Spring Break
Director speaks on green efforts
Omkar Baxi
Issue date: 10/24/08 Section: News
Mark Hughes, director of sustainability for the city of Philadelphia, addressed students Oct. 22 regarding the status of sustainability efforts in the city and what students can do to promote environmentally-friendly practices.
About 30 students, from schools and universities throughout the city attended a seminar-style address given by Hughes in the Free Library. Hughes talked about Mayor Nutter's goal to make Philadelphia the greenest city in the nation and how city officials plan to meet that goal.
"Becoming the greenest city in the nation is not only important for environmental reasons, but it also has an effect on business," Hughes said. "It's like the U.S. and World News Report for colleges-it doesn't change much, but students use it to compare schools. Similarly, the green rankings by Sustainlane.com won't really change a lot, but they do have a major effect on investor psychology and so, in the end, they're important."
According to Hughes, Philadelphia has been ranked as the eighth greenest city in the nation in the past two surveys. Hughes accredited this success to the historic architecture and the culture of the Philadelphia region. As a student pointed out, most of the city planning is very old, made during a time that did not harm the environment a lot. Hughes said this smart density planning, an inheritance from older Philadelphians, has suddenly and unexpectedly been very important as energy becomes an issue.
However, Hughes said Philadelphia government and residents need to capitalize on the historical assets to fully reap all the environmental advantages the city offers. One such example, according to Hughes, is the typical Philadelphia row house, which is one of the most environmentally friendly buildings ever made because it saves land and energy. However, most row houses in Philadelphia are outdated and lack insulation or have leaky roofs and windows, which negates the intrinsic environmental advantages the building offers, Hughes said.
About 30 students, from schools and universities throughout the city attended a seminar-style address given by Hughes in the Free Library. Hughes talked about Mayor Nutter's goal to make Philadelphia the greenest city in the nation and how city officials plan to meet that goal.
"Becoming the greenest city in the nation is not only important for environmental reasons, but it also has an effect on business," Hughes said. "It's like the U.S. and World News Report for colleges-it doesn't change much, but students use it to compare schools. Similarly, the green rankings by Sustainlane.com won't really change a lot, but they do have a major effect on investor psychology and so, in the end, they're important."
According to Hughes, Philadelphia has been ranked as the eighth greenest city in the nation in the past two surveys. Hughes accredited this success to the historic architecture and the culture of the Philadelphia region. As a student pointed out, most of the city planning is very old, made during a time that did not harm the environment a lot. Hughes said this smart density planning, an inheritance from older Philadelphians, has suddenly and unexpectedly been very important as energy becomes an issue.
However, Hughes said Philadelphia government and residents need to capitalize on the historical assets to fully reap all the environmental advantages the city offers. One such example, according to Hughes, is the typical Philadelphia row house, which is one of the most environmentally friendly buildings ever made because it saves land and energy. However, most row houses in Philadelphia are outdated and lack insulation or have leaky roofs and windows, which negates the intrinsic environmental advantages the building offers, Hughes said.
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