PLAN OBJECTIVES

The North Center Neighborhood Climate Change & Sustainability Plan outlines goals and recommendations within

several subgroups as educational opportunities for local stakeholders. The goal is to provide a “1-stop shop”toolbox for North Center stakeholders who are concerned about the long-term impacts of climate change, and hope

to reduce the neighborhood’s carbon footprint.

The Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) estimated in a 2008 research summary produced for the Chicago

Climate Task Force that 91% of Chicago’s greenhouse-gas emissions come from electricity, natural gas, andtransportation. Although many of the recommendations outlined in this plan address these issues, other areas of 

improvement are also explored. The subgroups for educational opportunities are:

Although many of these recommendations are specifically aimed at reducing the neighborhood’s carbon footprint,

other neighborhood “areas of concern” as well as other environmental factors will also be positively affected. I

have attempted to focus on practical goals that are achievable at the neighborhood level, instead of 

recommendations that a neighborhood might not be able to accomplish by themselves (such as “cap-and-trade”legislation at the federal level.)

•  BUILDINGS 

•  TRANSPORTATION 

•  ENERGY 

•  MUNICIPAL SERVICES 

 

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Many planning documents offer wonderful goals, but avoid explanations about how to pay for them. When capitalmight be required to install better methods or technologies that can combat climate-change, I have offered

information that I hope will be helpful to local stakeholders. I will now offer the objectives in each of thesesubgroups.

 

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BUILDINGS

1. 

 Retrofit all current commercial buildings

in the neighborhood to reduce their energy consumption 20% by 2025

2.  Retrofit 50% of current residential 

buildings in the neighborhood to reduce

their energy consumption 20% by 2025

3.  Encourage residents and business

owners to purchase only Energy Star-

rated appliances when it comes time to

replace older appliances

4.  Encourage residents and businessowners to immediately take advantage of 

easy, low-impact energy-reduction

 strategies

5. Support the Chicago Energy

Conservation Code in all newly

constructed buildings and encourage

local leaders to support international 

energy code standards

6.  Reduce the sale of high global-warming-impact refrigerants in the short term and 

 support phasing out these refrigerants in

the long-term

TRANSPORTATION

1.  Reduce the carbon-footprint of vehicle-

miles travelled (VMT) per resident 

50% by 2025

2. 

 Increase renewable-energy

infrastructure at the building level 

3. 

 Achieve higher fuel-efficiency

 standards for vehicles that travel 

through North Center 

4. Support improvements to existing 

bicycling infrastructure and expansion

of bicycle lanes, in accordance with

the city’s “Bike 2015 Plan”

 

 

ENERGY

1. Switch electricity provided to 25% of 

all electric meters in the

neighborhood from traditional 

ComEd to new “green” energy

companies by 2020

2. 

 Increase renewable-energy

infrastructure at the building level 

3.  Require all municipal buildings in the

neighborhood to get 75% of their 

energy from renewable sources by

2030

4. 

 Reduce greenhouse-gas emissions

 from large industrial sites

MUNICIPAL SERVICES

1.  Decrease the amount of 

recyclable materials that end 

up in the waste stream

 serviced by the Department 

of Streets and Sanitation 

2. 

Overhaul the current ward-

based trash pickup model to

a more efficient 

neighborhood-based trash

 pickup model  

3. Convert all streetlights and 

alley lights in the

neighborhood to high-

efficiency fixtures by 2015 

4. 

 Decrease the amount of 

rainwater ending up in the

combined sewer system

5.  Encourage expansion of the

neighborhood’s urban forest 

canopy