Sun Jin, Wang Yuanyuan

cheekywang@hotmail.com

SACRAMENTO, capital city of the state of California, is not as famous as neighboring Los Angeles. However, the city is pioneering a green transformation, from urban planning and consumption guidance to employment and government procedures.

“Some day, this city will turn into a ‘jade valley’ driven by a green economy,” said Kevin Johnson, mayor of Sacramento.

“In recent years, we have been working hard to build relationships with China, Mexico and Brazil in the hope of increasing our international influence, especially with regard to green technology,” he said.

The city has been looking for opportunities to cooperate with Shenzhen. Last year, a genomics research center was jointly built by the BGI Shenzhen and the University of California, Davis, in Sacramento to promote food safety and health.

“Shenzhen is also a leader in low-carbon development and I hope we can launch more cooperation projects soon,” Johnson said.

Urban transformation

The city’s government launched its Greenwise Action Plan in 2010, aiming at turning Sacramento into the greenest city in the United States and a hub for green technology.

“Traditional industries and agriculture had always been the core industries of Sacramento and most jobs were related to government or construction. However, in the past 10 years, the green economy and clean technology have created an increasing number of jobs, becoming the core of the city’s economy,” Johnson said.

The city faced serious difficulties after the financial crisis in 2008 and its unemployment rate remained high throughout 2010.

“The situation was partly caused by the financial crisis and partly caused by over dependence on government jobs and construction. Meanwhile, the city faced several environmental problems,” Johnson said. “This increased awareness of the importance of environmental protection.”

The Greenwise Action Plan was officially launched on May 18, 2010. Representatives from business, nongovernmental organizations, academia and private and government departments were invited to hold conferences on the introduction of the plan.

“Doubts were raised due to high unemployment and financial retrenchment, but I think the plan was needed to provide citizens with a sustainable life and create jobs,” he said.

Green job opportunities

The first goal for the Greenwise Action Plan is to provide more jobs related to the green economy.

In the 10 years before the plan was launched, job vacancies in the construction and logging industries had decreased by 30 and 11 percent respectively, while job opportunities in the education and health sectors increased by 17 percent. “This is a positive signal, but it is not enough. The plan is to create more jobs related to the green industry,” Johnson said.

“Although economists have not come up with a clear definition of what a green economy and green employment are, we all agree that environmental protection and sustainability must be promoted. Therefore, Sacramento will focus on creating new jobs in areas such as energy conservation, new energy, and waste management,” he said.

Since 1995, the city has created about 14,000 green jobs and the number is expected to double by 2020. Among these, most of the jobs will be in areas such as new-energy development and green architecture and about 3,000 jobs will be related to clean technology such as biological fuel, organic waste transformation and water resource protection.

For example, house renovation projects, targeting energy conservation and water resources protection, will provide a large number of green jobs and this project is expected to reduce energy and water use by at least 20 percent.

At present, there are about 927,000 residential houses, about 232,000 of which are expected to be renovated by 2020.

The California state government is world famous for its strong and aggressive environmental protection policies. Since 1978, Sacramento has been the world’s leading city in environmental protection.

According to the plan, a renewable energy industrial park will be built soon, introducing preferential policies to companies in the park and creating more sales channels for companies to promote green products and technology.

“We will also build a public training program, providing professional training to university graduates and helping them adapt to the requirements of new-energy and clean technology companies,” he said.

20-minute Neighborhood

The concept of “20-minute Neighborhood” is also part of the city’s urban planning.

The concept is aimed at increasing the convenience of walking, cycling and riding the bus to promote green commuting. The Greenwise Action Plan aims to increase green commuting by 30 percent.

According to the plan, the government will invest about US$100 million in 10 years on the construction of new public transportation facilities and the face-lifting projects of original blocks.

Some of the money will be given by the state and federal governments and the rest will be jointly funded by the city’s government and private departments.

“The money saved will be re-invested in the reconstruction of public transportation facilities. We will also try to persuade more city planners and estate developers to emphasis green transportation in housing development and property management,” he said.

American city’s strategy in green transformation Sun Jin, Wang Yuanyuan

cheekywang@hotmail.com

SACRAMENTO, capital city of the state of California, is not as famous as neighboring Los Angeles. However, the city is pioneering a green transformation, from urban planning and consumption guidance to employment and government procedures.

“Some day, this city will turn into a ‘jade valley’ driven by a green economy,” said Kevin Johnson, mayor of Sacramento.

“In recent years, we have been working hard to build relationships with China, Mexico and Brazil in the hope of increasing our international influence, especially with regard to green technology,” he said.

