25 February 2013

D.C. Plans for Sustainable Future with Building, Waste & Job Initiatives


D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray will release a sustainability plan that calls for tightening up the District’s Green Building Act, modernizing all public housing and public schools, expanding Brownfield redevelopment incentives, introducing a “pay-as-you-throw” pricing structure for waste collection and creating a government-backed loan fund to support new business. The plan, dubbed “Sustainable D.C.”, follows up the Earth Day 2012 release of the Sustainable D.C. Vision, itself a follow-up to Gray’s July 2011 announcement that D.C. should be the “healthiest, greenest and most livable city in the United States.” Drafted over the course of about 20 months, the plan takes the broad goals found in the vision document — in the areas of jobs, development, health and wellness, equity and diversity, nature, climate, food and transportation — and puts 143 specific initiatives behind them.