The Hub for Sustainability: Portland

I've been having difficulties in starting to write this piece on Portland city of Oregon.. I was exposed to so many instances that surprised me that I've been collecting all by taking notes and pictures. I waited to leave the city to publish this post..

This is a city where people intentionally choose to live in for its sustainability consciousness. I have heard about it before coming here. I understand it so well now; now that I've spent 5 days in the city.
There might not be available jobs for people who decide to move in and make a living here, so people initiate their own businesses for the sake of living here! Traditionally the reverse happens: people migrate to cities to find jobs but in this unique case people deliberately choose to live here at the expense of not finding a job.

It is a city where community engagement and intervention is actually happening. You observe the collective community ownership and preservation at all levels. People of Portland have opposed to cars or buildings to reign over them, I've been told few stories of such cases where the city of Portland favored peoples will.


A "growth boundary" was set for the city that doesnt allow horizontal expansion that would threaten resilience and they are very cautious about this. Vertical growth is favored to horizontal when expansion is necessary.


I was lucky enough to meet remarkable people who have directly contributed to the city's sustainability culture. I met Michael Armstrong from Sustainability Policy City of Portland, Elizabeth Zeller from Intel Foundation, Martin Goebel from Sustainable Northwest, Don Harker from Pacific Northwest College of Art, Paul Ventura from Marylhurst University, Kellee Jackson from Portland State Univesity. 

Check out a glimpse of what I encountered that walked the talk in the frame of sustainable living:

Wind turbines on top of buildings... abundance of Leed certified places

Public transportation widely used

Local food promoted

Composting on progress at many cafes and schools..

A common practice: Reduce-Recycle-Reuse-Refill

  

no plastic bags at all!

Literally didn't see any plastic bags! They have just disappeared from circulation..

Local artists are promoted at art galleries: Peoples Art of Portland

Balcony gardening favored and Candies replaced by Seed Bombs! :)

The only Sustainable Forestry Museum in the world is in Portland! Educative and Amusing place to go. Take aways: Wood is amazing! Forests meet human needs by providing material, income, food, cultural values and has immense environmental benefits and in many ways our fate is linked to the health of forests.. 

Accessible restrooms at each cafe/school/office/etc.. I literally didn't see any place without a disabled restroom facility. Life is accessible in Portland!

Green Bicycle lanes

Sustainability At Work Certification in Portland: http://www.sustainabilityatworkpdx.com

My hotel was one :)

A city of dog lovers too :) They have daycare facilities for dogs!!!

These are basic things we all know and that are kind of prerequisites for a city to qualify sustainable but to see all this happening real time was really impressive!

And they are proud of it! I would be too!!

So who's coming to Portland? :)