Since its start in 2017, Project Cities has partnered with four local communities, engaged 38 interdisciplinary faculty members, and facilitated over 75 high-impact projects with over 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students. As we look back on a transformative five years and celebrate our recent President’s Medal for Social Embeddedness, Project Cities is excited to announce the release of its first Impact Report.

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As the threats of extreme heat, drought and climate change mount, stakeholders in Maricopa County are recognizing these challenges require a regional, coordinated response. On February 8, 2023, local leaders from regional and city governments and community-based organizations gathered at the Maricopa Regional Resilience Celebration to highlight critical voices that need to be centered in future climate efforts.

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SCN Info of Interest–February 6, 2023

February's SCN Info of Interest was sent out via email. Includes info on: MAG updates Uniform Specifications and Details for Public Works Construction book, SCN workgroup meetings, webinars, news, and more.

Check it out here.

Do you have a sustainability update for your community that you would like shared? Email us at sustainablecities@asu.edu. We love local updates!

ASU Project Cities has been awarded the President’s Medal for Social Embeddedness, a university-wide initiative to recognize the work of ASU faculty, staff, and programs for their work in social embeddedness. As part of ASU’s charter and design aspirations, social embeddedness encompasses the university’s commitment to serving its surrounding communities by sharing its resources and knowledge networks through mutually beneficial community partnerships.

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Community engagement is a critical component of ensuring that a community has input and is receiving information from its local government. Cities have used a variety of engagement strategies to gather feedback on its services, as well as inform future planning. As a growing community, the City of Peoria is tasked with facilitating engagement with the community but is often challenged by communicating with “hard-to-reach” community members, often those underrepresented in their communities. 

In fall 2021 and spring 2022, Peoria’s Office of Communications partnered with three classes to design strategies for bettering its community engagement processes. 

The original student content is available on the Project Cities website. Read the full summary report here.  

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SCN Info of Interest–November 11, 2022

November's SCN Info of Interest was sent out via email. Includes info on: ASU at COP27, SCN workgroup meetings, webinars, news, and more.

Check it out here.

Do you have a sustainability update for your community that you would like shared? Email us at sustainablecities@asu.edu. We love local updates!

The City of Peoria recently approved its Sustainable Peoria Plan, a roadmap for sustainability that outlines goals and initiatives around its eight pillars of sustainability. 

In 2009, the City established its first Sustainability Action Plan, which was then revised and relaunched in 2012 as the Sustainability Action Plan 2.0. Following an extensive review and publication of Peoria’s Peoria 2040 General Plan, the Water Conservation and Sustainability Division began the process of developing its new Sustainability Peoria Plan, which would include community input. As part of this process, the City of Peoria enlisted the help of ASU Project Cities to facilitate four projects with students from the School of Sustainability and School of Public Affairs that would inform the City’s sustainability planning efforts and provide the foundation for its community input process. 

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SCN Info of Interest–October 26, 2022

October's SCN Info of Interest was sent out via email. Includes info on: 2022 Arizona Energy Future Conference, SCN workgroup meetings, webinars, news, and more.

Check it out here.

Do you have a sustainability update for your community that you would like shared? Email us at sustainablecities@asu.edu. We love local updates!

In a growing community, water is a valuable resource for the City of Peoria. The City is guided by its general planning document, PlanPeoriaAZ 2040, which outlines the City's commitment to ensuring the best quality of living for Peoria residents through the Livability Initiatives. One of its key priorities is Smart Growth, which emphasizes sustainable development, mainly conserving water resources in anticipation of future growth.

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 Dr. Stephen Carradini recently highlighted his work with Project Cities in a new journal article, “Civic social media: A detailed case for classroom use.” Dr. Carradini has taught at ASU in the College of Integrative Science and Arts technical communication program for the past five years. His own research interests include studying emerging technologies in professional spaces, such as the use of Kickstarter campaigns. 

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SCN Info of Interest–October 14, 2022

October's SCN Info of Interest was sent out via email. Includes info on: Project Cities' latest report, SCN workgroup meetings, webinars, news, and more.

Check it out here.

Do you have a sustainability update for your community that you would like shared? Email us at sustainablecities@asu.edu. We love local updates!

ASU's Full Circle, a publication focusing on news from the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering, recently highlighted one of our star faculty members, Al Brown!

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On September 22, 2022, students from 3 classes traveled to the Town of Clarkdale for the first in-person visit in two years. Joined by Clarkdale leadership and staff, students met with Town Manager Susan Guthrie, Community Development Director Ruth Mayday, and Mayor  Robyn Prud'homme-Bauer to brainstorm for their projects. 

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On September 14, 2022, ASU Project Cities hosted its first in-person kick-off event since the start of COVID. Over 50 undergraduate and graduate students from 5 Peoria projects joined their project leads and Peoria executive leadership to learn more about the community they are working with this semester and plan for the coming semester. 

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The Town of Clarkdale, Arizona is a historic community nestled in the Verde Valley. Human resource management is a constantly evolving practice that focuses on the management of people in a way that fosters professional development and employee well-being.

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The Sustainable Cities Network (SCN) Steering Committee is a group of Arizona's leading representatives and Arizona State University experts pursuing sustainability initiatives. The committee shares their best practices to encourage collaborative action for each city, town, county, or tribal community. You can read more about the committee and its members here. 

This week, we’re highlighting Steering Committee Chair Laura Hyneman! Laura began her journey with sustainability through her career as an architect in St. Louis and later moved to Mesa. She recalls Mesa’s “fast growing community” inspiring her to become a certified urban planner. Six years ago, she joined Mesa’s passionate Environmental & Sustainability team and began participating with SCN.

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As a leader in sustainable solid waste, the City of Peoria is always on the cutting edge of sustainable solid waste management. As part of a larger Solid Waste Management project portfolio, the City of Peoria has worked with ASU Project Cities on three solid waste projects, including Textiles & EPS, E-Waste, and Biomass Gasification.

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This year’s Student Council Sustainability Officer Initiative (SCSO) challenge titled, “Fashion for the Future'' was a great success throughout the Phoenix Union High School District, with 2500 students participating. From the Office of Sustainability with the City of Phoenix, Emma Collins, AmeriCorps VISTA serving as the Student Engagement Coordinator, and Sustainability Specialist, Darice Ellis, explained how the program began, this year’s challenge, and what we might expect for the future. 

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As part of the EPA Resilience Webinar series, in partnership with EPIC-N, Apache Junction Parks & Recreation Director Liz Langenbach joined a panel with SCN Director Anne Reichman and Project Cities Program Manager Julia Colbert to discuss one of Project Cities’ first projects, the development of a dog park for the community.

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We are pleased to announce the release of 6 new project summary reports! The fall 2021 semester comprised of 10 student projects that engaged over 60 students from various disciplines, including sustainability, engineering, environmental resource management, and public affairs! 

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