Sustainable City Year Reports 2010-11 (Salem)

Permanent URI for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/1794/11432

Browse

Browsing Sustainable City Year Reports 2010-11 (Salem) by Content Type "Article"

Now showing 1 - 9 of 9
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Brownfields/Green Neighborhoods: Integrating Riverfront Park with Pringle Creek
    (University of Oregon, 2010) Costic, Alexandra; Ochs, Kelsey; Thoren, Roxi
    University of Oregon students in a combined architecture and landscape architecture studio worked together to research and develop ideas for integrating Riverfront Park with Pringle Creek and for the redevelopment of downtown Salem’s South Waterfront. Working with City of Salem staff, students explored sustainable urban design-based approaches to the revitalization of the thirteenacre riverfront site that included ecological restoration, riverfront access and transportation improvements, and community-oriented land use. Student recommendations drew from City of Salem goals for the South Waterfront Urban Renewal Area, which include daylighting Pringle Creek, improving bicycle and pedestrian access to the site and to Riverfront Park, and promoting profitable mixed-use development. During the Spring 2011 term, students worked to demonstrate ways in which principles of environmental design coupled with community-oriented land use would give the South Waterfront a productive role in Salem once again.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Development Proposals for Three Targeted Sites in Salem, Oregon
    (University of Oregon, 2010) Braseth, Mark; Larco, Nico; Schlossberg, Marc
    Students in a combined Architecture and Planning class called City Growth/ City Design were asked to create development proposals for three sites located in urban renewal areas of Salem, Oregon, as part of the University of Oregon’s Sustainable City Year program. Students conducted research similar to due diligence activities a developer might undertake when evaluating a site for development. Students’ research identified appropriate uses, identified opportunities and constraints, analyzed current zoning and transportation infrastructure, and considered community needs. Findings and analysis were used to make informed proposals that offered realistic opportunities and, in some cases, pushed the boundaries of traditional development.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Environmental Law: Green Building, Graywater, and Stormwater
    (University of Oregon, 2010) McGinn, Jennifer; Wilson, Jan
    As part of the Sustainable City Year partnership with the City of Salem, five students from the University of Oregon School of Law’s Environmental Law Clinic course researched sustainable building and stormwater management, focusing on topics including Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, the use of graywater, and sustainable stormwater management tools. The results of this research, and recommendations for the City of Salem, appear in this report.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    High Performance, High Density, High Ambitions: Housing for the Salem Housing Authority
    (University of Oregon, 2010) O'Neil, Shane; Keyes, Peter
    In collaboration with Peter Keyes’s 2011 Advanced Architectural Design Studio at the University of Oregon and the Sustainable Cities Initiative, the City of Salem and the Salem Housing Authority (SHA) sought to re-imagine the future of public housing so that it would dignify those who inhabit it and do so in a more economically, environmentally, and ecologically sustainable manner than is currently the norm.Following their research and analysis, the students generated room, unit, and building prototypes based on an understanding of their relationship to different local contexts. The students subsequently developed infill and redevelopment proposals for three multi-family properties currently owned by the SHA: Orchard Village, Meadowlark Village, and Glen Creek. The SHA provided students a list of goals focused on optimizing the use of available resources, including energy, land, water, and materials. Building on the SHA’s goals, the students sought to elevate perceptions of what is possible in low-income housing.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Industrial ecology
    (University of Oregon, 2010) Ofri, Orit; Howard-Grenville, Jennifer
    This report summarizes the work done by students in the Industrial Ecology class at the University of Oregon during fall term 2010. The students explored industrial ecology concepts to evaluate opportunities in two business cases in the Salem area: the City of Salem’s Willow Lake Water Pollution Control Facility (Willow Lake) and NORPAC Foods, Inc. (NORPAC). The students worked on the two cases through five separate projects – three for Willow Lake and two for NORPAC. At Willow Lake, the objective was to evaluate the feasibility of transforming waste to energy and reclaiming water generated by the facility. • Project #1 investigated the feasibility of adopting a fuel cell that would replace the current generator to generate energy from the methane produced by the current digester at the facility. The students recommended that Willow Lake continue with traditional cogeneration technology and deploy an 848 kW replacement engine. Included with the students’ project report was an Excel financial model for Willow Lake to examine and use to further refine understanding of the likely effects of each replacement alternative. • Project #2 assessed the feasibility of a symbiotic partnership between SeQuential-Pacific Biodiesel (SeQuential) and Willow Lake through an evaluation of the environmental and financial implications of biodigestion of grease trap waste. Students found that, at the level of accuracy currently available, a partnership between Willow Lake and SeQuential has environmental and financial benefits. They recommend that SeQuential and Willow Lake continue to investigate the methane production potential of this waste to determine an appropriate tipping fee (a charge levied by a waste treatment facility to accept waste). • Project #3 identified opportunities for Willow Lake to