City of Iowa City Mayor Jim Throgmorton has committed to the Compact of Mayors, a global coalition of city leaders launched at the 2014 United Nations Climate Summit to address climate change. By participating in the compact, Mayor Throgmorton commits to climate action by taking stock of greenhouse emissions and the current effects of climate change in Iowa City, creating an action plan with clearly defined reduction targets, and implementing a common system of measuring emissions, monitoring climate risks, and tracking the community’s progress with regular reports.
“The Compact of Mayors reinforces our commitment to the City of Iowa City. We want to continue to make Iowa City a place where people want to live and where businesses want to invest,” said Mayor Throgmorton. “The actions we take to address climate change at a local level will not only improve the quality of life in our community, but will also have a far-reaching global impact now and into the future.”
As one of the key initiatives launched at the Climate Summit in 2014, the Compact of Mayors is the world’s largest collective effort by cities to date to tackle climate change. For more information, visit www.compactofmayors.org.
City partners with University of Iowa on bike safety
University of Iowa students will work to develop communication techniques and materials that promote safety for motorists, bikers and pedestrians as they share the road with larger vehicles.
This project comes out of a joint effort between the City of Iowa City and Professor Shelly Campo's Health Communications Campaigns course.
Students will research various techniques and choose different target markets to focus on. Their work will help Iowa City in encouraging different forms of transportation, and as a result the public can enjoy the benefits of physical activity and their walkable community.
Iowa City recognized for sustainability work, receives 4-STAR Community Rating
The City of Iowa City was awarded a 4-STAR Community Rating for sustainability excellence on Wednesday, March 9, by being formally certified in the STAR Community Rating System (STAR). The city’s approved final score is 484.8, which qualifies Iowa City as a Certified 4-STAR Community and the highest-scored city in the State of Iowa. Iowa City is the fifth community in Iowa and 47th nationwide to achieve certification from STAR Communities, a nonprofit organization that certifies sustainable communities. Other STAR-Certified Iowa communities include Charles City, Dubuque, Davenport and Des Moines.
The community is invited to learn more about the STAR program and Iowa City’s rating at a public presentation from 7 to 8 p.m. on Monday, March 28 at the Iowa City Public Library, Meeting Room A. City of Iowa City Sustainability Coordinator Brenda Nations and Housing Program Assistant Carri Fox-Rummelhart, who led the Iowa City effort, will discuss the STAR program and answer questions.
The City's curbside yard waste pick-up service resumes on Monday, March 14. Leaves, grass, plant clippings, twigs, branches, and other yard waste must be separated from other household garbage, as yard waste was banned from Iowa landfills in the late 1980s.
Iowa City residents with curbside garbage and recycling pick-up service may dispose of yard waste on their garbage pick-up day in a number of ways. The City does not offer a leaf vacuuming pick-up program in the spring. More information is available at www.icgov.org/yardwastepickup2016.
