Planning for neighborhood sustainability

In the last three decades, sustainability has risen to the forefront of the American consciousness, becoming a buzzword in the popular press, as well as in public policy and planning. At the root of this uptick is a powerful environmental movement, seeking to mitigate the ill effects of worsening ecological degradation, as well as global climate change. This creative project focuses on the development of an environmental sustainability plan for the City of Hobart, located in Lake County, Indiana. Since its incorporation as a city in 1923, Hobart has developed several unsustainable practices. Problems have arisen in categories such as contamination hazards, waste and stormwater management, water wells, impervious surfaces, land cover, parklands, waterways, and tree coverage. The Hobart Environmental Sustainability Plan seeks to advance sustainability in the City of Hobart, one neighborhood tract at a time. By identifying and benchmarking each residential area within the City, this plan pinpoints neighborhoods suffering from unsustainable practices and offers solutions for correcting these issues.