Exploring the USA with Post-Carbon Cities of Tomorrow - A report

Post-carbon Cities of Tomorrow (POCACITO) is a project run by the Ecologic Institute US and funded by the European Union that brings sustainability experts from European cities to USA and vice versa. In the last few years it has connected numerous organisations and individuals, and brought inspiration to cities in the States and in Europe, that often face similar challenges despite the seemingly overwhelming differences between them. This time, the focus of the trip was on circular economy and on two wildly different cities: the so-called “Los Angeles of Europe” - Warsaw, and on “the most beautiful city on Earth" - Ljubljana.

POCACITO speakers with organizer Brendan O’Donell

Circular Change was happy to answer the invitation to join and went sent project manager Niko to present our organisation to the good people of America . The second representative from Ljubljana was Nina Sanković, Head of PR at JP VoKa Snaga. Joining them were two polish representatives, entrepreneur and city consultant Justyna Krol, Founder of Urban Workshop, and Grzegorz Gadek, skater and founder of the urban design studio Urban Sports Square foundation.

Presenting at the Milwaukee- Wisconsin University

The first host city was Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a city which is actively trying to shed is environmentally-damaging industrial past and become one of USA’s “eco cities”. The POCACITO tour visited the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee and met with Eric Shambarger, head of the Environmental Collaboration Office at the City of Milwaukee, who presented their ambitious plans for lowering the carbon footprint, reviving degraded areas, greening the city and building an “ecommunity”.

Playing a special board game, created by Jusyina Krol to help cities solve pressing issues through collaboration

A special event at a local brewery, called Gathering Place, was focused on engaging into a debate with experts from the municipality, and was co-organised with Travis Blomberg, Executive Director at WasteCap Resource Solutions, a circular economy consultancy.

After making the brave (and eco-friendly) to take the Amtrak train from Milwaukee to POCACITO’s next destination, the crew stopped in Chicago, taking a sight-seeing walk in the city centre. The train journey took longer than expected, due to passenger trains having to wait for the coal and shale oil cargo trains to pass first, however everyone arrived safe and sound to St. Louis, Missouri, a city on the Mississippi river, famous for the Gateway Arch, the tallest man-made monument in the Western hemisphere. There POCACITO held presentations at the prestigious Washington University, met with local (home)school(ed) children, local community organizers and NGO workers, and even visited a church, which was converted into a skate park with almost zero financial contribution, relying on a DIY approach of its members. A truly circular project in its own right! On the final night of the tour, October 22nd, Washington University hosted a public event to discuss climate change actions.. Participants were honored by the attendance of the Mayor of St. Louis Lyda Krewson who met the POCACITO crew and unveiled the city’s decision to become carbon neutral by 2050.

Vegan meal for the participants of the gathering at the Gathering Place Brewery in Miwaukee

Despite the many differences between USA in Europe - the abundance of space, cheap energy, privatization of city utilities, car-centric cities, social issues and race relations are only a few factors which demand a different approach to circular economy initiatives in cities. However, certain lessons learned and best practice cases know no borders, and the approach behind CC’s mission in the recent years - collaboration, engagement, inclusion and strategic implementation, is one that resonated well with the American audience.

Although there was much to do and many places to visit, the POCACITO crew still found enough time to explore Milwaukee and St. Louis, try local foods and form new friendships, due to the efforts of organizers Max Gruenig and Brendan O’Donell from the Ecologic Institute US, who made sure that the visitors had a great time from the start to finish.

The famous Gateway Arch in St. Louis

For more information, presentations and pictures, visit: https://www.pocacito.org/stl-carbon-neutral-climate-dialogue/

and join the Linkedin group: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/7059177/