Philadelphia is the first city in North America to participate in the Urban Infrastructure Initiative, which is a unique project established by the WBCSD, to show the critical role that business can play in identifying solutions to complex urban sustainability challenges. The UII’s 48-page report for Philadelphia was produced by a group of seven leading companies who worked collaboratively throughout 2012 with city officials, as part of a wider program that involves producing similar reports for 10 cities around the world.
The UII analysis and recommendations are synthesized in this report, organized by the following sections:
Place-based approaches focused on driving district-scale sustainability in Philadelphia, providing a platform for broad-based stakeholder engagement and the integrated deployment of sustainable infrastructure and mobility solutions;
Infrastructure solutions to enhance the sustainability performance of core urban infrastructure – buildings, energy, water management and streets – with specific consideration of how these approaches can be moved forward in Philadelphia;
Mobility solutions to enhance public and private mobility and connectivity within Philadelphia with a focus on the opportunities for technology to enhance the performance of existing infrastructure and systems;
Financing – identifying effective public-private mechanisms and greater collaboration between and among the public and private sectors;
Fleet management – applying private sector practices to support improvements in the performance and efficiency of City vehicle fleet management.
These action initiatives are also intended to serve as a catalyst for other cities facing similar sustainability challenges, while proving that businesses can positively influence cities by collaborating on early sustainable infrastructure development.
The WBCSD Urban Infrastructure Initiative brings together 14 leading global companies from sectors including energy, buildings, materials, transport, engineering, water, equipment, and support services to help urban authorities develop realistic, practical and cost-effective sustainability action plans.