The city has been looking for opportunities to cooperate with Shenzhen. Last year, a genomics research center was jointly built by the BGI Shenzhen and the University of California, Davis, in Sacramento to promote food safety and health.

“Shenzhen is also a leader in low-carbon development and I hope we can launch more cooperation projects soon,” Johnson said.

Urban transformation

The city’s government launched its Greenwise Action Plan in 2010, aiming at turning Sacramento into the greenest city in the United States and a hub for green technology.

“Traditional industries and agriculture had always been the core industries of Sacramento and most jobs were related to government or construction. However, in the past 10 years, the green economy and clean technology have created an increasing number of jobs, becoming the core of the city’s economy,” Johnson said.

The city faced serious difficulties after the financial crisis in 2008 and its unemployment rate remained high throughout 2010.

“The situation was partly caused by the financial crisis and partly caused by over dependence on government jobs and construction. Meanwhile, the city faced several environmental problems,” Johnson said. “This increased awareness of the importance of environmental protection.”

The Greenwise Action Plan was officially launched on May 18, 2010. Representatives from business, nongovernmental organizations, academia and private and government departments were invited to hold conferences on the introduction of the plan.

“Doubts were raised due to high unemployment and financial retrenchment, but I think the plan was needed to provide citizens with a sustainable life and create jobs,” he said.

Green job opportunities

The first goal for the Greenwise Action Plan is to provide more jobs related to the green economy.

In the 10 years before the plan was launched, job vacancies in the construction and logging industries had decreased by 30 and 11 percent respectively, while job opportunities in the education and health sectors increased by 17 percent. “This is a positive signal, but it is not enough. The plan is to create more jobs related to the green industry,” Johnson said.

“Although economists have not come up with a clear definition of what a green economy and green employment are, we all agree that environmental protection and sustainability must be promoted. Therefore, Sacramento will focus on creating new jobs in areas such as energy conservation, new energy, and waste management,” he said.

Since 1995, the city has created about 14,000 green jobs and the number is expected to double by 2020. Among these, most of the jobs will be in areas such as new-energy development and green architecture and about 3,000 jobs will be related to clean technology such as biological fuel, organic waste transformation and water resource protection.

For example, house renovation projects, targeting energy conservation and water resources protection, will provide a large number of green jobs and this project is expected to reduce energy and water use by at least 20 percent.

At present, there are about 927,000 residential houses, about 232,000 of which are expected to be renovated by 2020.

The California state government is world famous for its strong and aggressive environmental protection policies. Since 1978, Sacramento has been the world’s leading city in environmental protection.

According to the plan, a renewable energy industrial park will be built soon, introducing preferential policies to companies in the park and creating more sales channels for companies to promote green products and technology.

“We will also build a public training program, providing professional training to university graduates and helping them adapt to the requirements of new-energy and clean technology companies,” he said.

20-minute Neighborhood

The concept of “20-minute Neighborhood” is also part of the city’s urban planning.

The concept is aimed at increasing the convenience of walking, cycling and riding the bus to promote green commuting. The Greenwise Action Plan aims to increase green commuting by 30 percent.

According to the plan, the government will invest about US$100 million in 10 years on the construction of new public transportation facilities and the face-lifting projects of original blocks.

Some of the money will be given by the state and federal governments and the rest will be jointly funded by the city’s government and private departments.

“The money saved will be re-invested in the reconstruction of public transportation facilities. We will also try to persuade more city planners and estate developers to emphasis green transportation in housing development and property management,” he said.

Mayor of Sacramento

Kevin Johnson

Born in 1966 in Sacramento, Kevin Johnson gained his bachelor’s degree in politics at the University of California, Berkeley. Elected in 2008 and re-elected in 2012, Johnson is the first African American mayor of the city.

Prior to entering politics, he was a professional basketball player in the NBA, playing point guard for the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Phoenix Suns. During his 12-year playing career, he was a three-time NBA All-Star and four-time second team All-NBA selection, as well as holding numerous records for the Phoenix Suns organization.

City of Sacramento

Located in Central California, Sacramento is the capital city of the State of California in the United States. The city was established in December 1849, after gold was discovered in the vicinity and became the state’s capital in 1854.

After the gold mines were exhausted, it continued its rapid development as a trade center for agricultural products. At present, the fields that form the basis of the city’s economy include high-tech manufacturing, space exploration, military equipment, education, agriculture and animal husbandry. In recent years, it has drawn wide international attention for its efforts in green transformation.