CASE STUDY DEVELOPMENT AND FACTCHECKING. Each case study was written and factchecked by representatives of the focus community. The task force requested that each community work with a diverse group of individuals representing different sectors to reflect a broad-based comprehensive understanding of the lessons they had learned in their efforts to implement sustainable development locally.

Brownsville, Texas

Brownsville is located at the southern-most tip of Texas on the Rio Grande River. It has a rich culture, which arises from a mixture of Mexican and American traditions, and an exciting historical past. The city’s semitropical climate, scenic oxbow lakes, and proximity to Mexico and South Padre Island draw thousands of visitors each year.

While Brownsville enjoys these cultural and natural advantages, it labors under some negative economic, social, and other trends that are highlighted by five major problems. First, the city has insufficient supplies of basic public facilities and of health and human services. With Brownsville’s population expected to grow from 117,000 in 1995 to 150,000 in the year 2000, the demand for these facilities and services is expected to rise. Second, many of the city’s residents live in substandard housing. Population growth has outstripped the construction of housing units, and according to the U.S. Census, 2,093 single-family dwellings or 15.1 percent of all such dwellings in the city in 1990 were substandard; another 1,154 dwellings were dilapidated, making almost 25 percent of the single-family housing stock below standard. Third, 70 percent of Brownsville’s population is living at or below the poverty line. The per capita annual income is $8,316; the median household income is $15,890. Fourth, the city’s unemployment rate is high. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, unemployment in the Brownsville area averages 12.8 percent versus 6.3 percent for the state and 6.0 percent for the nation. And fifth, the city has higher-than-average school drop-out rates. More than one-third of Brownsville students quit school before the 5th grade, and nearly one-quarter of local high school students drop out before graduation. Lack of education, poverty, and unemployment combine to increase pressure on Brownsville’s already-overburdened health and human services.

To overcome these problems and attain sustainable development, Brownsville will have to work with its sister city, Matamoros, Mexico, with which it has many characteristics in common, including a majority population of Mexican descent, bilingual communications, large numbers of migrant farm workers, and extreme poverty. Because the cities share some of the same economic, environmental, and social assets and liabilities, realization of their economic, environmental, and social goals depends on their mutual cooperation. For example, efforts in Brownsville to improve water quality and prevent water-borne diseases must be implemented with reference to Matamoros and the other U.S.-Mexican border towns with which Brownsville shares water supplies. Brownsville and Matamoros already cooperate on the development of transportation infrastructure and policy. Plans are under way for the construction of international bridges that would bypass Brownsville’s downtown area, drastically reducing truck traffic on its main streets. More recently, the shared economic development needs of Brownsville and Matamoros have prompted Brownsville’s development council to recognize the advantages of actively promoting the construction of maquiladora plants in Matamoros, providing economic gains for both cities.

Brownsville’s economic and environmental challenges and sustainable development initiatives are summarized below.

Brownsville faces several economic challenges: capitalizing on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and reducing unemployment.

NAFTA is expected to accelerate economic growth by increasing trade between the United States and Mexico. Because Brownsville is the only border city that has the facilities to handle water, air, rail, and road traffic, it can take full advantage of the formal relaxation of trade restrictions. But the current devaluation of the peso is expected to decrease significantly Brownsville’s commerce over the short term.

While the Texas Employment Commission ranks Brownsville as the most economically disadvantaged city in the state, many believe that, based on very recent growth, the city’s economic outlook is good. In the period 1994-95, Brownsville’s commercial trade increased 11 percent, retail trade by 7.1 percent, wholesale trade by 1.5 percent, and service-related sales by 11 percent. Local industry, however, appears to be experiencing a downward spiral. Sales for manufacturing concerns have decreased 77 percent since 1990.

Despite increases in trade and some types of sales, unemployment remains a serious problem. The average unemployment rate in the city already is nearly double that in the state as a whole, and two phenomena are cause for concern. First, manufacturing industries, which have been one of the city’s largest employers, are not doing well. Second, because of increasing demands for social services, the city government has become an even larger employer than manufacturing industries. Obviously, increases in the provision of social services strain city finances.

