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Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
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2

Sustainability in the Region

Congressman Earl Blumenauer opened the workshop by setting the stage for how he envisions the federal government moving sustainability forward. Historically, cities had many of the elements sought in sustainable cities today. For example, electric street cars were ubiquitous in cities from Chicago to Boston, and most cities grew much of their produce locally. In 1950, Los Angeles County was the number one agricultural county in the United States. Public engagement—being involved in civic affairs and helping the community—was also more prevalent. Cities are returning back to many of these sustainability roots, and moving forward with strategies on their own initiative and not waiting for federal policies to spur action. Cities are the staging areas where many decisions are made and acted upon every day that affect social, environmental, and economic outcomes of the present and future.

Although Congressman Blumenauer urged not to give up on the federal government, he also recognized that there have been misguided federal policies in the past, including transportation and housing policies that created barriers to sustainability. He called, instead, for policies that bridge barriers and focus on the livability of communities as a fundamental way to make families safer, healthier, and more economically secure. There is often fragmentation in the federal government, with many agencies unaware of similar or related programs in other agencies. One key exception is the memorandum of understanding among the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and the Department of Transportation (DOT) that

Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×

formed the Partnership for Sustainable Communities.1 An example of where a federal agency can make a big difference in energy efficiency is the Department of Defense (DOD), which is the largest consumer of energy in the world. The DOD has come to internalize the difference energy efficiency makes in terms of military operations. At $400 a gallon to deliver fuel in Iraq and Afghanistan, the DOD understands that it is a military necessity to be energy efficient. Agriculture policy is another area with the potential to make a difference. The 2013 farm bill will be an important piece of environmental legislation that Congress will consider in the current session. Farmland protection and long-term land conservation affect water quality and quantity issues, conserve soil resources, serve as natural buffers to urban sprawl, and contribute to improving air quality. Congressman Blumenauer commented that new agencies are not needed in order to address the issue of having more sustainable communities, but rather sustainability principles need to be driven into the operation of every agency in the federal government.

Federally funded research and development, emphasized Congressman Blumenauer, is also critical in furthering our knowledge in this field. There is a challenge in quantifying urban sustainability research so that better, more cost-efficient decisions can be made; however, there is underinvestment and often political resistance to expanding the federal role in research. There also needs to be more upfront consideration in terms of planning and designing research. This will allow researchers to better take advantage of economic and research opportunities in urban sustainability research.

For communities, how issues are framed is a critical element for moving urban sustainability forward. For example, stated Congressman Blumenauer, people do not like to think about their neighborhoods being overly crowded; however, if the issue is discussed in terms of restoring historic population levels, it is easier to gain buy-in by communities. It also requires giving people more choice and more value. For example, bike use in Portland increased because it was made more convenient and “hip,” and so people chose to not use their cars as often. This also resulted in businesses giving up parking spots in front of their establishments for bike parking, allowing parking for up to ten bikes where otherwise only one car could park. People need to be more engaged in reaching out to their federal representatives about what they need in their districts, and to communicate that they want sustainable communities.

Jared Blumenfeld, Region 9 Administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), emphasized accountability and implementation in moving sustainability strategies forward. He referenced the United Nations 1992 Rio

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1 The Partnership for Sustainable Communities aims to help places around the country develop in more environmentally and economically sustainable ways using six livability principles: provide more transportation choices; promote equitable, affordable housing; enhance economic competitiveness; support existing communities; coordinate and leverage federal policies and investment; and value communities and neighborhoods (www.sustainablecommunities.gov).

Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×

Earth Summit, which involved international institutions and the heads of state for 105 countries. There were no U.S. mayors, governors, or private sector companies present, and issues were discussed at very high levels of government. Although the Rio Earth Summit was an unprecedented event, Mr. Blumenfeld noted that there is little accountability with international conventions or treaties, mainly due to the lack of mechanisms for reporting what member states are doing to further their obligations. This lack of accountability would also be true if there emerged an international agreement on climate change, and as such, many cities and states have begun efforts and are already making progress on climate mitigation and adaptation in the absence of overarching international or federal policy.

A majority of the world’s population now resides in cities, which produce approximately 85 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions globally. Although there is a lot of efficiency gained by living in cities, there are also a lot of emissions directly coming from cities. Cities are not waiting for an international agreement on how to move forward, but the shift to more sustainable cities would be aided by a regulatory framework. There has been a transition since the 1992 Rio Earth Summit in that international organizations and nation states are playing less of a role in moving urban sustainability forward, mainly because of the larger role that cities and corporations are now playing. Cities are where customers are located, and corporations prefer to deal directly with cities.

Cities around the globe are very similar, Mr. Blumenfeld observed. Although the mayor of Phoenix is more conservative than the mayor of Portland, they care about the same things that any city cares about. The prime minister of India has very different concerns than the prime minister of Iceland, but the mayor of New Delhi has the same concerns as the mayor of Reykjavik, Phoenix, or Portland. For example, they all need clean water, functional streets, waste pick up, and functional street lights. These issues do not change much from city to city. The amount of similarity among cities as opposed to among nation states is striking. Cities, Mr. Blumenfeld commented, also have become brands, much the way Portland has become an important brand for many people. Brands have value: People may not be familiar with Oregon, but they know Portland well.

