Sustainability

What is the project?
The City of Manassas is writing its first sustainability plan! The plan will help Manassas be kinder to the environment, help us do our part to make our city cleaner, and help guide future policies and projects.  Sustainability has been identified in Chapter 8 of the City’s Comprehensive Plan as a priority for the Manassas community, and this plan will help make our goal of becoming more environmentally conscious a reality.  

In August 2021, Paul Bubbosh and Joel Hicks, two professors from George Mason University, reached out to the City to offer their services to develop and implement a Sustainability Plan for the government and community. At no cost to Manassas, GMU offered to conduct an inventory analysis of the greenhouse gas emissions from government sources, and then to engage the community Task Force in developing strategies, plans, and initiatives as part of the Sustainability Plan.

The City is grateful for GMU’s assistance on its Sustainability Plan. For more information about GMU’s efforts to assist Virginia counties and cities, please visit their web page.

Project Partners:

• Sustainability Task Force
  • Citizen group guiding the decision-making process
  • Comprised of representatives from City boards, commissions and citizen groups
• George Mason University (GMU)
  • Brings students and professors to collect and analyze technical data and assist with modeling
  • Helps develop sustainability plan and assist with implementation
• Local Governments for Sustainability (ICLEI)
  • Local government cooperative with access to tools and training programs
  • Provides technical support for the plan

Project Phases:
Environmental sustainability covers subjects ranging from transportation and tree preservation to public health and water quality. Because so many different topics fall within the environmental sustainability umbrella, the project has been divided into phases.

Time Lines:
Overall Project Time Line:

• 2021: Phase 1 –Existing Conditions (GHG Data collection)
• Fall 2022: Phase 1 - Goals & Strategies
• Spring 2023: Phase 2

Contact Info:
Matthew Arcieri, Community Development Director
email / 703-257-8232