of this city. The true challenge we’re all faced with is to take that first step and do something, even if that means making ourselves more aware of the issues our city is facing. After all, if hindsight is 20/20, maybe we should put more thought and care into how we live in the present.
Active Living photos courtesy of Hill Country Conservancy and by Erik Pronske. Land Revitalization & thumbnail photo by Photo by A.j. Whitney. Food Production & photos courtesy of ERCOT. Water Conservation photo courtesy of The Nature Conservancy.
Evolution of an Urban Animal
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