A draft plan outlines suggested actions to build resilience, minimize carbon emissions, and protect vulnerable residents from extreme weather events.
The Portland City Council has released a draft 43-step plan to address the city’s climate emergency, declared in 2020. According to an article in Smart Cities Dive by Maria Rachal, the final plan will serve as the city’s climate action plan until 2025.
The plan seeks to target local emissions linked to electricity supply, buildings, transportation, and industry. It also attempts to minimize carbon related to the consumption of food, goods and materials; sequester carbon in trees and green spaces; and build community resilience to the impacts of climate change, particularly among the most vulnerable people.
“The city has two main carbon-reduction targets: cut carbon dioxide emissions 50% or more from 1990 levels by 2030 and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.” Priority actions listed in the plan include investments in community-owned renewable power generation, energy-efficient retrofits on multifamily buildings, and ‘resilience centers’ built to protect residents during extreme weather, power outages, and other emergencies.
According to Rachal, “The work plan’s steps are not currently binding and have yet to be funded. Over the next three years, city bureaus and departments are to request funding and approvals from the city council.”
FULL STORY: To address its climate emergency, Portland, Oregon, lays out a 43-step plan
Preparing Boston for Future Floods
Boston Mayor, Martin Walsh's, climate change plan is one of the most thorough in the country. The question remains: Will any of the plan be put into action?
Report: Cities’ Climate Plans Fail to Include Workforce Development
While a few cities have detailed goals and investment strategies for building their green workforce, most U.S. cities fail to address the need for the training and education of a new generation of workers.
Tucson Braces for Extreme Weather With Climate Action Plan
The desert city faces a growing risk from extreme heat waves and stronger, more unpredictable storms.
‘Forward Together’ Bus System Redesign Rolling Out in Portland
Portland is redesigning its bus system to respond to the changing patterns of the post-pandemic world—with twin goals of increasing ridership and improving equity.
Plan to Potentially Remove Downtown Milwaukee’s Interstate Faces Public Scrutiny
The public is weighing in on a suite of options for repairing, replacing, or removing Interstate 794 in downtown Milwaukee.
Can New York City Go Green Without Renewable Rikers?
New York City’s bold proposal to close the jail on Rikers Island and replace it with green infrastructure is in jeopardy. Will this compromise the city’s ambitious climate goals?
700-Acre Master-Planned Community Planned in Utah
A massive development plan is taking shape for lakefront property in Vineyard, Utah—on the site of a former U.S. Steel Geneva Works facility.
More Cities Ponder the End of Drive-Thrus
Drive-thru fast food restaurants might be a staple of American life, but several U.S. cities are actively considering prohibiting the development of new drive-thrus for the benefit of traffic safety, air quality, and congestion.
Air Pollution World’s Worst Public Health Threat, Report Says
Air pollution is more likely to take years life off the lifespan of the average human than any other external factor, according to a recent report out of the University of Chicago.
Placer County
City of Morganton
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Dongguan Binhaiwan Bay Area Management Committee
City of Waukesha, WI
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
Indiana Borough
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
