Sustainable Dubuque - LWV Upper Mississippi, Aug. 2

“Dubuque is a viable, livable, and equitable community. We embrace economic prosperity, environmental integrity, and social/cultural vibrancy to create a sustainable legacy for generations to come.” 

Dubuque, Iowa, was a city in decline.  Industries were leaving, the population was in decline.  Unemployment reached as high as 23%.    During the 2006 City Council goal-setting process, Mayor Buol proposed and received full support from his council colleagues to focus on sustainability as a City top priority, stating “cities that get out in front on sustainability will have competitive economic advantages in the future.” What soon became known as Sustainable Dubuque is a City Council adopted, community-created, and citizen-led initiative whose story officially begins in 2006. 

At the August 2 LWV UMRR meeting, Gina Bell, Sustainable Communities Coordinator for the City of Dubuque, reviewed the activities in Dubuque, Iowa that have made this small city a nationally recognized leader in community engagement and resilience.   This video above includes a discussion period after Gina's presentation, and the .pdf below includes the slides she used.  

Sustainable Dubuque is the City’s Brand
​Dubuque has established itself as a regional and national leader in its ability to collaboratively partner to achieve community goals. What Dubuque is achieving collectively today through its Sustainable Dubuque model, is the direct result of the knowledge and understanding that sustainability is a balanced approach to long-term life quality. It is a rare approach to life quality where no one in the community is excluded…everyone who wants to do so, can participate and contribute. That is what is unique in Dubuque’s ability to continue to innovate and transform. Most recently, the City of Dubuque and its partners are working to create a replicable model of sustainability for cities under 200,000, where over 40 percent of the US population lives. Sustainable Dubuque is who and what we are; it is our brand; it is our recognizable logo; and it is our future.

You can learn more about sustainable practices at this year's 2021 Growing Sustainable Communities Conference.  It will be held in-person in Dubuque on October 11-13.  Learn more and register at this link.