Mr. Blumenfeld commented that for cities addressing climate change, a priority should be to focus on adaptation and to communicate to the public the steps taken on adaptation efforts so that it is understood that climate change is real and is being addressed. The federal government is largely not involved in land-use planning, and there will not be a national adaptation strategy, so it is uniquely within the domain of cities to move planning and adaptation initiatives forward.

Climate change is a global phenomenon, but there are many actions that can be taken on a smaller, more local scale that can contribute to the solution. Transportation is a key example. Local land-use planning can make public transit and zero emission transit options more attractive to communities. Building codes are another example. Making buildings more energy efficient is a uniquely urban challenge, and building codes will always be locally dictated. Many cities have

Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×

adopted Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) requirements for buildings. Incentives for developers are also key. Mr. Blumenfeld gave an example of providing incentives from his time as director of the San Francisco Department of the Environment. When a developer committed to LEED Gold certification, a planner would be assigned within a week, whereas the traditional time was closer to a year. Within a day of issuing this policy, there were six buildings signed up as LEED Gold certified. This example also serves as a lesson in bringing private industry into sustainability strategies. It is possible to institute nearly any sustainability measure as long as there is parity among different corporate sectors so that there is no perception that one sector receives added benefits that others do not; the playing field must be level.

Retrofits are another way to increase energy efficiency in buildings, but for small business, staying in business is the first priority. Mr. Blumenfeld said that to help 6,000 retrofits of small businesses for energy efficiency, the San Francisco Department of the Environment created a funding mechanism by bringing in banks to loan the money needed for the retrofits. Most of the small businesses did not take the loans, however, but instead ensured that the payback periods of their investments were less than a year. This demonstrates that scale, capital costs, and payback periods are key measures for these projects. Moving forward, Mr. Blumenfeld listed several ways to advance urban sustainability:

  • Urban sustainability needs to be data driven, transparent, and monitored so that metrics and goals are attained.
  • Procurement is important and can mitigate carbon footprints and toxic inventories by changing what a city purchases. A useful urban sustainability measure would be a national set of procurement specifications.
  • Bold goals need to be set to shape local context. Goals need to be monitored so that progress can be accurately assessed.
  • Implementation of sustainable strategies is everyone’s responsibility. The public can have an impact on their immediate environment every day.
  • Innovation trickles up and is local. Cities can capitalize on local innovation.
  • Shape the dialogue so that messages are consistent and simple, and do so in a way that aggregates what is already being done in cities around the country. Efforts will be more effective if the discussion is not around isolated cities and examples but aggregated from examples from cities across the country.

Michael Armstrong, policy, research, and innovation manager with the City of Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, stated that a long timeframe, location, and interconnections are important elements when considering sustainable development. Portland, for example, has the Bull Run Watershed as

Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×

its drinking water supply and coastal resources. Portland was not always a center for sustainability, and in the 1970s the City of Portland had poor air quality due, in part, to the number of automobiles on the road. Streets were expanded to accommodate more cars, and Interstate 5 was built through downtown. Portland also faces social challenges. From 2005-2007, the working poor made up 23 percent of Multnomah County households, only 53 percent of Portland’s high school students graduated in 4 years, and 23 percent of high school students dropped out of school.

The Portland Plan’s 12 Measures of Success

  1. Equity and inclusion
  2. Resident satisfaction
  3. Educated youth
  4. Prosperous households
  5. Growing businesses
  6. Creating jobs
  7. Transit and active transportation
  8. Reduced carbon emissions
  9. Complete neighborhoods
  10. Healthier people
  11. Safer city
  12. Healthier watersheds

SOURCE: Michael Armstrong, City of Portland’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, May 28, 2013.

The people of Portland made choices that started to change the city. Large parking lots were converted to public squares, such as Pioneer Courthouse Square. The urban growth boundary, which was passed as state legislation in the 1970s, played a major role in how Portland developed over time. Most recently, the Portland Plan presents the larger picture for development in the city.2 One element of the plan is the 20-minute neighborhood, where residents would be able to access all their needs within 20 minutes of walking. The Portland Plan has 12 measures of success, including reducing carbon emissions. Portland had a carbon dioxide reduction strategy as early as the 1990s, which was updated in 2009. The current strategy aims for an 80 percent reduction in emissions by 2050.

Since 1990, there have been many accomplishments in reaching the 2050 carbon emission reduction goal (Figure 2-1). Per capita, household energy is down 10 percent, vehicle miles traveled is down 8 percent (since 1995), and gasoline sales are down 21 percent. Portland has the highest hybrid ownership in the United States, transit ridership has doubled, and bike commutes have increased five-fold. The challenge, however, is in understanding the drivers behind the drop in emissions. Between 1990 and 2010, there was a 26 percent increase in population, but a 9 percent decrease in energy use per person and an 18 percent reduction in carbon emissions per unit of energy used in homes. Although population overall increased by 26 percent, jobs in Portland only increased by 12 percent. Commercial and industrial energy use per job declined by 13 percent and carbon emissions per unit of energy decreased by 7 percent. Transportation and waste

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2 See www.portlandonline.com/portlandplan.

Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×

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FIGURE 2-1 Components of Carbon Reduction in Multnomah County 1990-2010.
SOURCE: Michael Armstrong, presentation, May 28, 2013.

disposal were also large drivers, with transportation energy use per person down by 15 percent and waste disposal carbon emission per person down 66 percent.

Identifying the source of carbon emissions is also important for the Portland Plan. Emissions from transportation are about the same percentage as those from buildings (residential and commercial) at about 40 percent each. Another 16 percent of total carbon emissions come from industry. Because of the high percentage of emissions from buildings, there have been major efforts to target and reduce emissions from that source. Targeting energy efficiency is crucial, but so is incorporating more on-site renewable energy sources and working with utilities to shift to low-carbon energy sources. One program that targets homes is Clean Energy Works, a program that provides financing options to homeowners to help defray upfront costs of energy retrofitting. The program also provides job training

Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×

for workers who retrofitted homes, which have been traditionally low-wage jobs. The program provides better wages and career pathways for those employees, which illustrates well the social, economical, and environmental components of a sustainability initiative.

Stormwater management is crucial for Portland’s resilience and adaptation. Green infrastructure (planters, green streets, ecoroofs, and basins) protects water quality and reduces peak flows and flow volume during rains; it also protects pedes—trians through improved urban design, such as curb extensions (see examples in Figure 2-2). Mr. Armstrong stated that the Portland Plan is about having a community that works for people, and takes into consideration a longer timeframe and the interconnections among many different systems of urban sustainability.

Amanda Pitre-Hayes, director of sustainability for the City of Vancouver, gave an overview of sustainability efforts in Vancouver. Vancouver has 600,000 people in the city and about 2.3 million people in the metro region, making it approximately the size of Portland. Vancouver has intentionally developed certain

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FIGURE 2-2 Examples of Portland’s green infrastructure.
SOURCE: Michael Armstrong, presentation, May 28, 2013.

Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×

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FIGURE 2-3 Vancouver’s Greenest City 2020 Action Plan Framework.
SOURCE: Amanda Pitre-Hayes, presentation, May 28, 2013.

parts of the city and intentionally not developed others. An effort in the 1950s to build an airport on the Spanish Banks and Jericho Beach areas of Vancouver did not succeed, for example. The South East False Creek area of Vancouver was historically a shipyard and a center of industry, Pitre-Hayes said, but after hosting the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, the area was redeveloped to have more walking paths, green space, and modern buildings. The Coal Harbor, another center historically heavy with industry, was also redeveloped. In the mid-20th century, there were plans for a major freeway to run through the city; however, with community involvement, these plans were overturned.

Vancouver is using the Greenest City Action Plan Framework to drive its sustainability goals (Figure 2-3), said Ms. Pitre-Hayes. The plan is similar to what Portland has been implementing, and was adopted in 2011 by the city council. The plan strives to meet three goals: zero carbon, zero waste, and healthy ecosystems.

Within those three goals, there are specific targets that Vancouver is working toward. Examples of these targets and progress made toward them include3:

  • Double the number of green jobs in Vancouver by 2020.
  • Double the number of companies actively engaged in greening their businesses.

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3 See http://vancouver.ca/green-vancouver/targets-and-priority-actions.aspx.

Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×
  • Eliminate Vancouver’s dependence on fossil fuels by 2050.
  • Reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) 33 percent by 2020. Vancouver is currently at a 4 percent reduction in GHGs.
  • Lead the world in green building, design, and construction, and reduce GHGs in existing buildings by 20 percent. Reduction of GHGs in existing buildings is currently at 3 percent.
  • Make walking, cycling, and public transportation the preferred modes of transportation. Vancouver started with a baseline of 40 percent of trips made by foot, bicycle, or public transit. Currently, the city is up to 50 percent.
  • Create zero waste—in other words, reduce total solid waste going to landfills by 50 percent over 2008 levels. Vancouver has reduced total solid waste going to landfills by 11 percent.
  • Ensure that every Vancouver resident lives within a 5-minute walk of a green space and plant 150,000 additional trees in the city. Currently, 93 percent of residents are living within a 5-minute walk of a green space and over 10,000 trees have been planted since the plan was adopted in 2011.
  • Become a global leader in urban food systems, which includes increasing farmers’ markets, orchards, and community garden plots by a minimum of 50 percent over 2010 levels. Currently, there has been a 24 percent increase over 2010 levels.
  • Ensure the most stringent water guidelines are met and reduce per capita water consumption by a third by 2020. The guidelines are currently being met, and per capita water consumption has been reduced by 16.5 percent.
  • Meet the most stringent air quality guidelines. Sulfur dioxide is a continual challenge to this target due to port traffic contributing emissions and exceeding regional air quality guidelines.

In addition to these targets, Vancouver built 30 public electric vehicle charging stations, with 40 more planned by the end of 2013, said Ms. Pitre-Hayes. There is a network of separated bike lanes, and bike commuting is up by 26 percent since 2008. Vancouver created a low-carbon energy utility in the Olympic Village as a demonstration project and to make the business case for this form of a utility. The model is being franchised across the city through the private sector and replicated to deliver low-carbon energy. Vancouver created many partnerships with the private sector in moving their sustainability targets forward. For example, Vancouver is partnering with MAXIM Power, a company that captures methane from the landfill and turns it into energy, part of which is used to heat greenhouses that grow local produce. Vancouver also partnered with developers to help realize a 46 percent increase in LEED developments. The LEED Platinum Vancouver Olympic Village includes Canada’s first net zero building.

Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×

Ms. Pitre-Hayes also described a major collaboration the city has with the University of British Columbia. The Greenest City Scholar Program brings postgraduate students into the city every year to conduct research and help the city reach the sustainability targets in the Greenest City Action Plan. Engaging the broader community is also a key element of the plan. The city partnered with the Vancouver foundation last year to create the Greenest City Fund, a $2 million fund that provides grants to residents who want to develop a project that will further the city’s goals. For example, the Vancouver Tool Library is a lending library for power tools that people borrow instead of purchasing in order to complete home renovation projects. Another example is SHIFT, a peddle-power bicycle courier service that has grown to become its own business enterprise.

Standards for creating vibrant, inspiring, and sustainable places:

  • Build community
  • Create inviting spaces
  • Minimize carbon footprint and energy dependence
  • Connect people and buildings to nature
  • Encourage transportation alternatives
  • Craft the first 30 feet
  • Inspire communities with art
  • Make 20-minute living real
  • Integrate schools and neighborhoods
  • Preserve historical symbols that matter

SOURCE: Renee Loveland, Gerding Edlen, May 28, 2013.

One challenge faced not only by Vancouver but by all cities, she said, is that of jurisdiction and the limited influence city councils have over decisions that affect areas immediately surrounding cities. For example, there is a large presence of oil and energy extraction industries in Alberta, Canada, which export products through the Port of Vancouver. The Vancouver city council is attempting to limit the export of fossil fuels from its port; however, the port and surrounding waters fall under federal jurisdiction, limiting the city council’s ability to take action. Vancouver passed a motion asking for proof of insurance against a spill for any exporter operating within the waters that surround Vancouver; however, the issue is controversial and ongoing.

Renee Loveland, sustainability manager at Gerding Edlen, described how to turn sustainability values into economic value. Sustainability is not viewed at Gerding Edlen as a stagnate point, such as achieving a LEED platinum certification, but as a continual process of improving and incorporating new knowledge. It is also important to share that knowledge with the community so they can share in that vision. A challenge exists in addressing the eventual financial outcome of an investment when developing a new, sustainable property. One tool to address this is the Livable Place Index, which evaluates performance based on “people, planet, and prosperity.” The “people” component relates to connections and how well values are expressed. The “planet” component is reflected in the recertification of every project, so that energy, water, and carbon emissions are accounted for and communicated to the public. The “prosperity” component relates to an

Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×

economic development analysis conducted on every project, which assesses metrics such as jobs created and tax revenue generated. Ms. Loveland noted that there has been an increase in demand for corporate sustainability reporting, with reporting mechanisms such as the Dow Jones Sustainability Index and the Global Real Estate Sustainability Benchmark. Gerding Edlen has realized returns on investments in Portland with higher absorption and lease rates for tenants across the city, the highest rental rate building, and the highest per square foot sale on record for three parcels at the Brewery Blocks in Portland’s post-industrial neighborhood known as the Pearl District.

Lew Bowers, central city division manager at the Portland Development Commission (PDC), described the PDC as Portland’s economic development and redevelopment agency and a quasi-governmental entity. It is governed by five commissioners appointed by the mayor and approved by the city council. PDC’s economic strategy has three components, with the first and foremost focusing on jobs (Figure 2-4). Creating jobs in sustainability is a key metric. Urban innova-

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FIGURE 2-4 The three components of the Portland Development Commission’s (PDC) economic strategy.
SOURCE: Lew Bowers, presentation, May 28, 2013.

Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×

tion and social equity are the other two components. Linking sustainability and economic development to communities of color within Portland is a challenge that PDC addresses by employing social, economic, and environmental strategies. Effective stewardship is the overarching value of the strategy. There are two groups within PDC working on addressing the economic element of the strategy: the Business and Industry Team and the Central City Team. The Business and Industry Team focuses on more-traditional economic development—retention, expansion, recruitment, entrepreneurship, industry programs, and incentives—while the Central City Team focuses on implementing demonstration projects that use the central city as a living laboratory.

The PDC differentiates clean tech from other green industries by defining three foci: green development, clean energy, and energy management. Green development refers to infrastructure and companies involved in development, architecture, engineering, and planning. Clean energy refers to companies headquartered in Portland, such as Vestas, which is a major wind energy company. Energy management addresses the interface of storage and energy efficiency systems (e.g., electric vehicles and commercial battery storage). Portland fosters industries that are export oriented, offer family-wage jobs, and have growth potential and a competitive advantage. The clean tech industry is an example, but others include advanced manufacturing, software development, and outdoor clothing design, such as Nike and Columbia. Based on Clean Edge’s U.S. Clean Tech Leadership Index, which ranks the 50 largest cities in the United States, Portland ranked third, due largely to a high score attributed to the many LEED-certified buildings in the city.4 PDC helped provide incentives to developers to build LEED-certified buildings, and the market has returned a demand for these buildings that is now the driving force for new green buildings.5

