“Sustainable development meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” (United Nations, Brundtland Commission)
It’s a long way from home but in October 2012, I spent 5 days in Portland Oregon immersing myself in city sustainability initiatives. I was primarily in town for the EcoDistricts Summit. The Summit was put together by Portland Sustainability Institute, the City of Portland, and Portland State University. I also attended a conference on the Next Generation of Energy Efficiency put on by the University of Oregon and Citizens Utility Board of Oregon. Granted, the area is light years ahead of South Carolina in actual implementation of sustainability initiatives. The culture and understanding of the need for sustainability is evident. You don’t have to convince people (to the extent you have to in south Carolina) that sustainability focus is critical for our future. Portland is internationally recognized for their leadership in sustainability and it was a great experience learning about their accomplishments and where the future of sustainable development is headed. While there, I received training on EcoDistricts. An EcoDistrict is a neighborhood or district with a broad commitment to accelerate neighborhood-scale sustainability. EcoDistricts commit to achieving ambitious sustainability performance goals, guiding district investments and community action, and tracking the results over time. I’ll blog more about that concept at a later time but it’s very compelling and I feel there is great potential in the Charleston area to utilize the EcoDistrict process for community development. Below are some pictures from my trip. Most of them were taken while conducting a sustainability walking tour at Portland State University. Enjoy!
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