For the students at the University of Santa Cruz who worked hard to rid their school’s bathrooms of paper-towels, sustainability started in the dorms. For the students who launched an events composting program at the Law School at the University of Michigan or the countless students who are advocating for local, sustainable food on their campuses, sustainability started with an idea, commitment and charismatic administrators. Large-scale institutions like universities have enormous purchasing and idea power and can provide a clear signal to the marketplace that there is a demand for sustainable products and lifestyles. When we think about the locus of change for sustainability, the college campus is certainly a main actor. But how do we get the change to flow from the campus to the city—and how can we nurture the energy and excitement of student activists so it continues in their post-graduation endeavors?
Bruce Katz and Jennifer Bradley in their book, The Metropolitan Revolution: How Cities and Metros are Fixing Our Broken Politics and Fragile Economy, argue that cities are in fact the locus of change. Katz and Bradley argue that even though more and more are people live in cities, the Federal Government has traditionally been at the helm of power. But with Washington as inert as it is (see: the Farm Bill debacle, immigration reform, filibuster reform, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc.), cities are facing serious economic and social problems. In this void, city leaders are stepping up and advocating for real reforms. Change, the authors argue, is coming from below.
But colleges and universities are making significant changes when it comes to promoting sustainable practices. A quick glance at the website for the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education reveals how active institutions are in this area. Part of the reason for this is the unique structure of the colleges and universities. For example, power is diffuse and shared in academia, spread out over boards, faculty and student governing bodies and administrators—which means less bureaucratic hurdles and more room to find a champion willing to take up students’ sustainability pursuits. Colleges and universities also have a not-so-secret weapon: eager, informed, vocal students. Finally, unlike businesses, which are tied to their bottom line, colleges and universities are held to a variety of performance measures and tend to have missions that emphasize social responsibility. Making sure tuition stays low is a key goal of colleges and universities, but, beyond this, they have a lot more wiggle room to advocate for sustainability projects.
Indeed a few cities—New York, San Francisco, Denver and Chicago—are excelling when it comes to advancing sustainability. But many, many colleges and universities all over the country—including schools in states that don’t usually take well to environmental legislation—are pursuing sustainability endeavors.
Ultimately the loci of change are numerous and diverse. But recognizing the efforts of colleges and universities in pursuit of sustainability, it will be interesting to see if there’s a spillover effect to cities—or how one could be nurtured. It might also behoove cities, be it city governments or advocacy organizations, to develop formal ways to harness and nurture the passion and enthusiasm of college students. Cities and college and universities are game changers. How they can change the game together will be interesting to see.
