Measuring Urban Sustainability: Ann Arbor STAR Communities Certification Experience

Abstract

The sustainability of urban areas can be difficult to measure, especially when they include detailed and broad metrics across a wide range of sectors and themes, such as the built environment, climate and energy, local economy, community health, and equity. To facilitate this process, STAR Communities consulted with community stakeholders from across the United States to create a sustainability framework and certification program that was released in 2012, which local governments can use to assess the sustainability of their community. In May 2016, the City of Ann Arbor launched the STAR communities program in partnership with the School of Natural Resources and Environment at the University of Michigan. This yearlong municipal project and master’s practicum involved collecting data to complete over 500 metrics, within 44 objectives, spread across seven goal areas. To support the findings and discussion of this practicum, a literature review of urban sustainability and measurement tools was performed. Methods employed included interviews and workshops, document research (data summaries), and GIS maps. In March 2017 a preliminary score of 480.8/700 points was submitted for STAR Communities to review. In addition to the goal of obtaining a 4-STAR or higher rating and certification for the City of Ann Arbor, this practicum also explored and critically reviewed the STAR Communities rating system and process and evaluated the city’s outcome, in order to provide recommendations for improving both the efficiency of the STAR Communities process and the future sustainability performance of the city.