Tornado spurs plans for sustainable towns

This article originally appeared in Green Futures, the magazine of independent sustainability experts Forum for the Future”

When a tornado wiped the small town of Greensburg off the map of Kansas, it unleashed a wave of green renewal. So can it sweep across America? Jessica Forres reports.

"If everything is going well in your life, you don’t pay attention to your surroundings”, says Bob Dixson, Mayor of Greensburg, Kansas. “When everything is gone, you reassess what’s important.”

For Greensburg, everything went on the morning of May 4, 2007, when a force five tornado with winds of more than 200 miles per hour blew the small prairie town off the map.

Within minutes, its past was reduced to rubble. Ten people died, Dixson and scores of other residents lost their homes – and suddenly this quiet, conservative community had to think about its future in an entirely new way.

With a population of just 1,400, says Dixson, the town could easily have disappeared, if it were not for a few determined residents who came up with the idea of putting Greensburg back on the map – as the greenest town in the US.

Having experienced the power of nature at first hand, they were taken by the idea of working with, rather than against, it. Among the prime movers was Daniel Wallach, a social entrepreneur living just outside Greensburg. At the first town hall meeting held just a week after the storm, he and his wife argued that, since the community had to be rebuilt pretty much from scratch, it made sense to do so in as energy efficient a way as possible.

“Our ancestors taught us to take care of the land. That’s what we’re doing now. We’re building a town for future generations”

They expected resistance, but instead found widespread support – including from Steve Hewitt, the city administrator, and Dixson himself – who would go on to be elected Mayor a year later. Part of the reason for this enthusiasm, he believes, is that Wallach ensured the plan spoke to the town’s roots. “We’re an agricultural community. Our ancestors taught us to take care of the land. That’s what we’re doing now. We’re building a town that will last for future generations.”

Wallach set up Greensburg Greentown, a non-profit and non-partisan group to spread the word about green rebuilding, while Hewitt and his team drew up energy efficient reconstruction plans. In December 2007, the city became one of the first in the country to pass a resolution requiring all new public buildings larger than 4,000 square feet to meet the US Green Building Council’s demanding LEED Platinum standards.

Among those meeting that standard is the town’s new school – something of a flagship for its green reconstruction. Due to open in August 2010, it’s a spacious, airy design, using natural light to illuminate corridors and classrooms, all under a green roof. Ground source pumps draw on geothermal energy for both heating and cooling, and rainwater is harvested and stored in cisterns to irrigate the garden and grounds. A wind turbine helps meet the school’s electricity needs. The ‘positive irony’ of harnessing the same energy which destroyed the town in order to power its new school has not been lost on the residents.

Wind, too, provides over a third of the electricity for the rebuilt Kiowa County Memorial Hospital – another LEED Platinum building. This actively encourages patients and staff to use energy efficient vehicles by providing designated parking spots for them. The business community is following suit. A high street bank is upgrading for LEED certification, and even the town’s funeral home is being rebuilt as a model of energy efficiency.

It’s not all been plain sailing, though. Two years after Greensburg was hit by the tornado, it got buffeted by the chill winds of recession – along with the rest of America. As purse strings tightened, cities and towns across the country had to scrap for federal support and green business investment. But in this fight, Greensburg’s eco-profile began to tell in its favour, says Dixson. It helped the town win dedicated green funding from the likes of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the Agriculture and Commerce Departments, as well as companies and private foundations.

The town council’s new-found emphasis on sustainability is also attracting green businesses, including two energy companies, John Deere Renewables and Native Energy Inc, which have developed Greensburg’s first wind farm. Opening this spring, the 12MW plant will power more than 4,000 homes.

“Green businesses, more than any others, rely on their reputation and integrity”, says Wallach. “Being connected to a community that has the same reputation they are looking to establish gives them a jump start.” His Greensburg Greentown group is keen to bolster the town’s reputation by developing it as an eco-tourism destination. The first step will be a chain of 12 model eco-homes, each featuring the latest energy efficient and green living products. The idea is that they will serve as ‘living laboratories’, where tourists can come to experience cutting edge green living in attractive surroundings.

“Towns and cities across this country see disasters every day, but they can spur a better quality of life”

So where Greensburg leads, can others follow? Dixson thinks they can. “Towns and cities across this country see disaster every day, from landslides and hurricanes to crime and foreclosures”, he says. Rather than treat these as unmitigated tragedies, he believes they can use them as a spur to motivate their communities, providing the impetus for making the pursuit of sustainability and quality of life the driving force of local government priorities.

Federal stimulus dollars can help, allocating $42 billion for energy-related investments that range from homeowner tax credits to direct government grants.

Savvy cities can use these to kickstart regeneration – cities like Indianapolis, which received $8 million in energy efficiency and conservation block grants. Its Republican Mayor, Greg Ballard, is using them to help private companies carry out green retrofits of nearly 70 city and county buildings, expected to save an estimated $2 million a year in energy bills.

For Ballard, who created the city’s first Office of Sustainability, the recession gives the chance to lay a foundation for some much needed fresh thinking. “There’s a certain way you need to go and we’re pushing in that direction”, he says. “I think the average American is looking for this, but you still have to change the mindset of those who didn’t grow up with an environmental awareness.”

The cities-wide trend toward sustainability is not new, says Nancy Frank, Associate Professor at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The only difference now is the presence of the federal government. “Cities were headed down the sustainability road before the economic stimulus.” But added impetus has come out of the recession. “They see the long-term financial benefit and competitive advantage they will have over other cities in the future”, she concludes.

It’s a lesson which James Brainard, Mayor of Carmel, Indianapolis’s sprawling suburb, has taken to heart – starting with traffic lights. Home to America’s first automated traffic signal, Carmel is now replacing 50 key traffic intersections with roundabouts. Mayor Brainard says these bring immediate benefits in the form of fewer idling cars, and therefore reduced exhaust emissions. Brainard’s overarching goal, though, is to design Carmel as a place where residents can live, work and play all within a 15 minute walk. “We have to compete with other cities that have better climates,” he explains. “The only way for us to do that, is to build a better environment.”

Jessica Forres is a freelance journalist and writer with the World Resources Institute in Washington.

Thank you to Green Futures, the magazine of independent sustainability experts Forum for the Future for allowing us to publish this article.

Comments (3)