For Vancouver to become the world’s greenest city. Mayor Gregor Robertson has hired ,as deputy city manager, Sadhu Johnston formerly of the City of Chicago.
Sadhu is given much of the credit for helping make Chicago greener. Listed as accomplished during his time there:
During Mr. Johnston’s time in Chicago, the city put a green roof on its city hall, introduced a special permit program for builders of green buildings that put them at the head of the line and waived fees, attracted the headquarters of nine international wind-energy companies to the city, and installed 12,000 bike racks. In a Chicago Sun-Times article about his departure this week, he was called the “whiz kid who spearheaded Mayor Daley’s greening of Chicago.”
Mr. Johnston had this to say to the Globe and Mail about the move:
“With the city being on the world stage, it’s important that we communicate what’s been done and Vancouver’s leadership position. Green jobs and green economic development could build off that position to get additional market share, Chicago is a larger city, but I feel like Vancouver’s really poised to move the sustainability agenda forward.”
The Green the Inner-city cluster has some news of its own, but once again we’re upstaged by the Mayor. 
the UGLY Chinese Canadian said,
September 2, 2009 at 7:34 pm
It’s wonderful to see our elected leaders actively attracting and building a good team of progressive thinkers and doers here in our city.
Council inherited a lot of mediocrity from the past …and there is still a lot of baggage at 12th and Cambie. I truly hope Mayor Robertson and his team will continue to keep sweeping out narcissitic civil servants. The success of TEAM in the 70′s was due to the simple fact of chopping heads and replacement based on talent.
Remember, great cities and nations are built with visionary leaders who attract and retain talent.
The terms “Green” and “Sustainability” are society’s latest flavour of the day, and there is much BS when it comes to what really is green. Have a quick read of this NY Times article: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/31/science/earth/31leed.html?_r=1
Sewage to Heat « Greening the Inner-city said,
January 15, 2010 at 9:11 pm
[...] January 15, 2010 at 9:10 pm (Construction, Energy, Vancouver) Tags: Waste, Sewage, Millennium, Olympics, CBA Vancouver has opened what is supposedly the first neighborhood sewage to heat treatment facility inside a city centre in North America. This was part of the Millennium Water/Olympic Athlete’s Village development. It also fits in with Vancouver’s quest to become the Greenest City in the World. [...]