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18.5.1 Portland, OR, USA
Portland can be characterized as a consistently growing city since the 1990s, with
an estimated population of 639,863 in 2015, representing an increase of 15.7%
since 2000. As a growing USA city with a strong municipal government, Portland’s
work at the FEW nexus is driven by innovative process-oriented municipal planning
and policy aimed at protecting the environment and limiting the negative impacts of
climate change. The city’s evolution into a leader in urban sustainability has
occurred in the context of successful top-down environmental planning at the
municipal and regional levels that integrates large-scale citizen engagement strategies to garner public support from the bottom-up and bring innovative policies
into effect.
Examples of work at the FEW nexus in Portland include a myriad of municipal
plans and strategies published between 1993 and the present. Portland is an
Innovator City within the C40 network of major world cities committed to combatting climate change and was recognized at the 2016 C40 Cities Awards for excellence in the category of Climate Action Plans & Inventories.
In the area of its urban food system, Portland has a Sustainable Food Program
and an Urban Food Zoning Code (policy heavy) that aims to achieve triple-bottomline goals around food access and health at the individual and community levels.
The City of Portland’s website hosts a community-supported agriculture (CSA)
map, farmers’ market locations and schedules, information about the food zoning
code, and a searchable database of sustainable food resources in Portland and
nationally. In collaboration with Multnomah County, the city established the
Portland/Multnomah Food Policy Council in 2002, a citizen-led advisory council
that is advisor to the municipal and county-level governments on matters related to
food policy in the region.
In the sector of water, Portland has made water conservation a priority through
conservation measures in city parks and green spaces and through planning and
programs for watershed management at the municipal level (reduced footprint).
Over eighty city parks in Portland utilize climate-based irrigation systems that conserve water and significantly reduce the total volume of water used by the City.
Portland City Council endorsed the Planning and Sustainability Office’s River
Concept document in 2006, which is being used to guide the development of a River
Plan. The City’s Office of Environmental Services issues watershed report cards and
runs a Community Watershed Stewardship Program that offers funding to residents
and neighborhood groups for projects that improve neighborhood and watershed
ecology through planting native plants and community gardens, and that support
youth education and workforce development around environmental issues.
The gamut of Portland’s sustainable energy initiatives extends across sectors and
scales from solar and wind energy incentives for residents and businesses to green
building standards, including the promotion of green roofs, district energy, and
many municipal energy use reduction strategies (lighter infrastructure). Portland’s
Green Building Policy exempts sustainable building additions such as solar panels,
18 Cities at the Nexus
18.5.1 Portland, OR, USA
Portland can be characterized as a consistently growing city since the 1990s, with
an estimated population of 639,863 in 2015, representing an increase of 15.7%
since 2000. As a growing USA city with a strong municipal government, Portland’s
work at the FEW nexus is driven by innovative process-oriented municipal planning
and policy aimed at protecting the environment and limiting the negative impacts of
climate change. The city’s evolution into a leader in urban sustainability has
occurred in the context of successful top-down environmental planning at the
municipal and regional levels that integrates large-scale citizen engagement strategies to garner public support from the bottom-up and bring innovative policies
into effect.
Examples of work at the FEW nexus in Portland include a myriad of municipal
plans and strategies published between 1993 and the present. Portland is an
Innovator City within the C40 network of major world cities committed to combatting climate change and was recognized at the 2016 C40 Cities Awards for excellence in the category of Climate Action Plans & Inventories.
In the area of its urban food system, Portland has a Sustainable Food Program
and an Urban Food Zoning Code (policy heavy) that aims to achieve triple-bottomline goals around food access and health at the individual and community levels.
The City of Portland’s website hosts a community-supported agriculture (CSA)
map, farmers’ market locations and schedules, information about the food zoning
code, and a searchable database of sustainable food resources in Portland and
nationally. In collaboration with Multnomah County, the city established the
Portland/Multnomah Food Policy Council in 2002, a citizen-led advisory council
that is advisor to the municipal and county-level governments on matters related to
food policy in the region.
In the sector of water, Portland has made water conservation a priority through
conservation measures in city parks and green spaces and through planning and
programs for watershed management at the municipal level (reduced footprint).
Over eighty city parks in Portland utilize climate-based irrigation systems that conserve water and significantly reduce the total volume of water used by the City.
Portland City Council endorsed the Planning and Sustainability Office’s River
Concept document in 2006, which is being used to guide the development of a River
Plan. The City’s Office of Environmental Services issues watershed report cards and
runs a Community Watershed Stewardship Program that offers funding to residents
and neighborhood groups for projects that improve neighborhood and watershed
ecology through planting native plants and community gardens, and that support
youth education and workforce development around environmental issues.
The gamut of Portland’s sustainable energy initiatives extends across sectors and
scales from solar and wind energy incentives for residents and businesses to green
building standards, including the promotion of green roofs, district energy, and
many municipal energy use reduction strategies (lighter infrastructure). Portland’s
Green Building Policy exempts sustainable building additions such as solar panels,
18 Cities at the Nexus