Louisville, KY – On May 27, 2015 from 5:30pm – 7:30pm at The Green Building at 732 East Market Street, a community meeting will launch the Pilot Demonstration Sustainability District Initiative in the NuLu area. Primary target audience is NuLu based businesses, residents, schools or non-profits and others in the community that are interested in creating a sustainability model for NuLu that can be replicated in other neighborhoods in Louisville. Seating is limited so register free at https://eventbrite.com/event/16855108082/.
What is an EcoDistrict or Sustainability District? EcoDistricts are neighborhoods or districts where neighbors, community institutions, businesses and government leaders commit to setting ambitious sustainability performance goals, implementing projects and tracking the results over time. (Source: ecodistrict.org)
Midwest Clean Energy Enterprise will lead the efforts on behalf of the NuLu Business Association and the Louisville Metro Office of Sustainability to develop a replicable model of a green neighborhood and Eco-District that will include:
1) Maximizing private sector and community involvement; 2) Developing innovative sustainability strategies; 3) Creating new financing mechanisms for sustainability initiatives; 4) Systemically analyzing categories of potential improvements to both public and private space; 5) Using this model to achieve LEED ND certification; 6) Engaging with the Community to provide a high-quality level of involvement; and 7) Promoting public-private partnership.
Attendees will learn about the focus and goals of the NuLu Sustainability District initiative: (What is an Eco-District?; Why Eco-Districts Matter; Eco-District Benefits; and the 8 Performance Areas of Eco-Districts which include vision and specific goals, targets and indicators. The eight areas include: (1) Equitable Development; (2) Health and Well Being; (3) Community Identity; (4) Access and Mobility; (5) Energy; (6) Water; (7) Habitat and Ecosystem Function; and (8) Materials Management. “The most important part of this meeting will be hearing from the NuLu business owners and residents about what they think is important for the NuLu Sustainability District’s goals,” said Bobby Clark, Co-founder of Midwest Clean Energy Enterprise. “The economic benefits of sustainability provide competitive and livability advantages that will attract additional investments which provides long-term value for existing business and create additional jobs.”
“… NuLu would be a valuable partner in helping form the city’s green or Eco-District neighborhood program, which could ultimately be promoted citywide. The proposed sustainable infrastructure and U.S. Green Building Council Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Neighborhood certification will certainly position NuLu as a unique green neighborhood model,” stated Maria Koetter, Metro Louisville Director of Sustainability.
