Pathways to Urban Sustainability Perspective from Portland and the Pacific Northwest: Summary of a Workshop (2014) / Chapter Skim
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2 Sustainability in the Region
2 Sustainability in the Region
Pages 3-22
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From page 3... ...
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.
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From page 4... ...
, emphasized accountability and implementation in moving sustainability strategies forward. He referenced the United Nations 1992 Rio 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)
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From page 5... ...
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.
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Moving forward, Mr. Blumenfeld listed several ways to advance urban sustainability: • U rban sustainability needs to be data driven, transparent, and monitored so that metrics and goals are attained.
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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.
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From page 8... ...
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.
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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.
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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)
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From page 11... ...
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.
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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.
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From page 13... ...
Gerding Edlen has realized returns on invest ents in Portland with higher absorption and lease rates for tenants across m 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)
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From page 14... ...
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.
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From page 15... ...
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.
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From page 16... ...
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.
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From page 17... ...
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 llowed a schools to save money while providing children with a better-lit and more comfortable environment more conducive to learning, said Mr.
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From page 18... ...
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.
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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.
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From page 20... ...
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.
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From page 21... ...
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.
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From page 22... ...
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.
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