Issaquah, WA is a community of 30,000 residents located in King County, at the gateway to the Cascade Mountains. Developing from its origins as a small mining and lumber town, Issaquah has a strong environmental ethic and has evolved into a sizable residential community, as well as the headquarters for Costco.
Considered among the fastest-growing suburban cities in Washington State and the United States overall, Issaquah is planning for a major amount of growth in its Central Issaquah area. With this in mind, and funded by an American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant, Issaquah approached New Energy Cities in 2011 to analyze what it would take to achieve its ambitious goal of reducing carbon 80 percent below 2007 levels by 2050.
Issaquah commissioned its first Carbon Wedge analysis, which New Energy Cities presented to the Issaquah City Council in January 2013. Issaquah also led the way by holding two charrettes with community partners in the fall of 2013 and spring of 2014, focused on strategies and partnerships to reduce carbon in the building sector and in waste and materials management.
These pioneering projects have set the pace for other King County cities, and New Energy Cities is replicating this work with the King County—Cities Climate Collaboration, Shoreline, and other communities.
In 2014, Issaquah is prioritizing carbon reduction strategies in the building sector, energy supply, and transportation sector.
You can download the Issaquah 2007 Energy Map and view a January 2013 City Council presentation, which includes the Carbon Wedge graphics, on this page.
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