City Profiles / Small Cities / Dubuque, IA

Dubuque, Iowa

One of the first settlements west of the Mississippi, Dubuque has the oldest historic preservation and building conservation code program in Iowa, and is currently pursuing a warehouse district revitalization initiative that would transform a 17-square-block historic area into an energy-efficient, mixed-use neighborhood. The nonprofit Dubuque Main Street is the country's longest-running Main Street program, and transformed a vacant downtown into a bustling center that earned the National Trust's Urban Pioneer Award in 2006 for its urban revival. In 2008 Dubuque was awarded the Most Livable City Award from the U.S. Conference of Mayors, partly for its $188 million plan to revitalize 90 acres at the port into an attractive public space.

Sustainable Dubuque is Dubuque, Iowa's comprehensive plan for environmental integrity, economic prosperity and cultural vibrancy. Its approach touches on 11 principles to guide the city's sustainability efforts, from green building and community design to healthy local food and native plants and animals, and in January 2009 the city's first sustainability community coordinator took office to help carry out these goals. Dubuque is also one of 30 American cities that have signed on to ICLEI's voluntary climate-change study, the Carbon Disclosure Project, which is gathering climate-relevant data to learn more about the roles cities play in global warming.