Rocky Mountain Institute : Library

ER06-05, Advancing the Regeneration of the Cuyahoga Valley (PDF-2.5MB): Environmental restoration is no longer an option for American cities; it's an imperative. Though many people regard efforts to rebuild environmental assets as burdensome to a local economy, environmental restoration, when pursued intelligently, is in reality both a minimum requirement for, and a path to, a strong economic future. As described in this report, the Cuyahoga Regeneration Project focused on specific projects that simultaneously restore natural systems and strengthen economic development along the Cuyahoga River ship channel. (June 2006).

ER05-01, For the Least Among Us: New Approaches to Refugee Care (PDF-336k): In any given year, tens of millions of refugees are displaced from their homes in the poor nations of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. As humankind proceeds quickly into the twenty-first century, this group of people — like the tsunami survivors who flicker across our screens nightly — could become the most demanding of our attention simply because their numbers are likely to grow. Continuing desertification of sub-Saharan regions, climate change and rising sea levels, ongoing resource shortages and the violence resulting from such shortages — not to mention natural disasters — will all be felt by the poorest members of society first. This article appeared in The World & I, pages 24–35 (January/February 2005).

ER04-03, Cuyahoga Valley Initiative: A Model of Regeneration (PDF-1.6MB): Cuyahoga Valley Initiative: A Model of Regeneration offers recommendations to the Cleveland community on rebuilding economic, environmental, and social value in its industrial river valley. In this report, RMI proposes an integration of industry and nature through a regenerative development zone, industrial symbiosis, tributary restoration, the treatment of storm water as an asset, green building development, and an energy investment strategy that includes efficiency, cogeneration, landfill-methane capture, and waste gasification (01 April 2004).

ER03-18, Framework for Community Sustainability, Ten Ingredients for Long-Term Success (PDF-19k): Framework for Community Sustainability was derived from the experiences of North American communities who understand that community, economy, and environment are not competing interests, but complementary parts of a whole. It outlines the components of smart and sustainable community governance, suggesting how to weave sustainability into the public, private, and nonprofit fabric of a community-making creative policies less vulnerable to political whim (February 2003).

ER01-24, Grappling with Growth, Building a Strong Economy and Great Place to Live (PDF-55k): This paper was written for communities caught in the growth dilemma. It demonstrates how economic development based on Natural Capitalism complements efforts to tackle growth problems. Pass it around next time you hear people say that Smart Growth will kill the economy (August 2001, updated March 2005).

ER01-23, Building Community Prosperity Through Natural Capitalism (PDF-37k): This paper discusses dozens of specific ways communities can strengthen themselves through Natural Capitalism. Written for a community whose economy seems flat or worse, this paper will jump-start discussions about more creative economic development that respects community values and the environment (August 2001, updated March 2005).

ER00-35, Natural Capitalism on the U.S.—Mexican Border (PDF-56k): An analysis of the border economy and recommendations for achieving more sustainable development through Natural Capitalism (2000).

ER00-30, Critical Thinking for Sustainable Community Decision-Making: A Community Leadership Tool (PDF-12k): A simple scoring system for use in facilitated group decision-making (June 2000).

ER00-28, La Pine Community Design Charrette (PDF-790k): An example of one community that used an RMI Charrette to design a town center, a pedestrian-friendly highway, and the location of future public facilities. This report includes photos, drawings, and text that describe community design principles, La Pine's vision and goals, the public facilities is hopes to build, the design process and results, and next steps (28 April 2000).

ER00-27, Project Assessment Worksheet: A Community Decision Making Tool (PDF-24k): A worksheet designed to encourage better-informed decisions and better project design (March 2000).

ER00-26, Suggested Rules of Engagement (PDF-8k): One-page of guidelines that will make any major employer a far more effective player in its host community (February 2000).

NC99-19n, Human Capitalism (PDF-156k): A chapter from Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution that tells the inspiring story of a city that works: Curitiba, Brazil (1999).

ER96-15, Paying for Growth, Prospering from Development (PDF-364k): How local governments, by failing to take into account all the costs of expansion, skew the market and unwittingly encourage "socialized growth" — and how RMI's approach to sustainable community development offers a practical alternative (1996).

Economic Renewal Guide — chapters:

ER97-02, Chapter 1, Sustainable Development: Prosperity Without Growth (PDF-27k): A discussion of the pitfalls of growth and the elements of the viable alternative, sustainable development (June 1998).

ER97-02, Chapter 2, An Introduction to Economic Renewal (PDF-396k): An introduction to the principles, tools, and steps of Economic Renewal (June 1998).

ER97-02, Supplement-A, Food and Agriculture Supplement (PDF-72k): For communities whose development efforts are focused mainly on food and agriculture, these handouts can replace the "factor summaries" on pages 142–8 of the guide (June 1998).

ER97-02, Supplement-B, Forest Supplement (PDF-20k): For forest-based communities, these handouts can replace the "factor summaries" on pages 142–8 of the guide (June 1998).

ER97-02, Supplement-C, Alternative Factor Summaries (PDF-24k): Summaries and worksheets that focus instead on the economy, the community, and the environment (June 1998).