secure a long-term water supply and reduce wastewater discharge impacts through water reclamation. The case studies and cost analysis show that the use of reclaimed water in the region under the current system is not cost effective. However, future water supply and discharge limitations indicate the need to start considering multiple reclamation alternatives now. At NORPAC, the objective was to evaluate opportunities to reuse, recycle, or compost waste generated from facilities in Brooks, Stayton, and Salem. • Project #4 proposed a viable strategy for NORPAC to achieve its goal of conserving and recycling nutrients in its facilities by discovering opportunities to reuse, recycle, or compost the waste generated by operations. While each has its own benefits and challenges, the alternative with the highest revenue potential and environmental benefits to NORPAC is vermicomposting. Specifically, NORPAC could create a partnership with Oregon Soil Corporation to develop a vermicomposting (worm composting) operation. • Project #5 assessed the current disposal solution for defective cans and evaluated three potential strategies for a more sustainable disposal process. The students recommended NORPAC take a two-pronged approach to restructure its current disposal process. In the short term (0-6 months), NORPAC could centralize can collection at the Madrona (Salem) facility and recycle 100% of its defective cans internally. In the long run (6 months and longer), NORPAC could partner with Recology to establish an ongoing waste disposal program, integrating other local canneries into this waste disposal program.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Minto-Brown Island Park Studio
    (University of Oregon, 2010) Bingle, Logan; Nevers, Vanessa; Ruggeri, Deni
    The City of Salem asked the Minto-Brown Island Park research and design studio, led by University of Oregon Landscape Architecture Professor Deni Ruggeri, to provide a new interpretive trail plan for Minto-Brown Island Park located in Salem, Oregon. The primary considerations, as given by the City of Salem, for the development of this interpretive trail plan were to investigate new trails and connections that would facilitate improved way-finding within the park, provide interpretive opportunities and increased access to the Natural Resource and Conservation Service (NRCS) restoration areas and the Willamette River, and increase pedestrian and bicycle connectivity to downtown Salem via a future bridge and easement linking the northern perimeter of Minto-Brown Island Park to Riverfront Park. In order to develop a proposal for a new interpretive trail plan, this studio launched an intensive investigation to understand the natural and cultural fabric that defines Minto-Brown Island Park at present, and the potential to enhance the value of the park for Salem’s present and future residents. This investigation revealed a multitude of opportunities to engage the community of Salem in a variety of park experiences, both new and traditional, that would help generate support for, and increase awareness of, the value of this park to the city. These exciting investigations led to the decision to develop and propose a new master plan for Minto-Brown Island Park in conjunction with the development of the interpretive trail plan.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    North Downtown Waterfront Development: Building Design Proposals
    (University of Oregon, 2010) Schmidt, Elizabeth M.; Larco, Nico
    During the Fall 2010 and Winter 2011 academic terms at the University of Oregon, twelve students in an architecture studio course worked with the City of Salem to develop twelve different architectural programs and designs for the redevelopment of Salem’s North Downtown Waterfront.Proposals include a Salem river research center, brewpubs, museums, recreation centers, hotels, and housing. A river research center has the potential to draw tourism to the area and to provide a home for new and innovative research. Brewpubs would provide another form of attraction, fitting in to the current industrial feel of the area. Museums and civic attractions can provide a complement to the downtown commercial district, and higher-density housing will help support any potential new businesses. This wide range of project types displays the great potential of the site as a whole.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Salem Target Industry Analysis
    (University of Oregon, 2010-06) Barnes, Emma; Braseth, Mark; Gonzalez, Kim; Hayes, Bryan
    This report presents the results of a focused analysis of selected target industries for the City of Salem. The purpose of this project is to support the city’s objective of fostering high wage job growth in Salem, provide market data on the target industries and recommend steps to better attract the target industries. The Community Planning Workshop (CPW) evaluated four industries in this analysis: food processing, metal manufacturing, biosciences, and renewable energy. The selected industries highlight Salem’s traditional economic base in agriculture and steel manufacturing and also look to emerging opportunities in the bioscience and renewable energy industries.
  • Thumbnail Image
    ItemOpen Access
    Salem Transportation Safety Analysis
    (University of Oregon, 2010) Johnson, Pamela C.; Monsere, Chris;
    Portland State University’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering explored various traffic safety concerns in the City of Salem. The Salem Transportation Safety Analysis was conducted by Portland State University civil engineering students. Intersections with high crash statistics and other safety issues were selected by the City of Salem for evaluation. Some of the locations did not have traffic problems but needed improved facilities to increase walking and biking. The students were asked to recommend possible modifications and solutions to existing traffic safety concerns. Ten separate studies were conducted by the civil engineering students. The groups evaluated the existing traffic conditions and developed recommendations using traffic safety evaluation methods learned in the Transportation Safety Analysis course.