Leading & Learning with GYR

Fort Lauderdale’s leaders are stepping out beyond the borders of our City to learn and share with our peers at home and around the world. From cooperation with government agencies at all levels, to partnerships with regional action groups, from presentations to County sustainability meetings to exchanges with cities on the other side of the world, we are doing everything we can to learn from and to teach those who are facing the same challenges.

Awards

We are proud to be the recipients of numerous awards demonstrating our commitment to a sustainable Fort Lauderdale. These awards span departments, proving that we view green practices as the responsibility of all our Community Builders. Applying for awards challenges us to reach performance expectations set by knowledgeable experts or by the community at large.

Certifications

Fort Lauderdale employees charged with leading the effort to make our city more sustainable have a variety of relevant credentials and continue to take training while they work for us. Throughout our city we have employees who have attained the prestigious LEED AP or LEED Green Associate credentials, which requires 15 to 30 sustainability related education credits each year. We also have staff trained in areas from water inspection to wildlife stewardship.  Our Sustainability Division is led by Dr. Nancy Gassman, who has obtained her doctoral degree in Coastal Ecosystems.

Partnerships

We actively participate in several planning and monitoring efforts administered at regional, state, national and International levels.  A complete listing is available on our Partners & Stakeholders page.

In our local area, our participation in the Southeast Florida Regional Climate Compact both informs our planning initiatives as well as provides us a forum to work side by side with neighboring cities. We have hosted two Compact Leadership Summits, with the last one in 2013.

City to City Exchanges

We participate in the ICMA CityLinks city to city exchanges. At this time the City of Fort Lauderdale is partnered with two cities. 

Durban, South Africa -  ICMA CityLinks sponsors a city-to-city exchange with Fort Lauderdale and Durban, South Africa to examine a multi-municipality approach to climate change adaptation.  The exchange focuses on concerns specific to both cities, such as sea-level rise, biodiversity and eco-system services, and facilitates communication on the technical aspects of these challenges, as well as ways to engage citizens.  Fort Lauderdale was the first US city to sign the Durban Adaptation Charter.

Legazpi, Phillipines - The Fort Lauderdale-Legazpi partnership was announced in 2014, with exchange visits taking place here in Florida and also in the Phillipines last year. 

Neighbor Survey

Each year our Neighbor Survey incorporates questions related to sustainability. These questions seek to understand our neighbors’ level of awareness, participation in the programs we offer, and response to our service. Relevant questions include those to gauge our neighbors' awareness of climate issues, concern about them, and the extent to which they take advantage of and are satisfied with our sustainability programs and services. In the past three years our city's work in sustainability has yielded positive feedback from neighbors regarding expansion of our solid waste and recycling services, the proximity of green space (parks), and the availability of sidewalks [to promote walkability]. You can access the full results at Neighbor Survey.

Memberships and Networking

The City of Fort Lauderdale participates in and cooperates with a number of networks and agencies designed to increase our sustainability knowledge and to share what we have learned. Meeting with our peers also provide us with a venue to problem solve collectively, which is particularly effective on regional matters. Examples include:

• Broward County Sustainability Stewards
• Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization
• Broward County Transit
• South Florida Water Management District
• South Florida Regional Transportation Authority
• South Florida Regional Planning Council
• Florida Department of Environmental Protection
• Florida Green Building Coalition
• Florida Department of Transportation
• Florida Urban Forestry Council
• Recycle Florida Today
• American Water Works Association
• Rockefeller Foundation: 100 Resilient Cities

In addition, we are often invited to share our experiences with other government agencies, with private organizations, at industry events, and in the classroom.