Change the World - What's the Big Deal with Portland

After two weeks of traveling, I'm back to my series based on the book World Changing. Our random stop in the books finds a very appropriate chapter titled What's the Big Deal with Portland. Appropriate because I just visited Portland. The book is very clear about what they think sets this city apart from others, "Portland is the only U.S. city to have actually created a regional government with the power to control sprawl." A state bill passed in 1969 requires every local jurisdiction to have a growth-management plan. Also, city government structure is the last remaining commission form of government among large cities in the United States. 

This is different because other major cities have multiple constituencies - water districts, transit authorities, port authorities, school districts, and much more - that must work in unison to make overall metropolitan planning decisions. That’s like herding cats. Portland’s regional government, called Metro, is different in that all those typical differing organizations are under one roof. Planning decisions are centralized, focused, and coordinated, and it shows.

I spent some time in Portland last year and then again this week during a road trip up the west coast. I also have several friends who live and work there. One in particular is a green building specialist in the planning and sustainability department for the city. He and I recently worked together on a presentation about the relationship between buildings and the environment. In that effort, he constantly amazed me with the information that is common knowledge within the Portland city planning department. With my recent visit, it was incredibly easy to jump on a train or bus to get just about anywhere in the city. For a city its size, Portland has a very robust public transit system.

The city government structure also allows significant action to be taken regarding the sustainability of buildings. Not just public buildings, but all buildings. Portland is a hotbed for sustainable design. I’m already planning my next trip to find out more. Have you been to Portland? What do you think?

Written by Kevin O’Donnell, fundamentalist, at thread collaborative. To read more, please visit our web site.