The University of Maryland, in partnership with the United Nations and the University of Baltimore, is aiming to make Baltimore more sustainable and will hold its first meeting Dec. 3.

This university’s National Center for Smart Growth is working with University of Baltimore’s College of Public Affairs and the Jacob France Institute, as well as the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Solutions Network and Climate Nexus — a strategic communications group — to ensure Baltimore becomes more sustainable in the next few years.

This initiative is part of the U.N.’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and has the same goal of being more sustainable by 2030.

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Baltimore is one of three cities that are a part of a pilot program for the new USA Sustainable Cities Initiative, which is head by the U.N. The other cities are New York and San Jose, California.

“We hope that the results of this are that the residents will have more opportunity to live in a clean environment and have more economic prosperity,” said Gerrit Knaap, the National Center for Smart Growth executive director.

The specific sustainability plans for Baltimore are still in the process of being created and will include a combination of social and environmental issues, Knaap said. The overall USA Sustainable Cities Initiative plans to cover poverty, jobs, security, education, health, housing, infrastructure, low-carbon energy and environmental protection in each of the three model cities, according to the U.N. sustainable development website.  

Graduate students who work for the center will be involved with data analysis for Baltimore, Knaap said. 

“Here on campus, there are so many initiatives on sustainability and I haven’t seen that much of it in Baltimore,” said Camille Newell, a junior environmental science and policy major. “It’s great that we are taking what we are doing on campus and taking it to a larger level.”

After the first meeting in December, Knaap said they anticipate meeting over the next several years, but do not know how often. However, at the moment, there is very little funding, he said. 

The initiative was created in response to the U.N.’s new Sustainable Development Goals plan, which has 17 total goals and 169 targets to be achieved by 2030, according to the website. The goals were established at the first ever U.N. Sustainable Development Summit in September, and a full version of the list will become available on the website in January. 

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The goals have five areas of critical importance: people, the planet, prosperity, peace and partnership, which is where this university comes into play.

“I have been really impressed by the whole program at UMD and I think this is another great step,” said Tom Carter, an adjunct professor in the Federal Semester Program who teaches an energy and environmental policy class.

The Partnership for Action Learning in Sustainability is also trying to help make Baltimore more sustainable. The program partners with different cities each year with hands-on courses that students can take at this university.

PALS will partner next year with The Southwest Partnership in Baltimore, which is completely separate from the National Center for Smart Growth partnering with the U.N. and University of Baltimore. 

“People here would be interested in helping Baltimore,” said Crystal Hughes, a junior civil and environmental engineering major. “You could find people from the race relations side and sustainability side and together create sustainable solutions.”