The mission of the Community Sustainability working group is to support communities in the process of finding solutions to climate change. The process communities could follow includes assessing their need for guidance and technical support to address planning and decision-making, especially in small and medium-sized communities. The planning and design of the built environment can both mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Incorporating and implementing community specific actions and strategies into the everyday work of community governance is an important part of this work group.
The mission includes the working group identifying the ways and the means to increase community resiliency throughout Wisconsin. The working group will strive to understand and work with federal, state, and local planning, budgeting, and implementation or operational processes to determine how adaptation can fit in. The barriers that exist for communities in different regions of Wisconsin will also be identified.
The working group will work closely with other WICCI working group to gather relevant community information. The working group will ensure delivery of community adaptation information through collaborative efforts with the WICCI Outreach Working Group.
The Community Sustainability working group was formed in 2016 and in 2017 submitted a UW-Consortium for Extension and Research in Agriculture and Natural Resources (CERANR) grant proposal that, unfortunately, was not funded.
Near-term goals
- Design and conduct a survey of community decision makers to measure community knowledge and willingness to engage in the work of climate adaptation and mitigation. A survey may be given to a pilot group or at a statewide level.
- Engage willing and interested community officials to complete a gap analysis on a representative group of community plan(s) and related planning and decision-making processes. Determine if communities include climate-based decisions in their plans, decision-making processes, zoning, ordinances, and easements. Identify opportunities for and interest in adaptation/mitigation education and technical assistance.
- Identify technical experts (e.g., state and university, consultants), financial resources (e.g., grants, capital budgeting), and other resources to support Wisconsin’s communities in climate adaptation planning, design, and implementation.
Stakeholders and partners
- Dane County (Board of Supervisors and Office of Energy and Climate Change)
- State of Wisconsin (Department of Natural Resources and Department of Health Services)
- University of Wisconsin (UW Extension, UW-Madison, and UW-Stevens Point)
Members
- Asligul Gocmen, Associate Professor, Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture, UW-Madison
- Sherrie Gruder, Sustainable Design Specialist and Energy Specialist, Division of Extension, UW-Madison
- Anna Haines, Professor and Director, Center for Land Use Education, UW-Stevens Point
- Shiba Kar, Assistant Professor, Natural Resource Planning, UW-Stevens Point
- Jim LaGro, Professor, Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture, UW-Madison
- Lisa MacKinnon, Sustainability and Program Evaluation Coordinator, Dane County Board of Supervisors
- Colleen Moran, Climate and Health Program Manager, Wisconsin Department of Health Services
- Jonathan Meiman, Chief Medical Officer/State Environmental and Occupational Disease Epidemiologist, Wisconsin Department of Health Services
- Catherine Techtmann, Environmental Outreach State Specialist, UW Extension