University of Michigan
PAE-19: Community Sustainability Partnerships

The Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute and Data Driven Detroit have partnered to initiate the Detroit Sustainability Indicators Data Driven Detroit Project. The project has two goals: 1. To gather and assess data on relevant sustainability related topics (environmental, economic and social), with the intent of mapping these data and making the findings available to the public; and 2. To create a sustainability index for Detroit that will help inform policy and decision making and serve as a model for other urban areas working on sustainable redevelopment. The Teaching and Inspiring Environmental Leadership Program's mission is to teach environmental principles and demonstrate how to uphold them, using the Samuel T. Dana Building as an educational center and example. The University of Michigan's School of Natural Resources and the Environment created the Teaching and Inspiring Environmental Stewardship (TIES) Program to showcase the University's greenest building, while simultaneously teaching the community about sustainability and green design. The TIES program reaches out to local schools, businesses, and other organizations to encourage them to learn about green alternatives that reduce humans' impacts on the environment by touring the Gold LEED-certified Samuel T. Dana Building. MRIDE: Active University of Michigan-Ann Arbor students, faculty and staff are able to ride AATA fixed-route bus service without paying a fare. This benefit is a result of a five-year agreement between the University of Michigan and AATA, valued at $1.8 million annually. The historic agreement was reached after many years of cooperation between the University and AATA, followed by nearly a year of discussions, planning and negotiations. The negotiating team included representatives from AATA management, U-M management and an AFSCME union steward who is also a U-M transit coach operator.

See also: http://www.graham.umich.edu/ia/detroit.php http://pts.umich.edu/taking_the_bus/mride.php Note: These are three examples, but there are many programs at U-M in which we partner with the local community.