Generating Sustainable Economic Development
The purpose of this global policy initiative is to promote a worldwide conversation and movement for generating and sustaining prosperity and quality of life for all, in urban regions and rural areas on every continent. Sustainable Economic Development is a new framework spearheaded by Global Urban Development, emphasizing cooperation and teamwork across urban regions to improve economic, social, and environmental health. The framework focuses on creating coordinated public, private, and civic investment strategies that treat all people and communities as assets to be included in the policymaking process, to contribute to the productivity of society, and to benefit from the fruits of prosperity. Sustainable Economic Development is a force for unity in that it emphasizes the common interests of everyone across governmental jurisdictions, and the vital importance of social equity, participatory governance, and environmental sustainability as key building blocks of a competitive and innovative economy at the local, regional, national, and international levels.
Sustainable Economic Development emphasizes the importance of regional cooperation and public-private-civic leadership. In addition, it highlights the importance of social equity and inclusiveness, and environmental protection and sustainable development, in strengthening the economic productivity, innovation, and competitiveness that enables urban regions to thrive by investing in their fundamental assets of people and place, and identifying and growing their dynamic industry networks. Sustainable Economic Development brings together leaders from government, business, professional institutions, community groups, non-governmental organizations, and the communications media in urban regions from nations all over the developed and developing world.
Sustainable
Economic Development enables urban regions to develop a cohesive identity based
on a sense of common purpose and cooperative teamwork, and to foster new
global, national, and local economic policies that recognize the dynamic
contribution of urban areas and the necessity of promoting economic and social
equity and a sustainable environment as essential building blocks of prosperity
and quality of life for all. Through various research and actions projects,
national and metropolitan leaders will be able more effectively to engage in
public policy, private investment, and community development for the mutual
benefit of their respective urban regions, for reducing poverty, and for
generating sustainable and equitable economic growth worldwide.
This
committee currently is helping to coordinate Global Urban Development’s new Sustainable Economic Development
Project, building on GUD’s successful leadership of the Climate
Prosperity Alliance during the past few years. James Nixon, GUD’s President, is
coordinating this project, together with his Generating Sustainable Economic
Development committee Co-Chairs, Lawrence Bloom and Nicky Gavron. Thus far the project consists of two major
elements: 1) GUD’s Sustainable Economic
Development Practice, in which GUD will work with sub-national governments and
local authorities worldwide – states, provinces, regions, districts, cities, counties,
towns, and villages – to strengthen their economies by improving their
environments. By actively promoting
innovation, efficiency, and conservation in the use and reuse of all natural
and human resources, places can increase jobs, raise incomes, grow businesses,
and enhance their overall productivity and competitiveness. This approach serves as the basic framework
for Sustainable Economic Development Strategies. James Nixon and Marc Weiss recently
co-authored a 33-page paper, published by GUD, entitled Climate
Prosperity: A Framework for Sustainable Economic
Development Strategies, explaining in detail how places can engage
in such environmentally friendly initiatives to generate economic, business,
employment, and community development. Currently GUD is
working with Sarasota County (Florida) on a Sustainable Economic Development
Strategy. This initiative, funded by the
U.S. Department of Energy, is a strategic plan for Sarasota County to become a
“Center for Innovation in Energy and Sustainability.” In engaging in the Sustainable Economic
Development Practice, GUD is partnering with the Urban Sustainability
Associates network; 2) a major research project on The Economics of Sustainable Urban Development, in which GUD is
working in partnership with the London School of Economics, University College
London, and the Greater London Authority.
Lord Nicholas Stern, an LSE Professor, is servings as the main adviser
for this research effort, which is being coordinated by GUD Vice
Chair Nicky Gavron and by GUD Advisory Board member Dimitri Zenghelis, who teaches at
LSE. Other potential partners include
the World Bank, the OECD, and the Global City Indicators Facility at the
University of Toronto. GUD staff advising, supporting, and collaborating with
James Nixon on the Sustainable Economic Development Project include Jobeda Ali, Emilia Queiroga Barros, Lawrence Bloom, John
Cleveland, Aser Cortines,
Nicky Gavron, Peter Hall, Rafal
Hejne, Jaime Lerner, Dan Montgomery, Nancy Sedmak-Weiss, Al Victors, Ramiro Wahrhaftig,
Marc Weiss, and Cynthia Wilson.
Generating
Sustainable Economic Development Committee
Co-Chairs: Lawrence Bloom, Nicky Gavron, and James Nixon
Abdulrahman Al Ghabban
Jobeda Ali
Ron Armstead
Barbara Askins
Mart Bailey
Emilia Queiroga Barros
Andrea Bassi
Scott Bernstein
Charles Billand
Edward Blakely
Andrew Boraine
Sandra Braunstein
Ian Bromley
Robert Buckley
Sundar Burra
Cezar Busatto
Peter Calthorpe
Haili Cao
Gregory Casagrande
Margaret Caust
Michael Chang
Greg Clark
John Cleveland
J. Thomas Cochran
Rick Cole
Naomi Davis
Malika Djebli
Michael Donovan
David Dowall
Richard Eidlin
Susan Fainstein
Reese Fayde
David Feehan
Neil Fraser
Robert Freling
Colin Fudge
Shari Garmise
Emilio Haddad
Peter Hall
James Hanusa
Hazel Henderson
Elliott Hoffman
Pamela Hollie
Gyula Horvath
Daniel Inkoom
Kate Joncas
Calestous Juma
Lamia Kamal-Chaoui
Robert Kehew
Randall Kempner
C. S. Kiang
Thomas Kingsley
Jeroen Klink
Keith Laughlin
Richard Lindberg
Michael Lindfield
Christine Loh
Rodrigo Loures
L. Hunter Lovins
Michael Luger
Adalberto Maluf
Gideon Mandara
Tony Manwaring
Tom McCawley
Stephanie McClellan
John McIlwain
Miguel Mendonca
Egils Milbergs
Jonathan Miller
Dan Montgomery
Suahasil Nazara
Geoffrey Nwaka
Prafulla Padhi
Erik Pages
David Painter
Julia Parzen
Jiri Patocka
Michael Peck
Neal Peirce
Anthony Pell
David Poole
Jonathan Potter
Kurt Puchinger
Nicolas Retsinas
Renato Romano
Tom Roper
Maria Rosario
Francesc Santacana
Saskia Sassen
Terry Scaddan
Kurt Schmoke
Erica Schoenberger
Hugh Schwartz
Richard Seline
Asad Shah
Jigar Shah
Philip Shapira
Molly O'Meara Sheehan
Herbert Simmens
Miquel Sodupe
Marcus Spiller
Ludek Sykora
Kian Tajbakhsh
Gabriele Tatzberger
Marta Tellado
Al Victors
Susan Wachter
Jessica Wasserman
Emiel Wegelin
Marc Weiss
Marcus Weiss
Edmundo Werna
Mark Willis
David Wilmoth
Erna Witoelar
Guang Yang
Robert Yaro
Nicholas You
Belinda Yuen
Joel Yudken
Robert Zdenek
Dimitri Zenghelis
Jieming Zhu
Larry Zinn
Erla Zwingle