August 2009
Over the past decade, green building has moved out of the fringe and into the mainstream. LEED Gold and Platinum buildings are becoming commonplace in both public and private buildings. Now Portland, Oregon, is going one step further. As part of an evolving “eco-district” policy, city leaders aim to move beyond the design of individual structures to focus on greening entire neighborhoods. The idea is to pool resources among buildings to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy- and water-use efficiency.
“Green buildings are pretty far along, but if you really want green cities, you have to look at whole systems,” says Eric Ridenour, an associate with SERA Architects. Ridenour is under contract with the city of Portland to develop an eco-district plan for Portland State University, one of two pilot projects targeted for development next year. The second is the Lloyd Crossing neighborhood, a residential and business corridor across the Willamette River from downtown.
Learn more about eco-districts here: http://pdxinstitute.org/index.php/whatwedo/ecodistricts
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Source: Governing
Eco-districts aim to move beyond the design of individual structures to focus on greening entire neighborhoods
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High density neighborhoods in inner areas are as much as 50% more cost efficient than low density outer suburbs neighborhoods on a life cycle cost basis.(Dillon Consulting et. al, 2005)
