In April of last year, I published an article in Solutions entitled “The Path to a Regenerative Future: The Importance of Local Networks and Bioregional Contexts.” Originally conceived, that article was to focus on the special features of the City of Denver that makes it one of the most innovative and collaborative cities in the […]

Sustainability solutions take many different forms. Reflecting that, this Tenth Anniversary issue of The Solution Journal is different from any of the previous issues. The Solutions Journal has never before focused an issue on a single location. This issue is devoted exclusively to sustainability solutions in and around the city of Denver, …

Growing up in Denver, I didn’t think about sustainability – at least not in the way we think about it today. I never heard about “sustainable development goals.” I didn’t know what “the three-legged stool” referred to. I didn’t think about balancing the needs of the present with the needs of the future. Life was […]

In BriefCurrently, an estimated 55 percent of the world’s population lives in urban areas which is expected to increase to 68 percent by 2050. Projections show that urbanization, the gradual shift of the human population from rural to urban areas, combined with the overall growth of the world’s population could add another 2.5 billion people …

In BriefOver the course of the last five years, 10.10.10 has been exploring an entirely new approach to creating systemic change in systems like health, food, water, energy, learning, infrastructure, waste, security and climate. Five cohorts – including 50 entrepreneurs, large organizations and institutions and hundreds of volunteers – have …

In BriefDenver has a groundbreaking new Green Building Policy. The policy, among the most ambitious in the United States, will contribute to alleviating Denver’s substantial urban heat island, add green space to the city, provide water quality and storm water benefits, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. All new buildings over 25,000 square …

In BriefImproving the energy efficiency of buildings in Denver is beneficial for the citizens who live and work here, and the building owners who aim to reduce operational costs and engage in lasting climate change benefits for their customers. Energize Denver aims to improve the energy efficiency of large buildings in Denver, targeting …

In BriefAs sustainability-minded cities strive to attract like-minded new businesses to relocate or start new offices, city efforts will be more successful when they purposely set out to offer a collaborative working environment that lends itself to partnering opportunities with those new companies.  This article is a telling story from the …

In BriefLike many large airports, Denver International Airport’s scale and breadth of activities present significant sustainability opportunities.  By defining “Investing for Sustainability” as a key objective within its Strategic Plan, DEN provides a framework to consider the impact of all business decisions in a sustainability context and to …

Key ConceptsThe Challenge Maximizing the opportunity of two large-scale developments in Denver—one that is a redevelopment of a historic event venue, and one that encompasses a low-income Denver neighborhood   The Solutions Collaboration among government, institutional, and private sector groups to create districts that showcase Denver’s …

Arriving early one morning at Denver Union Station, the city’s passenger rail terminal and local transportation hub, I was greeted by a disappointingly long chain of open railcars brimming with coal. It’s been over 30 years since the 1988 hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resource when Congress was alerted by […]

How do you create a finer future where you live? The Regenerative Communities Network, founded by Capital Institute’s John Fullerton and Stuart Cowan has an answer. Hundreds of people and almost two dozen communities around the world are embodying Fullerton’s principle of “Regenerative Capitalism: How Universal Principles and Patterns Will …

Background Municipal government officials and local academics often work in separate worlds. Local officials often spend much of their time ensuring that the daily needs of local residents are efficiently met. Roads need to be paved; garbage needs to be picked up; clean water needs to be delivered; parks need to be maintained. Academics, in …

This is a story of a resource poor city that, faced with fast-paced growth and looming implications of rapid climate change, banded together to act. It is a story of community commitment to reconnect and reenergize today, while accomplishing an inclusive and equitable vision for tomorrow. This is the story of the Sustainable Denver Summit. …

As I contemplate how I would discuss the “Solution” to the challenges of making a seven-square mile piece of land, formerly considered one of the most polluted places on the planet, accessible to a community, I thought back to when I was a young man. During the 1980’s, growing up in the cultural and socioeconomic […]

In review Imagine earning points for the good you do everyday, then turning those points into great deals on healthy, organic and local food or to pay school expenses. That’s what’s possible with PIPs Rewards, a new mobile engagement platform with its own currency of good – ‘Positive Impact Points’ or PIPs. Created by 3P […]

Book review Life After Carbon opens with Dean Stewart, an aboriginal guide, leading a tour along the Yarra River in the center of Melbourne, Australia. Stewart is instructing a group of urban sustainability professionals to walk as if they are “many people with a single footprint,” elegantly summarizing the potential efficiencies of urban …

Book review According to the opening line in A Finer Future, “This book is a warning.” Subtitled creating an economy in service to life, this book is also an expansive vision-giver. What distinguishes A Finer Future from many other books in this field, in my view, is its devotion to providing a powerful, actionable, constructive […]

The State of Colorado was one of the last areas in the United States settled by Europeans. Denver, its largest city, had but a handful of permanent residents as recently as the 1850’s. In contrast, Israel and surrounding areas include some of the oldest human habitations in the world; some cities in the region trace […]

The Climate Crisis and Our Aging Energy Infrastructure What happens when you combine an aging electrical grid with the increased resilience demands of rapid climate change? You get longer, more destructive power outages. Our continued reliance on fossil fuel and long-distance energy transport for energy production and the power outages …

Denver is a city in transition. Ranked as one of the best places to live in the country,1 Denver ‘s population is booming. Over the past five years, the city has averaged close to 2.1% annual growth, adding over 14,000 people per year.2 This rapid influx has led to housing demand exceeding supply, resulting in […]

Xcel Energy—Colorado and the City and County of Denver have entered into an innovative partnership model to achieve their ambitious goals for carbon-emission reduction and clean energy generation. The Energy Future Collaboration seeks to align the efforts of the City and the energy company to create a clean energy future that will benefit the …