Attention to Brownsville’s environmental challenges was heightened by a spike in the incidence of neural tube birth defects from 1989 to 1991. Some of the city’s worst pollution problems have been mitigated somewhat since that time. But use and protection of the environment is a growing concern.

One of the most critical environmental issues for Brownsville is water. Almost all of the city’s water comes from the Rio Grande River. While demand for this water is growing, access to it is limited. Water rights from the Texas share of Rio Grande water have been completely allocated, and no new water rights will be offered. Moreover, the two million acre-feet allocated for the entire Rio Grande Valley exceeds the river’s current, firm annual yield of 1.3 million acre-feet.

To meet the growing demand for water, Brownsville’s Public Utilities Board has proposed that a dam be built to capture Rio Grande water that flows past the city into the Gulf of Mexico. The local Audubon Society is worried, however, that increasing the amount of water that is already impounded would disrupt the ecological balance. The society has suggested that the city focus on expanding water conservation efforts and improving water management practices.

In 1993, the American Rivers Association voted the Rio Grande the most endangered river in the United States. This distinction owes to high levels of water withdrawals and to municipal, industrial, and agricultural contamination. A study conducted in 1993 revealed that the Rio Grande contained 5 chemicals in amounts exceeding health-screening levels and that its tributaries contained 17 chemicals in amounts exceeding these levels. River water contained chemicals such as toluene, copper, lead, arsenic, chromium, mercury, and nickel, while fish tissue contained heavy metals and pesticides.

Other studies have found high levels of fecal contamination in the Rio Grande. The contamination comes from the million gallons of untreated, or partially treated, wastewater that enters the river from U.S.-Mexican border cities. Matamoros, which has no municipal sewage treatment plant, discharges around 15 million gallons of untreated wastewater a day into open canals. This sewage eventually flows into the Rio Grande.

Protecting the underground water table and the oxbow lakes ("resacas") is also of paramount importance for Brownsville. To mitigate threats to these water bodies, the city must reduce oil, agricultural, chemical, and toxic waste.

Unregulated growth of Brownsville’s "colonias"—residential areas that are not incorporated in Brownsville but lay just outside its city limits—contribute to other environmental problems. These neighborhoods usually lack trash collection services and sewage treatment facilities. They often are in areas prone to flooding and poor drainage, and when heavy rains occur, septic tanks often overflow, leaving families at risk of contracting water-borne diseases, such as hepatitis, diarrhea, typhoid, and parasitic infection.

In April 1989, the city initiated a process called Vision 2000 to articulate its goals for the future. Following a series of public meeting and hearings, a committee representing educational, economic, health and human service, and community concerns drafted "Brownsville Vision 2000," a plan for making Brownsville a place where people can prosper.

The plan appeals for efforts to meet increasing demands for facilities and services. For example, it calls for new and expanded transportation systems and parking facilities, enhanced police and fire department services, and an increase in the number of Emergency Medical Service stations and personnel. The plan also calls for businesses to restore and preserve existing buildings to protect the historic character of the city and to attract economic development there. In addition, it urges improvements in city management through the development of a capital improvement program, the creation of new partnerships between the private sector and the city to fund public improvements, and the promotion of sustainable development through tax credits and other incentives.

A steering committee and five citizen task forces have been formed to find ways of implementing the plan. The steering committee acts as a liaison between the city and the five task forces: education, economic development, basic public services, health and human services, and community spirit. Despite the efforts of these task forces, the level of public involvement in the Vision 2000 process has not yet reached the critical mass necessary for significant progress.

Sustainable development initiatives are not lacking in Brownsville. Three local institutions are working toward economic development goals. And various local projects have been undertaken to meet environmental and social goals.