Portland has also developed as a center for entrepreneurship and start-up companies, stated Mr. Bowers. A $1 million Portland Venture Fund was created by the city, which was matched three times by private funds to create local investments. There is also a group of firms known as Portland 100 that work with PDC to provide mentorship from more advanced firms. To further these efforts and build an entrepreneurial ecosystem, PDC will bring delegations to Silicon Valley to meet with venture capitalists and in turn have venture capitalists travel up to Portland. Capital is not necessarily the largest constraint in creating this ecosystem. Many successful companies have started in Portland, but they quickly

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4 The Metro Index of the U.S. Clean Tech Leadership Index tracks and analyzes clean-tech activities of the 50 largest U.S. metro regions using two dozen indicators within the categories of Green Buildings, Advanced Transportation, Clean Electricity and Carbon Management, and Clean Tech Investment, Innovation, and Workforce (www.cleanedge.com).

5 LEED standards are one of several green building standards in use. For a thorough review of green building standards, see National Research Council. 2013. Energy-Efficiency Standards and Green Building Certification Systems Used by the Department of Defense for Military Construction and Major Renovations. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.

Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×

move to the San Francisco region due to challenges in recruiting executive-level personnel. PDC is addressing this challenge by increasing Portland’s visibility in the entrepreneur world to better attract and retain that level of talent. One element that contributes to the success of the smaller start-up companies is early adopter culture—a culture of collaboration and risk taking. Mr. Bowers stated that people moving to Portland tend to be more open to taking risks on new initiatives, such as reinstating the streetcar, which also translates to more political will in elected officials to take bolder actions on public initiatives.

Policy innovations over the past 40 years in Portland and Oregon, such as the urban growth boundary, have had a dynamic relationship with economic activity in the region. The policy goals created an environment for economic activity, and the economic activity has iteratively shaped policy goals. Green jobs have been added and car sharing and bike commuting have increased, resulting in less driving, which translates into more disposable income for residents. Expertise in green policies and LEED-certified buildings was fostered, which allowed this knowledge to be exported to other cities. One example is We Build Green Cities, a collaborative program between private firms and the public sector to bundle services to offer to other cities.6 It is a branding and export mechanism that enables customers to buy a variety of integrated systems that Portland developed. An example is building ecodistricts, a process that overlays water, transportation, and energy systems in a given geographic area. There are five pilot ecodistricts in Portland, with one located on Portland State University’s campus.

Alisa Kane, manager of the Green Building and Development Program for the City of Portland, discussed the role the city plays in supporting different initiatives from the planning department, PDC, and the private sector in Portland. For example, an ecodistrict encompasses all of these actors and is a community-led initiative that brings sustainability to a scale beyond only buildings. It is a place-based business-development strategy. An ecodistrict is not just about what happens in a building but rather what happens between buildings, and is a model for creating better, more livable communities. Many projects in Portland are done as a partnership—Clean Energy Works Oregon was a collaborative program with the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, PDC, and others to deploy energy efficiency retrofits to residents. Another program, Kilowatt Crackdown, engaged building owners in benchmarking energy use through scoping studies and in improving energy efficiency with capital improvement projects. Approximately 40 percent of the electricity in Portland is produced from hydroelectric plants; however, another 40 percent is derived from coal-fired power plants. This results in low energy costs, which poses a challenge to energy efficiency programs.

Like other cities, Portland struggles with social equity issues and with how best to deploy resources to ensure that all residents have the same level of livability, connectivity, access to food, and green space. There are many barriers to

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6 See www.webuildgreencities.com.

Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×

sustainability, however; as one participant expressed, they are often not technical or economic but due to rigidity from institutionalization, such as narrow job descriptions, performance evaluation criteria, codes of practice, professional standards, and regulatory requirements. Ms. Loveland addressed the issue of institutional barriers by describing the Oregon Built Environment and Sustainable Technologies Center (BEST), which connects Oregon industry to university research teams to help enhance the competitiveness of Oregon-based firms, boost state revenues, grow and improve university research, and help Oregon recruit new clean tech companies. This level of partnership across different sectors breaks down many institutional barriers and helps clean tech technologies to make it to market sooner. The increase in research capability also translates into an increased knowledge base and expertise for other markets.

Jon Belmont, program lead for energy conservation at the Oregon Department of Energy, gave an overview of some of the activities at the state level on energy efficiency. The Northwest Power and Planning Council Sixth Power Plan aims to have enough cost effective conservation measures available to meet approximately 85 percent of the region’s energy load growth for the next 20 years. The plan calls for meeting all of the need for growth through energy efficiency and conservation efforts. Since approximately 1980, the region has been a leader in energy efficiency, but has only met a little more than half of new load increase for electricity with energy efficiency savings. It will be critical for Oregon to meet these goals, because energy efficiency remains the most cost-effective way to meet new consumer demand for electricity. Maximizing energy efficiency and conservation will allow Oregon to maintain competitive, low-energy costs for new and existing businesses.

