A Wider Look: Proposed Strategies
What can we do in our community?
While we have seen how effective the policy and communication movements in Freiburg, Germany have been, it is important to ask: how practical is it to apply these strategies to somewhere outside Germany, let alone the United States? The differences in government structure, culture, and economy are all important considerations when deciding whether to accept or revise a piece of legislation. But given the wide range of successes that Freiburg has experienced during its energy transition, exploring the possibilities for Philadelphia and the nearby suburbs may prove beneficial.
To begin, it is important to note a key aspect of Freiburg that may have helped secure their sustainable legislation. According to the Innovation Academy e.V, Freiburg houses around 32,000 students, making them about 14% of the population. On top of that, they are considered one of Germany’s youngest cities, with an average age of 39.9 years old. In Germany’s history, students and the wider public were actively engaged in environmental protests beginning in Wyhl (Reis, Sustainable Mobility in Freiburg, 2020). Today, the Freiburg region has maintained its efforts to invite all generations to participate in the green movement. Instead of policies being made behind closed doors, decisions regarding everything from housing to new construction are opened to the public in the form of town halls or meetings (“Buggi 50“ – Linking technological and social innovations, 2020). This and many other examples of joint-ownership could be the key to Freiburg’s achievements. Simply put, people are more likely to support something if they feel they are directly contributing to its development. These efforts are just the tip of the iceberg and indicate that Freiburg plays to its own, unique strengths.
So what about Philadelphia and the bi-college suburbs? What are their strengths? As students that are constantly venturing into the two areas and immersing ourselves in their cultures, a few significant features immediately jumped out to us.
Applications for Philadelphia
Sports Culture
Philadelphia is proudly consumed by sports culture. From the Flyers to the Super-Bowl-winning Eagles, a simple search on YouTube will demonstrate the zeal with which sports fans cheer for their city. If sustainability efforts were advocated for by favored players or mascots (“make Gritty green!”), their fan base may be persuaded to support the resulting policy. This strategy is supported by author Andrew Hoffman in his book How Culture Shapes the Climate Change Debate. He suggests that by finding the right messenger, different communities may be persuaded to enter the debate. In essence, the appropriate messenger becomes a climate-broker (Hoffman, 2015).
Student Population
Philly is a young city, much like Freiburg. Students make up 26% of Philadelphia’s population, accompanying the same average age of 34.3 years old (World Population Review, 2020). By employing the tactics that Freiburg used to engage their students in protests and local decisions alike, the city council of Philadelphia could receive valuable input on proposed legislation, which may help it find better traction once it appears on a ballot. Communicating through even more monthly, in-person town hall meetings that are open to the public in different locations could assure that every community can attend and input their local knowledge.
Transportation and Tourism
The downtown areas are historic and draw a large tourist crowd each year. In fact, a sizable portion of Philadelphia’s economy is supported by tourism. According to the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau, outside tourists directly spent $651 million in 2017 alone (PHLCV 2018 Annual Report, 2019). By making transportation more reliable and more accessible to visitors of all income levels, Philadelphia could further boost this sector of its economy. Freiburg has implemented a series of policies aimed at reducing costs and increasing the effectiveness of their city transportation systems. By extending light rail tracks, decreasing the distance between stops, and integrating tariffs to lower costs for riders, Freiburg has popularized more sustainable alternatives to driving (Reis, Sustainable Mobility in Freiburg, 2020). Importantly, Philadelphia would need to make these new changes public. Advertising and explaining (as Freiburg did) the beneficial changes to the programs would draw a bigger audience.
Applications for the Bi-College Area
On a smaller scale, the bi-college area could also exploit some of its strengths. Given its proximal distance to Philadelphia, local transportation is a similar area that could be improved. By entering into the SEPTA University Pass program, Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges could offer discounted tickets and incentive students to access the city by train rather than by car. The colleges could advertise this through the daily emails, info sessions, and even in admission packets.
More broadly, both colleges could work to publicize their existing sustainability efforts to increase community awareness. Through the example of public housing in Freiburg, we have seen that public buy-in is largely based on understanding the costs and benefits of each new change. In particular, some female residents of Weingarten were explicitly trained to teach new residents how to use the new, sustainable appliances. This, in turn, supported the creation of “economic and efficient spending habits” (Reis, Connecting energy efficiency and social sustainability, 2020). For the colleges, more detailed signage or emails explaining on-campus composting and sustainable energy usage could solidify these practices within the community. By this engagement, the consequential benefit of increased pride may also occur. If students are proud that their college is making strides in environmental protection, they are more likely to adapt their habits to follow. Again, Freiburg has demonstrated this in their growth and success.
By learning from Freiburg, both the Philadelphia and bi-college area have the opportunity to become the next "green cities". Through a combination of strategies that exploit our strengths and proper communication, we have the tools to foster a similar era of green development and prosperity.
Questions to think about
How much do you know about your town or city's sustainability efforts? Is this information accessible and visible?
What issues may arise when trying to implement strategies from Freiburg to Philadelphia area? Are there cultural implications that help or impede these from working?