The Brownsville Economic Development Council attracts industry to both Brownsville and Matamoros. Working with local banks, the council created the Brownsville Community Development Corporation (BCDC) to create a pool of funds that can be reinvested into community development initiatives to support projects like affordable housing. The BCDC recently created "Project Casa" to provide vocational training for low-income teenagers.

Greater Brownsville Incentive Corporation (GBIC) provides incentives for industries to create and maintain jobs. In addition, it provides majority loans and guaranteed loans for small business and industry. It gave the University of Texas-Brownsville a $2 million grant to develop a technology school to reach the unskilled.

The Development Service Center is a new project created by the city. The center will provide the business community with easy access to local government, as well as financing, permitting, business counseling, and other services.

Environmental and social goals are being pursued through several local projects. One of the environmental goals is effective waste management. The city promotes recycling through work with schools and civic groups and through the provision of a recycling center and several drop-off locations for glass, paper, and used oil. About 17 percent of the city’s solid waste is thought to be recycled. (Other waste management activities are described below.)

Another environmental goal is effective responses to accidents involving hazardous materials. Since its formation in 1987, the Local Emergency Planning Committee (LEPC), which is active in Cameron County, has been providing emergency planning for accidents involving the transport of hazardous materials through Brownsville’s port, an industrial park with Foreign Trade Zone status. Indeed, LEPC has become an international leader in emergency planning and a primary source for information on environmental issues that arise along the U.S.-Mexico border. In 1990, LEPC hosted the first full-scale, international, hazardous materials training exercise in which more than 200 emergency preparedness experts from the United States and Mexico participate. LEPC and its Matamoros counterpart are recognized among the 14 border cites as leaders in international chemical training exercise programs.

Both environmental quality and quality of life are the focus of a recent effort to deal with Brownsville’s traffic problems. In partnership with the Texas Department of Transportation and the general public, the city developed a 20-year transportation plan. In anticipation of the transportation needs of a growing population, the city also developed a public bus system. Among other benefits, the system will mitigate the adverse environmental effects of reliance on cars and trucks.

Progress toward meeting social goals often depends on education. To lower its school drop-out rate, the Brownsville Independent School District (BISD) created an alternative middle school 0for academically-at-risk students. The school features computer-based instruction and work-study programs.

A vocational project, the Pharr Vocational School (PVS), illustrates how local businesses can help their community fight social ills. Once constructed, the school will house job skills training and placement services, retail operations, household goods, and a food bank for the homeless and indigent. WalMart, Levi Strauss, Texas Surplus Agency, and the Cameron County Extension Service (through the auspices of Texas A & M) will donate food and provide nutritional and health counseling. They also will administer the school’s sewing establishment and provide supplies for sewing and arts and crafts. Volunteers from the University of Texas-Brownsville and BISD counselors will develop classes in the building trade and printing operations as well as provide business counseling.

Three other projects that have been implemented, at least in part, by organizations outside Brownsville will contribute to sustainable development in the city. One has been undertaken by the National Audubon Society, one by the one by the Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development, and one by the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission.

The National Audubon Society raises awareness about the natural world and its importance to human well-being by promoting environmental education and activism. In 1992, the society founded the International Youth Alliance (IYA) to engage high school students in Brownsville and Matamoros in investigations and discussions of environmental problems and solutions with local health experts, natural resource managers, and environmental activists. The students learn about the relationships among habitat protection, natural resource consumption, and development. Some of the IYA students have had their work aired on local public television. Others have developed environmental education projects for classmates and younger children.

The Center for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development supports economic development activities in low-income communities. The center developed a community empowerment project that helps colonias residents locate employment opportunities and gives them technical and other assistance in creating small businesses. The project is being implemented through a public-private partnership of county government, universities, and local community organizations and is being financed through local banks and a combination of federal HUD funding and foundation grants. The Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission has made both economic development and environmental protection the focus of another project. The commission is working on a proposal to create an eco-industrial park. The park would house an oil refinery and an asphalt plant that is designed to recycle products such as used tires and used oil. By focusing on pollution prevention rather than end-of-the-pipe pollution control and cleanup, the park could mitigate industrial pollution in the Brownsville-Matamoros area, support jobs in the recycling industry, and augment workers’ technological skills. The goals of the proposed park are to provide a forum for developing innovative, cost-effective ways to meet mandated environmental standards and to improve local capacity to design and manage environmental protection programs according to industrial ecology and pollution prevention principles.

