That’s what Lia Hollander listed in our not-so-recent conversation as her top discovery while researching sustainability. In terms of sustainability, Portland, which ranks as the greenest city in the U.S. (or even the world), is an island. As a thought experiment, I’ve compiled potential and very much inter-related reasons why that may be.
Environment. Mountains, forests, volcanoes (extinct, dormant, and live), lava fields, beaches, rivers, waterfalls, sand dunes, caves, canyons, gorges, wildlife… All to be found within a two-hour drive.
Portland also boasts a number of parks and green spaces. Once flying in from Sacramento, the young woman sitting next to me remarked, “So many trees!” It’s easy to love and care for the place, especially if you like the outdoors.
Climate. Yes, it does rain here. A lot. All that precipitation lends the city its near permanent lush green hue. We get real winter only when arctic winds blow down from the north once or twice during the season (plus Portland loves Canada). Green talk and life come natural if you see green all around you.
People. Like attracts like – Portland’s sustainability cred attracts transplants with similar values. In addition, Portland’s location on the western frontier may have, from the city’s beginnings, drawn people with a penchant for pushing boundaries. In the minds of my New Jersey friends, Oregon and Portland are much farther than California, and grass-fed beef sounds like a joke.
Sustainability as an issue is also said to correlate with white, (upper) middle-class. While as a European, I prefer to speak in terms of poverty and economic status rather than race – Portland’s economy leaves much to be desired – Portland is one of the least diverse (“whitest“) major American city. Demographics and psychographics are major factors in sustainability’s success here.
Connection to place. Again, because of the environment, Portland attracts people who appreciate the outdoors and wish to protect it. Because of the climate, well, a Portland-native friend once theorized that the rain, which makes everything grow by itself, fast and rich, causes Portlanders to be laid-back and casual. One way or another, Portlanders are very connected to their city and its environs. Whether you’re a native or a transplant, your identity is tied to the place, and when that happens, sustainability appears very attractive.
Politics. Sustainability has its origins in liberal – in the American sense – politics. Politics in the U.S. trends, roughly, as urban-liberal and rural-conservative. Portland is no exception: it’s voted blue since 1964 and Barack Obama got more than 77% of the vote. Portland residents tend to sit on the left side of issues (though they spare no love for their local governments), so sustainability finds fertile political ground here.
Government. Both the City of Portland and the regional government Metro market sustainability, through, for example, land use and density planning, promoting public and alternative transit, regulating recycling, offering energy efficiency programs, or, most recently, the Economic Development Strategy. You name it, Portland governments got it.
Public discourse. Whether it comes in the form of your recycling roll cart or a street painting party or the local university‘s new focus, sustainability is all over the place. Living in the city, you can’t escape sustainability.
Virtuous circle / self-fulfilling prophecy. All of the above works in a reinforcing upward spiraling multiplier effect. Portland has chosen its path, and the longer it’s on it, the easier it is to continue / the costlier it becomes to abandon it. And, the self-definition as a sustainability hub spurs actions that make it so.
In short, a number of factors influence Portland’s leadership in sustainability. If you think of other factors, please add to the list in comments.
Greenlight Portland’s recent report “Greater Portland Prosperity 2009: A Regional Outlook” highlights what the city has achieved in terms of sustainability and quality of life. It also shows that competition among U.S. cities, particularly on the western seabord is intensifying. Sustainability has also been gathering serious recession-induced steam elsewhere. To say that Portland is an island may soon become an exaggeration, if it wasn’t always one.
What does sustainability look like in your city or area?
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