Governor John Kitzhaber in 2012 released a 10-year Energy Action Plan that provides a comprehensive energy strategy to meet Oregon’s carbon reduction, energy conservation, and renewable energy goals while also trying to balance complex needs such as affordability and reliability, Mr. Belmont continued. Conserving energy is important, but for sustainability, it is also important to ensure that social needs are met by making energy affordable to everyone. Commercial buildings are a challenge to achieving these energy efficiency gains. Publicly owned utilities and the Energy Trust of Oregon, an independent nonprofit organization, are assisting customers to retrofit thousands of buildings every year; however, opportunities remain for more comprehensive integrated retrofits in older buildings.

The Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE) is the lead agency in an initiative called the State Building Innovation Lab.7 This initiative is designed to advance understanding of how to pursue deep energy efficiency and conservation retrofits in the public sector while developing a replicable model for the commercial sector that can be adopted by local and regional governments to help save money,

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7 See www.oregon.gov/energy/Pages/Ten_Year/Ten_Year_Energy_Plan.aspx.

Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×

reduce energy consumption, create local jobs, and strengthen local communities. Over the next 10 years, the State Building Innovation Lab will establish a baseline level of use and conduct energy audits to identify cost-effective retrofits for every occupied building owned by the state.

Although energy is relatively inexpensive in the region, there is still opportunity for reducing energy and saving money. ODOE establishes a baseline for building performance and demonstrates efficiency and sustainability measures that can be taken to decrease the cost of energy—steps that will help show the value of energy efficiency and conservation to the private sector. ODOE is also exploring public-private partnerships and other funding mechanisms such as Energy Efficiency Power Purchase Agreements to help finance energy efficiency improvements.8 One example of a public-private partnership is the Oregon Cool Schools Program, which is a 4-year pilot program to help Oregon schools identify and implement energy saving opportunities. These programs have allowed schools to save money while providing children with a better-lit and more comfortable environment more conducive to learning, said Mr. Belmont. However, the state agency faces challenges, and one of the most challenging is the immediate demand for time and results. ODOE strives to provide the best information and programs available, but like any state agency is under constant public scrutiny. Ensuring that the programs across the state are successful requires trust from and listening to stakeholders. This results in their buy-in and a willingness to take a chance on new programs.

Dave Porter with the Seattle Regional Office of the Economic Development Administration (EDA) at the U.S. Department of Commerce considers economic development as taking the long-term view and building capacity in the community. The Economic Development Administration leads economic development by promoting innovation and competitiveness and by preparing U.S. communities and regions for growth and success in the global economy. The agency’s investment policy guidelines are designed to establish foundations for sustainable job growth and the building of durable regional economies throughout the United States. EDA has several investment priorities focusing on environmentally sensitive development—investments that promote job creation and economic prosper-

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8 These agreements are a financial mechanism for energy efficiency improvements to buildings. A baseline for a building’s power usage is established. Since a utility charges a business based on how much electricity is used, this baseline projection estimates what energy use would be without any improvements. An outside investor then pays a business a monthly rate to upgrade equipment and make other energy efficiency improvements, giving the business a flat, fixed benefit, regardless of their energy usage. The utility then pays the investor based on how much less electricity the business used than was projected by the baseline reading. This gives the investor incentive to minimize the client’s energy use in order to maximize its own return. Also, payments are coming from a stable and reliable source—the utility. The utility receives higher up-front payments from businesses in order to maintain their own grids, and also gains access to energy savings as a form of alternative energy generation.

Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×

ity through projects that enhance environmental quality and implement green products, green places, green buildings, and energy efficient technology.9

Mr. Porter described the challenges in investing in economic development projects. The first is that the problem being addressed is often not accurately or succinctly identified. Second, there is no reliable system or protocol in place that links emerging economic development capital with emerging economical projects; it is a challenge to identify the best projects. Third, severe budget cuts have resulted in a loss of economic development professionals at the local and federal levels, a loss of expert staff that makes it more difficult to do substantive economic development. A final challenge is people’s tendency to be anxious about new risks and to hold onto old ideas. In terms of outcome and performance issues, Mr. Porter said, and it is important to be willing to be surprised but also focus on long-term outcomes. One online tool that aims to measure the economic vitality, natural resource stewardship, and community wellbeing of a project is the Triple Bottom Line Tool.10 This tool aims to optimize investments for economic, environmental, and social impact, commonly referred to as the triple bottom line.

Robert Liberty, director of the Urban Sustainability Accelerator at Portland State University, described the elements contributing to Portland’s success in having strong public-private partnerships. One component is a willingness to implement diverse ideas generated by academics, consultants, companies, and government agencies. An example was the rejection of proposal to build the Mount Hood Freeway in the 1970s and its replacement with investment in light rail transit and a modest widening of Interstate 84. The alternate proposal was driven not by governmental agencies but by individuals, such as Jim Howell of the organization Sensible Transportation Option for People. Finding solutions to transportation other than widening or building new roads will change the form of communities. When communities travel by different modes of transit, then development will also build along those new modes of transit. Communities can then take advantage of new transit investments to implement better land management. This approach has proven to be cost effective, reduce congestion, and improve air quality. Portland has a diverse set of nonprofit advocacy organizations that serve as generators of ideas. They play important roles in advancing urban sustainability by innovating, educating, and engaging the public, monitoring and evaluating implementation, ensuring compliance and enforcement, and spurring and promoting the private sector to action through awards, standards, and other measures.

