513
the quasi-governmental Detroit Land Bank Authority to promote strategic green
infrastructure interventions on Detroit’s vacant lands, and construction of parkbased stormwater management basins for water quality improvement related to
combined sewer overflows (CSOs) after major storm events. Detroit’s Drainage
Charge Program initiated in 2016 is designed to ensure all City parcels equitably
share the cost of drainage infrastructure based on the amount of their impervious
surface that contributes run-off to the system; rate credits are offered for run-off
capture devices such as cisterns, detention/retention basins, bio-retention, and other
water storage (the policy criterion). While the connection of these water storage
systems to the FEW Nexus is not directly promoted, the legality, feasibility, and
practicality of implementing water storage systems, and the contributions of water
storage systems to the FEW Nexus, have already been established through work
within the grassroots urban agriculture community.
The strategic vision for future FEW nexus initiatives in Detroit may continue to
be influenced by the 2012 Detroit Future City Framework. Initiated by major foundations and quasi-governmental authorities including the Detroit Economic Growth
Corporation and the Kresge, Kellogg, and Knight Foundations, it was completed as
part of a citywide public-engagement effort and offers visions of what a sustainable
future might look like, encompassing the areas of economic growth, land use, city
systems, neighborhoods, land and building assets, and civic capacity. The framework is not a master plan or policy of the City of Detroit, but rather may be viewed
as a strategic framework and vision from the nongovernmental and civil society
sectors to provide context for what is possible for a more sustainable future in the
City of Detroit. The framework includes a discussion of large-scale green and blue
infrastructure integration within the urban landscape that would include innovations
at the FEW Nexus.
18.5.3 Curitiba, Brazil
Curitiba is well known as one of the most environmentally innovative and sustainable cities in the world. Through the work of a pragmatic mayor, proactive municipal government, and the expertise and foresight of professional city planners,
Curitiba transitioned from an ecologically unsustainable and expanding third world
city to the eco-city that we know it as today.
Curitiba epitomizes innovation at the FEW Nexus through several large-scale
programs and planning projects headed by former Mayor Jaime Lerner, who served
as mayor of Curitiba for three terms. The City’s Green Exchange Program is perhaps the best example of an integrated FEW innovation. The Green Exchange
Program allows Curitiba residents to exchange trash and recyclables collected from
the City streets for tokens that can be used to obtain fresh produce from local farmers as well as transit tickets for Curitiba’s highly efficient bus rapid transit system.
The Green Exchange Program was initiated by Lerner in 1989 in response to unsanitary conditions in the City’s slums due to the accumulation of trash because of the
18 Cities at the Nexus
the quasi-governmental Detroit Land Bank Authority to promote strategic green
infrastructure interventions on Detroit’s vacant lands, and construction of parkbased stormwater management basins for water quality improvement related to
combined sewer overflows (CSOs) after major storm events. Detroit’s Drainage
Charge Program initiated in 2016 is designed to ensure all City parcels equitably
share the cost of drainage infrastructure based on the amount of their impervious
surface that contributes run-off to the system; rate credits are offered for run-off
capture devices such as cisterns, detention/retention basins, bio-retention, and other
water storage (the policy criterion). While the connection of these water storage
systems to the FEW Nexus is not directly promoted, the legality, feasibility, and
practicality of implementing water storage systems, and the contributions of water
storage systems to the FEW Nexus, have already been established through work
within the grassroots urban agriculture community.
The strategic vision for future FEW nexus initiatives in Detroit may continue to
be influenced by the 2012 Detroit Future City Framework. Initiated by major foundations and quasi-governmental authorities including the Detroit Economic Growth
Corporation and the Kresge, Kellogg, and Knight Foundations, it was completed as
part of a citywide public-engagement effort and offers visions of what a sustainable
future might look like, encompassing the areas of economic growth, land use, city
systems, neighborhoods, land and building assets, and civic capacity. The framework is not a master plan or policy of the City of Detroit, but rather may be viewed
as a strategic framework and vision from the nongovernmental and civil society
sectors to provide context for what is possible for a more sustainable future in the
City of Detroit. The framework includes a discussion of large-scale green and blue
infrastructure integration within the urban landscape that would include innovations
at the FEW Nexus.
18.5.3 Curitiba, Brazil
Curitiba is well known as one of the most environmentally innovative and sustainable cities in the world. Through the work of a pragmatic mayor, proactive municipal government, and the expertise and foresight of professional city planners,
Curitiba transitioned from an ecologically unsustainable and expanding third world
city to the eco-city that we know it as today.
Curitiba epitomizes innovation at the FEW Nexus through several large-scale
programs and planning projects headed by former Mayor Jaime Lerner, who served
as mayor of Curitiba for three terms. The City’s Green Exchange Program is perhaps the best example of an integrated FEW innovation. The Green Exchange
Program allows Curitiba residents to exchange trash and recyclables collected from
the City streets for tokens that can be used to obtain fresh produce from local farmers as well as transit tickets for Curitiba’s highly efficient bus rapid transit system.
The Green Exchange Program was initiated by Lerner in 1989 in response to unsanitary conditions in the City’s slums due to the accumulation of trash because of the
18 Cities at the Nexus