Let it never be said that we are not intrepid. In spite of a cross-country snow storm that canceled and delayed planes, trains, and automobiles, eight Exchange members and staff found their way to the Pocantico Center in Tarrytown, NY on January 16-18 for a convening of 30 GSI and related professionals organized by the Exchange, the Trust for Public Land, and the Center for Regenerative Solutions. Participating Exchange members included Blue Baldwin (City of Tucson), Kristina Hausmanis (City of Toronto), Aaron Kirkland (PWD, Philadelphia), Claire Mullhardt (CRW, Harrisburg), Irene Ogata (City of Tucson), Andy Szatko (City of Omaha), and Alfred Walfall (PWD, Philadelphia). Here, I’ll briefly describe the setting, the outcomes, and the next steps.
1. The Setting
Pocantico, among the estates once owned by the Rockefeller family, was willed to the National Trust for Historic Preservation by its most recent owners, Nelson Rockefeller and his brothers Laurance and David. Under an arrangement with the Trust, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund manages the property, which now includes a conference center. According to the fund’s materials, the center “provides a secluded retreat for organizations and artists from around the globe to explore the most pressing questions facing our society and develop creative and innovative approaches to address them.” We were lucky to be included in such elevated company.
2. Outcomes
Sponsored by the Rockefeller Brothers fund and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the convening’s ostensible purpose was to inform the development of a training for members of the Urban Sustainability Directors Network and their community partners who are beginning their GSI journeys. Several other challenges were discussed, among them, the need for a new narrative that elevates GSI as one of many tools for improving the livability of disadvantaged communities across the U.S. and Canada.
The challenge, in a nutshell, is this: given the huge regulatory focus on managing stormwater, GSI’s co-benefits that can aid in improving the economic, environmental, and social aspects of a community’s livability are often overlooked. A new narrative is needed that elevates both compelling community stories from places where GSI has been implemented successfully and data on the value of co-benefits, so that GSI is seen as a tool for improving livability and resilience to climate change by policymakers, funders, community leaders, and others. Among the solutions discussed were (1) the collection and compilation of (a) community-based stories and images about the impact of successful GSI projects and (b) data on the value of co-benefits and use of GSI as a tool for making communities more resilient to climate change; and (2) use of the collected and compiled information to develop targeted messaging to segmented audiences. Thanks are owed to Kristina Hausmanis (City of Toronto) and Brendan McShane (Trust for Public Land) for leading the sessions that produced these insights.
3. Next Steps
The Exchange will likely host a session at the Annual Meeting (May 6-9) on this topic, helping to frame a request for philanthropic support around the collection of stories and images and development of targeted messaging. The Annual Meeting may also include, as part of this session or as a separate session, an overview of the soon-to-be-released compendium of tools/reports for evaluating co-benefits associated with job creation and economic development, urban heat stress mitigation, flood risk reduction, ecosystem and habitat improvement, and transportation, a project on which the Exchange has partnered with The Nature Conservancy and One Water Econ. You can keep abreast of all developments related to the Annual Meeting on the Exchange website.
