The Greening of Balboa Park: A Holistic, Sustainable and Replicable Model

摘要

Developed for the 1915 Panama Exposition, Balboa Park now houses more than tworndozen major museums, performing arts organizations, gardens, and the San Diego Zoo. Locatedrnon over 1200 acres of land with over a million square feet of property, Balboa Park is one of thernnation’s largest urban cultural centers, attracting more than 6.5 million visitors annually fromrnaround the world.rnThrough recent collaborative efforts, Balboa Park is poised to become a national modelrnfor cultural institutions and urban parks to achieve environmental sustainability. In 2008 thernBalboa Park Cultural Partnership established a Park-wide sustainability program that includes 26rncultural institutions, the City of San Diego, San Diego Gas & Electric, and many otherrncommunity stakeholders. Designed to be a replicable model, the Partnership’s goals are therncreation and alignment of sustainable business practices; the identification of, andrncommunication with, key internal and external stakeholders; and the education of visitors,rnemployees, stakeholders, and the public. All sustainability initiatives and results arernbenchmarked, measured and quantified-a vital component for measuring its carbon footprintrnand aligning with the state’s plan for energy efficiency. The Balboa Park Cultural Partnershiprn(BPCP) has become the first network of cultural institutions in the country to benchmark thernenergy performance of its buildings using the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA)rnENERGY STAR~? Portfolio Manager.rnThis paper outlines BPCP’s approach to energy efficiency, resource management, landrnuse and building retrofits, using the following methodology1:rn1. How the program aligns with the Partnership’s mission and visionrn2. How the initial key stakeholders (internal/external) were identifiedrn3. The levels and types of stakeholder engagementrn4. The program’s core areas of focusrn5. How actions are quantified and prioritized, andrn6. A review of results, relevant case studies, and future steps.