The transfer of ideas is also important, said Mr. Liberty, and the Urban Sustainability Accelerator is a pilot program based on the idea that knowledge in Portland can be transferred to other small to midsize communities. The cohort of cities includes: Elk Grove, CA; Rancho Cordova, CA; El Paso, TX; Waco, TX;

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9 See www.eda.gov/eddirectory/states/or.htm.

10 See www.tbltool.org.

Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×

Wichita, KS; Louisville, KY; and Portland, ME. Teams from each city are comprised of people from the private sector, public sector, nonprofit organizations, and universities. The cities are focusing on core themes, such as transportation, green infrastructure, and green buildings. Research on urban sustainability challenges would benefit these communities and help illustrate lessons learned, such as research on regional and state growth management programs. For example, Charlotte, NC, and Portland, OR, grew at approximately the same rate during the 1990s but with dramatically different urban forms. These changes in urban form need to be better understood. For Portland, they have involved reduced travel, reduced construction materials, and greater access to jobs and housing. The urban growth boundary and other land-use laws have been central to the pattern of urban development in the Portland region, resulting in lower farmland consumption, more concentrated employment, and communities with more housing choices and less racial and economic segregation. Keeping diverse neighborhoods is challenging, however, and some neighborhoods in Portland have started losing that diversity. This is attributed to the redevelopment of inner neighborhoods, which ultimately displaces some residents who lived there prior to redevelopment. These residents move to outer neighborhoods, which often have less-frequent transit service and more-crowded schools. Mr. Liberty stated that equity issues need to be built around the discussions on urban revitalization. Dynamic housing models have been an important element of research in the region, and further integrating housing models into transportation modeling capacity drives understanding of where people live, how they travel, and associated costs. One challenge is an undersupply of certain kinds of housing, such as rental housing and single-family homes. Changes to land-use policies could address some of this undersupply.

Lorie Wigle, vice president of the McAfee Security Fabric Program at Intel, stated that although Intel is headquartered in California, the company has been in Oregon since 1974, invested over $25 billion in capital, and is building a 2 million square-foot manufacturing facility in Hillsboro, OR. Intel is also Oregon’s largest private employer, with approximately 17,000 employees, and for every job generated at Intel, 3.1 jobs are created in the community, the company estimates. Intel considers its community relationship as part of its sustainability efforts and strives to invest in the communities where the company operates. Companies often move through stages as they move toward sustainability, Ms. Wigle said. In referencing Joel Makower from GreenBiz, she stated that the first stage for companies is initially about doing no harm—in other words, ensuring that their operations are not a detriment to the local environment. Then, a company moves to doing well by doing good and by trying to profit from incorporating sustainability principles into their practices. Finally, and more challenging, is the stage where a company seeks to generate new revenue by tackling sustainability challenges.

Green energy is a major focus for Intel, and according to the EPA, the company has been the number one purchaser of green energy in the United States

Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×

image

FIGURE 2-5 Data center energy consumption in a Fortune 100 company.
SOURCE: Lorie Wigle, presentation, May 28, 2013.

since 2008.11 Improvement in technology and performance at Intel has resulted in energy savings. Relative to the first one billion personal computers built by 2007, the next two billion personal computers built by 2014 will use half the amount of energy while delivering 17 times the computing capacity. This is true for data centers as well, said Ms. Wigle. In looking at a single Fortune 100 company, Intel found that older servers accounted for approximately 60 percent of the energy use while providing only 4 percent of the performance capability (Figure 2-5). Newer servers and processing technology are able to provide much more performance capability while consuming less energy. Energy efficiency can also be improved by applying technology to make the electrical grid smarter and more energy efficient by focusing on connectivity, intelligence, and security.

Charles Kelley, associate partner at ZGF Architects, gave a practitioner’s perspective on sustainable urban development. Mr. Kelley stated that ZGF has been exporting ecodistricts, which they view as the intersection of form and what a successful neighborhood would offer the community it serves. The ecodistrict is about how a place is organized in the public realm, integrated with adjacent buildings, and designed for multiple uses, transportation, and leisure activities. There is a lot of attraction around plants, and water is also a key element. For example, water is systematically treated and used to support

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11 See www.epa.gov/greenpower/partners/partners/intelcorporation.htm.

Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×

plants and shade, thus creating the comfort and character residents want in a neighborhood.

These issues can be addressed at multiple scales—at the district, block, region, or mega-city scale, said Mr. Kelley. The mega-city scale, such as a recent project in Tokyo, Japan, provided an abundance of resources, in terms of water, venture capital, and population density. This allows for cost sharing of investments with a larger population, giving mega-cities the ability to pay for larger scale projects. The challenges and research needs for these larger systems is to try to move to more natural, vegetative designs and make the urban area act more like a natural system. Although Portland has led sustainable development in the region, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and New York City are mega-cities that, like Tokyo, are going to be able to do redevelopment on a scale and magnitude that can make large-scale contributions to sustainable urban development. It is important not to rely on regulation in the Portland region to advance water system development, he said, and to move to collective action across all watersheds in the region. Water project developers often must acquire a permit for one project in one location and then acquire the same permit again for another location within the same watershed. When possible, there needs to be connectivity among projects to reduce regulatory barriers, said Mr. Kelley. There are challenges when trying to integrate systems within just one building; for example, the ZGF Architects building is the largest mixed-use LEED Platinum building in the United States, one with a sophisticated water system. Although they are able to capture rainwater to flush toilets, there is considerably more water on site processed daily that could be used, but regulations do not allow it. Policies need to catch up with technology as it evolves, said Mr. Kelley; the technology available to manage water today is steeped in the policies of the 19th century.

