Natural Awakenings Dallas begins a new series this month about what's happening in North Texas cities to secure, promote and invest in their communities to insure the best quality of life for their residents and choices for citizens. We kick it off with the city of Plano.

Perhaps precipitated by the COVID-19 pandemic and all its trappings and unintended consequences, our culture is in the midst of heightened awareness and concern about the quality of our lives and the intersection of the environment, health and lifestyle. This has been of concern to many cities as they vie for new businesses and the people and economic resources they bring with them. Now with environmental consciousness, social responsibility and global health concerns ruling the day, it’s instructional to see and appreciate what’s being done to help North Texans live the green, healthy and sustainable lifestyles they want.

Plano, a Dallas Metroplex city that as of January 1, 2021, had a population of 286,980 as the ninth most populous city in Texas. It transformed itself from an agricultural town on the Blackland Prairie to a vast financial commercial hub with huge parkland and a varied food arena. Because of its numerous companies like Toyota, unemployment stands at 4.2 percent and housing is affordable; Plano's median home price of $271,300, puts the American dream within reach for many middle-class first-time homebuyers.

Studies show that COVID-19 is forcing some seniors into early retirement and needing reasonable housing. Affordable housing exists and the lowest effective tax rate for a Plano retiree with an income of $50,000 is 16.33 percent. Plano ranks eighth for housing costs as a percentage of income at 20.02 percent. A plus—Plano is a relatively safe city, finishing in the top 10 for both violent crime (148) and property crime (1,683) per 100,000 residents.

Whether young or a senior, Plano residents have much for which to be proud of when it comes to environmental issues. City Manager Mark Isrealson takes great pride in his city and its efforts to positively contribute to green, healthy, sustainable living. When it comes to what drives city leaders/residents, he says that the most important thing that Plano is doing is the variety of offerings that Plano citizens and businesses can participate in to impact the community and its environment.

Parks/nature and assets/greens space is a big deal with any city, and Israelson says that for many years, Plano has made it a priority in fulfilling a parks master plan that that includes green open spaces. Plano is also a Tree City USA. In a partnership between the city and community, Plano residents enjoy and profit from a planned community garden. "Live Green in Plano" offers master gardener and master composter classes.

Plano has a recycling program with residential, commercial and demolition components, and an active composting of yard and food matter which becomes Texas pure compost. Solar energy, part of Plano's Live Green Program, is under the direction of a citizens' group that helps residents understand their solar options, such as charging stations are at various Plano locations, including libraries, city hall and other city facilities. Water conservation data shows a monetary effect for Plano citizens. A strong partnership with the Plano Independent School District exists by supporting educational programs.

Plano promotes green, healthy sustainable living by showing efficiency in its approach to the environment and making sure that its green programs meet the needs of the city. New potential businesses consider a city's green, healthy and sustainable efforts, and to meet those demands, Plano stresses green living as one of the elements of the overall quality of life that make up its community.

Plano Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Kelle Marsalis states, "The quality of a place is what new businesses look for and when they choose where to build, move or expand a business this is at the top of their list. We stress to potential businesses that we are fortunate to live in a city that values the future of our planet and sustainable practices, making our business community one of the best quality locations in the nation. Plano continues to lead categories for greenspace, park, livability and affordability This makes our community a great place in which to live, work and do business for generations to come."

Plano Mayor John B. Muns says, "I, too, am also proud that Plano residents are receptive and actively engaged in green living, as shown by their participation in sustainability projects and environmental education. For example, in 2021 volunteers donated more than 13,000 hours toward green living projects. And for the last fiscal year, over 5,000 people of all ages took part in environmental education classes."

He adds that Plano's approach is very comprehensive and goes back several years. "In 2015, Plano moved forward in viewing that sustainability is key in a more holistic way, (i.e., we began to look at economic and social factors that contribute to a sustainable community). Therefore, it isn't surprising that we scored a four out of five-star rating from LEED when they looked at our standards toward sustainability. We continue to provide data-driven decision-making and constant improvement that allows progress. Focus areas are natural systems and ecology, transportation and land use, water efficiency and materials and resources that provide a high quality of life for Plano residents."

Plano Director of Environmental Health & Sustainability Rachel Patterson beams explains that the sustainability and green living programs exist now for the benefit of today's residents and long-term for future generations. "Leaving enough resources behind to support future generations is at the crux of what we do in our sustainability and environmental education programs. 'Grateful' is an understatement for the enthusiasm with which our residents show in this effort."

Plano Live Green volunteers Meera and A. J. Angus knows the importance of green, healthy, sustainable living and count it a privilege to do their part. Their favorite way to "live green" is backyard composting, which allows them to not throw away food waste and end up with compost for their garden. Other items such as certain paper products, dried leaves and pet hair are also composted. Meera suggests to citizens that are unable to compost at home, Plano has options for paid pick-up and drop-off services that keep food waste out of landfills such as Turn Compost and Recycle Revolution.

Larry Howe, another Live Green volunteer, and his wife Donna, are longtime recyclers and big advocates for renewable energy. "We installed solar panels, and I'm proud that Donna and I can do our part in helping communicate to the city of Plano the importance of green, healthy, sustainable living," he says.

Howe shares that he is excited that Plano is continuing its leadership position with its vision for a community-wide greenhouse gas emissions goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, as outlined in their Cleaner Air Reduced Emissions document released in May 2020.

Meera, Angus and Howe are among the thousands of Plano residents doing their part toward green, healthy, sustainable living. If the world follows their examples, future generations will have less to be concerned about. We can all do our part.