What is an “Eco-District”?

Portland planning thinks beyond new green homes and buildings to the greening of existing neighborhoods

According to the Portland + Oregon Sustainability Institute (known as P+OSI) an EcoDistrict is defined as: “an integrated and resilient district or neighborhood that is resource efficient; captures, manages, and reuses a majority of energy, water, and waste on site; is home to a range of transportation options; provides a rich diversity of habitat and open space; and enhances community engagement and wellbeing”.

“Fundamentally, it’s the next generation of green building strategy,” explained Rob Bennett, executive director of the P+OSI, a nonprofit entity created this year to engage government officials, academics, developers, and builders in the formation of a series of eco-district pilots. “We are taking what we’ve learned from green building and applying it at a neighborhood scale.”

The city and Multnomah County recently approved an enhanced Climate Action Plan, which includes eco-districts in its goals, with implementation planned for 2012.  Several options are currently being evaluated, but its still in the early stages.

Portland State University is planning to add lodging for 2000 more students over the next 10 years, so including shared heating systems, waste treatment and shared transportation into their plans along with other attributes of green building fits right into the schools existing sustainability goals.  A 12-block area is currently being explored as an eco-district.

The Portland Trailblazers have indicated they would like an eco-district around the Rose Quarter, and Lentz, Gateway, and the area around OMSI are all being considered as possibilities.  Portland isn’t the only place planning the greening of neighborhoods… Seattle calls their areas in consideration “climate benefit districts” where they plan to integrate energy and transportation solutions to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.  China’s “eco-block” is being used in the city of Qingdao as a prototype for future energy and emission-reducing opportunities.

People love to live in green neighborhoods, so I’ll be looking forward to watching the implementations in Portland over the coming years.  For more information, visit the city of Portland.