The Border Information and Solutions Network (BISN) was chartered on December 6, 1994, in response to the need for more community involvement in the planning and implementation of sustainable development projects along the U.S.-Mexican border. The network seeks to promote a pattern of economic development that protects natural ecosystems along this border and that improves the quality of life of people residing in border communities. BISN applied for the 1995 EPA Environmental Justice/Sustainable Communities (EJ/SC) Grant and requested funding for a project that will support the development of the above-noted eco-industrial park. This project will build a network of Brownsville and Matamoros residents to participate in important decisions about municipal solid waste management.

BISN will accomplish its goals by providing:

• • • leadership in involving local volunteers in sustainable development efforts,

• • • resource development via assistance in taking advantage of grant opportunities,

• • • research for the analysis and implementation of sustainable development policy,

• • • on-the-job training for individuals who wish to become sustainable development professionals,

• • • education on sustainable development and industrial ecology concepts and strategies for leaders and managers in the public and private sectors and students in the Brownsville area.

Chattanooga’s commitment to sustainable development has emerged from the lessons of its past. Suburban development since World War II drained the city’s downtown area of much of its retail and almost all of its residential development. The economic base collapsed as traditional manufacturing jobs moved overseas and many local companies laid off workers or closed down. Racial conflicts, poor schools, and an eroding infrastructure were all reflections of general urban decline. In addition, the city faced an environmental crisis. In 1969, Chattanooga was named the "worst polluted city" in America.

In recent years, the city has rebuilt its economy and reduced its air pollution, demonstrating that economic development and environmental stewardship can be achieved simultaneously. In 1990, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recognized Chattanooga for attaining clean air standards. An article in Sports Illustrated featured the city as the nation’s best example of environmental improvement, which it described as a "nuts-and-bolts model of how tough government, cooperative businessmen, and a very alarmed public can make a dirty world clean again."

The collaboration among manufacturers, government agencies, and citizens that enabled Chattanooga to clean up its air has become part of the community culture. Public-private partnerships have become the norm. Numerous collaborative efforts have generated the capital resources, the political commitment, and the civic momentum to tackle complex problems, such as lack of affordable housing, substandard public education, few transportation alternatives, and the need to preserve parks and greenways.

Community involvement in planning efforts has been a key factor in Chattanooga’s revitalization. In 1983, a study by Batelle Corporation revealed that Chattanooga was a city in which many people felt socially isolated and powerless. The following year, the city invited every citizen to participate in shaping a new vision for the community. More than 1,700 people accepted the invitation, participating in a series of community visioning meetings called Vision 2000, which resulted in a "commitment portfolio" of 40 goals for the year 2000. These goals inspired many initiatives as well as the establishment of Chattanooga Venture, an organization to support the citizen task forces and public-private partnerships that emerged in response to Vision 2000.

By 1992, approximately 85 percent of the Vision 2000 goals had been fully or partially met through 220 programs. Along the way, 1,300 jobs and much needed social and educational programs had been created, and $793 million had been invested in the community. Chief accomplishments included the creation of a river park, an aquarium, a performing arts hall, a shelter for battered women, and a human relations commission, as well as the renovation of a theater, an auditorium, and a bridge.

In 1993, ReVision 2000 resulted in 27 new goals, the chief of which was the establishment of Chattanooga as a center for environmental initiatives. In 1994, the Vision Committee, which was made up of representatives of civic, neighborhood, political, and business groups, was formed to ensure citizen involvement in the meeting of ReVision 2000 goals.