ZGF is involved in the preliminary plans for an ecodistrict for the National Capital Planning Commission in Washington, D.C., which includes many stakeholders and mostly federal buildings. The district of interest has ample streets and buildings, and because the density of potential subscribers is high, the water utility will likely be cost effective. Questions remain about a micro-scaled utility district being situated inside a regional-utility district, such as what advantages this might provide in terms of resiliency and water management. This district would be important because of how Washington, D.C., regulates storm water. The city provides a credit for every gallon of water treated for which the landowner is not directly responsible. The entire water district can be financed by the credits aggregated across the district. This is a good urban renewal technique, said Mr. Kelly. A 1.3 million gallon tank capturing rainwater is estimated to provide all of the water needed to meet all development needs throughout a year. Adding vegetation to the landscape will pre-treat all water before it moves into any mechanical treatment or filter device. No irrigation will be needed, because the ecodistrict is organized to provide water to all green areas before the water soaks into the ground.

Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×

Tim Smith, principal at SERA Architects, defined an ecodistrict as a geographically defined neighborhood where the community members, buildings, and common infrastructure are fully integrated and are established to support a network of sustainable social, ecological, and economic systems. Optimizing at the block, district, or town scale improves efficiencies. Conventionally, every single building is given its own mechanical, electrical, or plumbing system, but when instead these systems are put in at the district level, they can be better optimized and become more efficient. The social element is incorporated into these systems as well.

SERA held a Civic Ecology Visioning Session that brought together 125 people to think about their ecodistrict not just as an engineering problem but as a cultural and economic problem. This work has led to the Civic Ecology Approach, which involves citizens as well as engineers in the decision-making process around ecodistricts. The idea is captured by the concept of the software of a community, Mr. Smith explained; the physical capital, such as green buildings, green streets, and bioswales are the hardware, but the flows of energy, water, waste, nutrients, and money are the software. These resource flows cannot be seen directly in many circumstances, but hardware can be designed and built around them to channel them.

SERA tested the idea that citizens could be completely capable of designing resource flow systems for their own community. SERA hosted a Civic Ecology Resource Flow Mapping exercise in the community of Damascus, which has individuals from across the political spectrum, to focus on what the community should look like in the future. They developed a diagram tying together a food system, a water system, an algae farm, and a project called Purple Bucket—a communitywide composting program envisioned as an economic development project to create jobs. This mapping exercise led to the creation of a Civic Public-Private Partnership (CP3), which has set up a nonprofit to implement all civic ecology projects in the community. The aim is to invigorate democracy and sustainability together by going through the resource flow mapping exercise. One challenge, however, is that there are no community-based institutions for sustainability. Setting up a civic, public-private partnership serves this role of implementing holistic, systems-based approaches to community planning and design.

Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×
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Suggested Citation:"2 Sustainability in the Region." National Research Council. 2014. Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/18704.
×
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Pathways to Urban Sustainability: Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest is the summary of a workshop convened by the National Research Council's Science and Technology for Sustainability Program in May 2013 to examine issues relating to sustainability and human-environment interactions in the Portland metropolitan region. Topics addressed included the role of land-use restrictions on development, transportation innovations, and economic and social challenges. The speakers at the workshop used examples from Portland and the greater Pacific Northwest region to explore critical questions in finding pathways to urban sustainability. This was the third and final of a series of three place-based urban sustainability workshops - the other two workshops focused on Atlanta, Georgia and Houston, Texas. These public workshops gathered local, state, and federal officials, academics, and key stakeholders to examine how challenges due to continued growth in the regions can be addressed within the context of sustainability.

For more than 40 years, the Portland Metropolitan Region has been a national leader in urban policies and investments intended to revitalize the central city and adjacent neighborhoods, preserve the environment, improve equity, and make the city more economically competitive and livable. Portland has been both emulated as path breaking and discounted as overly idiosyncratic. Among the elements contributing to Portland's success have been strong public-private partnerships, a culture of planning, and a willingness to implement diverse ideas generated by federal, state, and local agencies, academics, and the private sector. Regionally, Portland benefits from its location in the middle of the progressive Cascadia Corridor, stretching from Vancouver, British Columbia, to San Francisco, California.

This report uses examples from Portland and the Northwest U.S./S.W. Canada region to explore critical questions about the future of urban sustainability. The report provides background about Portland and Cascadia, emphasizing policy innovations and lessons that are potentially transferable elsewhere; focuses on ways to leverage local success through partnerships with state and federal agencies, companies, and nongovernment organizations; examines academic and corporate scientific and engineering research that could help cities to become more sustainable; and addresses the challenging question of how resource-constrained cities can become agents for achieving broader societal goals not directly linked to their operational mandates, such as climate change mitigation, energy independence, and improvement in human health, particularly in low-income communities.

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