Urban Sustainability Directors Network
Background on the Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN)
Municipal sustainability leaders formed the Urban Sustainability Directors Network in April 2009 to enable us to learn from each other and accelerate achievement of ambitious city sustainability goals.
While this committed cadre of local government leaders has burgeoned, we have worked in isolation of each other, often tackling similar issues as our peers across North America without a network to share experiences and partner.
USDN GOALS
USDN members rely on the network to help us to:
- Form new and deeper relationships with other sustainability directors
- Efficiently gather new sustainability contacts, ideas and practices
- Learn from each other’s experiences
- Address together key sustainability challenges
- Contribute practices and tools to the field of urban sustainability
USDN Main Activities
Building Connectivity Among Member Sustainability Directors
- USDN Private Member Forums on the Sustainable Cities Institute (SCI) Website (Click here to access the forums.)
- Monthly USDN Idea Sharing Conference Calls
- E-news Updates
- Help Desk
- Encouragement for Regional Networks
- Learning Opportunities for Staff in Other Departments
- Pilot Mentor Program (for Core Members)
- Annual Meeting (for Core Members)
Supporting Member-driven Work Groups and Projects (for Core Members)
- Innovation Working Group
- Professional Development Working Group
- Fostering Behavior Change Working Group
- Public Policy Working Group
- Sustainable Economic Development Working Group
- Small Group Discussion Marketplace
Spurring Collaborative Innovation (for Core Members)
- Innovation Opportunity Fund, which provides grants to support collaborative initiatives among member cities.
USDN Membership
USDN Core Members are North American heads of broad sustainability initiatives within cities who are responsible for cross- departmental and citywide collaboration on sustainability. Core Members pay a modest fee and commit to being active participants in the Network, including conference calls, the annual meeting (for which expenses are paid), web-based discussions, and joint projects. The Planning Committee tries to sustain a diverse core membership representing 75 cities of all sizes and all regions of North America. As members change jobs, slots open up for new Core Members.
USDN Members as of November 2011
The USDN Planning Committee is composed of: Sadhu Johnston (Vancouver, Co-Chair) and James Hunt (Boston, Co-Chair), John Coleman (Fayetteville), Gayle Prest (Minneapolis), Dorian Dale (Babylon), Michael Armstrong (Portland), Katherine Gajewski (Philadelphia), Garrett Fitzgerald (Oakland), Adam Freed (NYC), Nils Moe (Berkeley), and Maggie Ullman (Asheville).
Core Members are from: Albany, Ann Arbor, Asheville, Atlanta, Austin, Babylon, Baltimore, Berkeley, Bloomington (IN), Boston, Boulder County, Burlington, Calgary, Cambridge, Charleston, Charlotte, Chattanooga, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbia (MO), Dallas, Dearborn, Denver, Dubuque, Edmonton (Alberta), El Paso, Eugene, Fayetteville, Flagstaff, Fort Collins, Garland (TX), Halifax, Houston, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Keene, Knoxville, Las Cruces, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Madison, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Montreal, Nashville, Newark, New Haven, New York City, Oakland, Omaha, Orlando, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland (ME), Portland (OR), Providence, Raleigh, Richmond, Sacramento, Santa Fe, St. Louis, St. Paul, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Monica, Seattle, Toronto, Tucson, Vancouver, Victoria, Washington, D.C., and Winnipeg.
