Partnering directly with local organizations or with federal agency or philanthropic funding intermediaries, the Center for Sustainable Communities conducts feasibility studies, organizational assessments and analyses, and other consulting services at the intersection of local government management and creating more sustainable, resilient, and livable communities.

focus areas

  • Sustainability Planning
  • Technology, 311, and Customer Relationship Management
  • Smart Economic and Community Development
  • Healthy Communities
  • Rural Places and Small Towns
  • Brownfields Redevelopment and Adaptive Reuse
  • Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency
  • Smart Growth and Land Use Planning
  • Aging in America
  • Local Food Systems
  • Environmental Management Systems
  • Stakeholder Engagement and Network Building

project spotlights

 

  • Prepared a feasibility study on the need for a multi-jurisdictional community sustainability plan, working with the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
  • Co-lead for a consortium of Enterprise Community Partners, PFM, New York University, HR&A, and ICMA, for the Strong Cities, Strong Communities National Resource Network (SC2-NRN), a White House led TA-program for America’s most economically distressed communities.
  • Assisting the City of Fort Collins, Colorado with social sustainability research and planning, triple bottom line analytical tools, climate action strategies, and an overarching community sustainability plan as part of a team lead by Clarion Associates
  • Providing technical support to the City of Philadelphia and their 311 contact center on the selection and implementation of a new customer relationship management (CRM) solution.
  • Supporting or leading local efforts on aging populations in several communities including an assessment in Frederick County, Maryland, in partnership with JPI, Inc., as well as a series of “building blocks” workshops in Pompano Beach, Florida; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Inyo, California; and with the Seneca Nation in New York.
  • Worked with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to manage a pilot project program for nine partnership engagements between the local city or county manager’s office and the public library system that were focused on solving local community challenges like sustainability, recidivism, childhood reading and more.

For more information about any of our services or projects, please email sustainability@icma.org. or contact us.