The SustainLane Government Knowledge Base was open only to government officials until just recently, which it became accessible to the general public. According to Warren Karlenzig, SustainLane director:
Now you can read full documents submitted by urban planners and sustainability managers from across the country. Find out what cities, counties, and states are doing to improve their carbon footprints, quality of life and resource efficiency. Find the latest programs in urban ecology.
We anticipate that several different audiences will find this database valuable, including journalists and citizen activist groups. It’s easy to use. Halfway down the front page is a listing of topics, each of which links to relevant materials in the database:
Climate Change Policy
Economic Development
Energy/ Energy Efficiency
Food/ Agriculture
Forestry/ Street Greening
Green Building/ Development
Land Use/ Planning
Parks/ Open Space/ Habitat
Purchasing/ Investing
Sustainability Management
Transportation/ Fleets
Waste Management
Water/ Wastewater
Just below this listing are links to the most recent materials added to the database, including things like the Philadelphia Local Action Plan for Climate Change, a document about Heat Island Effect Mitigation (from the City of Houston), a Plastic Bag Reduction Ordinance from San Francisco, and more. New materials via user submission are added on a continuing basis. A search form allows keyword and fielded searching — e.g., by author, city, county, state, category, city size, document type.
