This article by Marilyn Hamilton is republished here with permission from Enlivening Edge – where the original was published June 7, 2019. See below for link to full article.

On the way to co-creating an Integral City—one that is TEAL/YELLOW[i] in its design, operation and regeneration—we will have to recalibrate our understanding of what a Green City is. If we can set the standards for a fully sustainable Green City governed by GREEN values, then we can backcast our action agenda for the next 12 years that the IPCC sets as our target for effecting climate change action.

The term Green City can be understood in two ways: GREEN as defined by Spiral Dynamics Integral (SDi) and Green as referenced in the global conversation about sustainability.

GREEN (spelled all in capitals) as used by SDi in the context of this article means a level of complexity for governance that sees the world in terms of plural values, environmental awareness, compassion, acceptance and social equity.

Green (with capital “G” only), according to Wikipedia, relates to sustainable Green Cities. “Sustainable cities which feature urban sustainability… designed with consideration for social, economic, environmental impact, and resilient habitat for existing populations, without compromising the ability of future generations to experience the same. These cities are inhabited by people who are dedicated towards minimization of required inputs of energy, water, food, waste, output of heat, air pollution – CO2, methane, and water pollution.”

Many cities in the world are aspiring to be Green. Chicago might have started the trend by creating a city with the most green roofs—thereby actually accomplishing a drop in the average temperature of the city by removing the heat sink of black, impervious, heat-generating materials on rooftops.

To read the full article click here.

This Manifesto is paired with the Manifesto for New Sincerity: Meet Feyda by Oleg Lega for a reading/declaration at the Wemakethe.city festival in Amsterdam on June 19, 2019.