The “unequivocal value” of sustainable urban development was a major “take home” message from Scott Adams, deputy city manager for the City of Las Vegas, who recently visited MSU as a guest of the School of Planning, Design and Construction (SPDC).
In both a speech to SPDC students and faculty and a follow-up interview for Greening of the Great Lakes, Adams underscored the Las Vegas commitment to a green planning ethos.
“Sustainability is part of the DNA for the City of Las Vegas,” Adams said. “By next year, Las Vegas will be one of the few cities in the world where our entire city government will be 100% driven by renewable energy supplies.”
“We have crossed over in American where looking at green buildings is a now a matter of economic reality . . . it is a bottom line thing. As planners, we no longer have to defend sustainable development; in fact, developers are embracing green building.”
A case in point in the spectacular Las Vegas City Hall, which is LEED Gold Certified and generates 25% of its power from solar arrays. Building to LEED standards reduced energy costs by more than $500,000 annually. In addition, the construction helped to avoid a $1.5 million new equipment investment at the previous City Hall to improve energy efficiency. City Hall also reduced CO2 emissions by 2,348 metric tons from the previous facility’s levels.
Another important benefit of sustainable development, according to Adams, is the concomitant potential for greater economic diversification. Regarding the dearth of economic diversity, “we were right there with Detroit during the Great Recession,” he said. “Now, given our location, our climate and the opportunities created by growing such sectors as renewable energy and mobility, we are steadily diversifying our economy.”
“We have 2.1 million people living in the high desert and 43 million tourists annually,” he said. “We have to be very careful about how we use all our resources, and we have a major upside for all things sustainable—especially solar energy.”
On other topics:
Mobility: “We are seeing rapid changes, and we have to determine what we have to do as a city to develop or change transportation infrastructure in anticipation of such technologies as autonomous vehicles and drones. But even as we vision for the mobility future, we also have to look hard at how we get around today.”
Water: “First, let’s dispel the myth that we are a water hog region . . . when, in fact, we have one of the lowest per capita water use rates in the nation.” According to Adams, Las Vegas has been working hard to educate citizens on the value of such water-saving strategies as xeriscaping. In addition, the regional water authority is investigating multiple strategies including alternative water suppliers and desalinization. “It is clear that we must have a multi-pronged strategy, but we are very entrepreneurial, and we will find solutions.”
MSU Degree: “I can unequivocally say that my Urban Planning degree from Michigan State has been fantastic for my career development. I have been in numerous difficult planning situations when I looked back to what I learned in my MSU classes. Inevitably, the fundamental principles I learned helped me overcome those difficulties. Further, I have had the opportunity to hire many MSU alumni throughout my career, and, invariably, they have been the best.”
Greening of the Great Lakes airs inside MSU Today Sunday afternoons at 4:00 on AM 87