Pollalis - Planning sustainable cities: an infrastructure-based approach

This research was made possible by the generous support of Paul Zofnass and Joan Zofnass, whose determination and commitment to sustainability led to the establishment, in 2007, of the Zofnass Program at Harvard University (research. gsd.harvard.edu/Zofnass, or www.zofnass.org). The founding objective of the Program was the creation of a sustainability rating system for infrastructure projects in close collaboration with the Harvard professional schools and with industry.

In 2007, Professor Spiro Pollalis was appointed the first Director of the Zofnass Program and assumed the task of formulating and implementing the vision. A team of researchers and students was assembled to carry out the research and the Planning Guidelines is the direct or indirect outcome of a multi-year effort on sustainability of the researchers throughout the years who have been part of the Zofnass Program. The Zofnass Program has also been supported by Harvard University faculty advisors from the School of Design, the Center for the Environment, the School of Public Health, the Business School, and the Law School, who bring a wide range of expertise to the Program.

In parallel, the Zofnass Program established the Sustainable Industry Advisory Board (SIAB). SIAB members support the Program financially and, equally important, with the commitment of the firms leadership share their professional expertise and provide valuable feedback to the Programs research. ARCADIS, Autodesk Inc., exp., Golder Associates, Granite Construction, CH2M, HNTB Corporation, MWH Global, NV5, Power Engineers, and Stantec are the SIAB members.

The Program organizes quarterly workshops, by invitation only. The researchers of the Program, Harvard faculty advisors, SIAB members, and guests attend these workshops, led by public authorities and private parties involved in large-scale projects. The workshops allow intense interaction on complex issues that require utmost expertise and understanding of state-of-the-art practice. We attribute to these workshops the results of our research, the successful outcome of both our rating system and our Planning Guidelines.

The Zofnass Program maintains a close ongoing relation with the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure (ISI, www.sustainableinfrastructure.org). ISI was established in 2012 as a nonprofit organization with three founding members: the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC), and the American Public Works Association (APWA). After its founding, ISI adopted our Zofnass rating system, giving it a new life after the research phase, and has transformed it into Envision, a commercial-grade product for self-evaluating the sustainability of infrastructure projects, for rating them, and for training Envision certified professionals (ENV SP). Our interactions with ISI have had an impact on our work.

The Planning Guidelines were presented, discussed, and scrutinized in all our workshops over the past two years. The Harvard faculty advisors and SIAB members provided feedback on the research and reviewed the manuscript of this book. SIAB members contributed introductory essays for each chapter, sharing their valuable professional perspectives.

It should be noted that the Water Infrastructure chapter was partially supported by a two-year grant of the Surdna Foundation to the Zofnass Program (www.surdna.org).