Evaluating progress towards sustainable development: a critical examination of a decade-long university-nonprofit collaboration

• A decade-long partnership between a nonprofit and university is examined.
• It generated three sustainability reports for a district undergoing revitalization.
• Strength of the university is research mission and the breadth of faculty expertise.
• Need more sustainability-oriented/lasting funding and more highly merited.
• More robust infrastructure for student, faculty, and community engagement.

Once a vast derelict brownfield in the heart of Milwaukee, the Menomonee Valley is now regarded as an award winning urban revitalization and redevelopment project that incorporates environmental, social, and economic best practices. For almost two decades, the redevelopment of the Valley has involved an array of stakeholders, including community groups and universities, committed to building a more sustainable future for the district and the surrounding community. This article examines the community-higher education partnership between the Sixteenth Street Community Health Center and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to renew the Valley, focusing primarily on the Menomonee Valley Benchmarking Initiative. The MVBI was established in 2001 to raise awareness regarding the state of the Valley and to monitor progress towards sustainability on the basis of over three dozen indicators. In December 2013, the MVBI released the most recent sustainability report. This article critically examines the MVBI in terms of its motivating factors, early actions, forging of partnerships, and sustainability reporting, and ends with a discussion of key lessons for those contemplating similar work. It argues that while the Valley's redevelopment and the MVBI arrangement were successful, universities and faculty members face a host of challenges that affect the long-term viability of such initiatives.