The City of Portland and the Oregon Department of Transportation are looking closely at Leftbank’s neighborhood. They’re working in collaboration with each other and with the public to integrate urban design, land use and planning for the freeway in the N/NE part of Central City. The Bureau of Planning and Sustainability talks about it here.

You’re invited to an Open House on Wednesday, June 29th at Metro. The City and ODOT will share land use and transportation concepts. Go see what’s being discussed and offer your own input. If you live in, work in, or move through the district, the plans they’re making affect you.

Open house particulars:
Wednesday, June 29th, 2011
4:30-6:30pm
Metro Regional Center
600 NE Grand
Council Chambers

Way to go P-Town! Last week SustainLane named Portland as the #1 “Most Sustainable City” in the country. The study ranked fifty major cities nation wide based on a broad criteria including: air quality, commuting, city innovation, green economy, local food and agriculture.

A major benefit to Portland’s rating cited was the urban growth boundaries set by the city in the 70’s. While other cities have expanded, Portland has looked inward, repurposing and redeveloping areas which have been overlooked. We are finding ways to shorten our commute time, adapt to alternative transportation, shop local and organic and leave smaller footprints.

More importantly, the study looked beyond quality of life issues to a competitive green economy stating, “Sustain Lane’s city rankings track the growth of complementary clean technologies providing jobs and tax base expansion. Exciting developments in renewable energy, advanced transportation, alternative fuels and green building technologies are emerging in and around U.S. cities because of city policies and practices, combined with venture capital investment and consumer demand.”

Tom Potter commented on the rating saying, “In Portland the local governments are leaders for sustainability but it’s really the grassroots actions from the neighborhoods and the businesses that make this a special place. The City is buying renewable power and conserving energy, and so are tens of thousands of residents. The City has a green building policy, but it’s the builders and developers and buyers who actually change the market. It’s the people who shop at the farmers markets, the growers who manage their farms sustainable, the folks who choose to bike or take the bus to work, and all those day-to-day decisions that are making a huge difference.”