University of Oregon Sustainable City Year
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The Sustainable City Year program is a partnership of a cross-disciplinary group of faculty and students with one city in Oregon each year. Coursework in disciplines including design, planning, arts, ecology, journalism, engineering, business, and public policy focus on assisting that city with its sustainability-oriented goals and projects. The Sustainable City Year faculty and students work with city staff and other partners, through a variety of studio projects and service learning courses, to 1) provide students with a real world project to investigate; 2) apply their training; and 3) help a local city transition to a more sustainable and livable future.
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Item Open Access Brownfields/Green Neighborhoods: Integrating Riverfront Park with Pringle Creek(University of Oregon, 2010) Costic, Alexandra; Ochs, Kelsey; Thoren, RoxiUniversity 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.Item Open Access City of Gresham: Program for a New City Hall(University of Oregon, 2009) Holverstott, Brett; von Bargen, Jean E.As a programming class we were charged with developing a comprehensive program for a new Gresham City Hall building. We started initially researching the city of Gresham by examining past articles about the challenges the city has faced during its development. We found out the city has had problems with creating a sense of identity and sustaining a thriving downtown. After visiting the site of the existing city hall it was clear the new city hall needed a stronger community connection and presence and needed to create a new identity for itself. During an interview session with specific departments within city hall, we focused on understanding how the building is used and what each user group’s needs are. For each person, we were interested in themselves as part of a larger department, their department as part of the city hall, and city hall as part of the city of Gresham. We were also interested in how they used to do their job, how things are done currently, and how operations might change in the future. After touring the existing facilities and analyzing what we heard from the interviews through charts and diagrams, we determined the following: Gresham City Hall will serve as an identity for an emerging downtown while promoting community revitalization.Item Open Access Development Proposals for Three Targeted Sites in Salem, Oregon(University of Oregon, 2010) Braseth, Mark; Larco, Nico; Schlossberg, MarcStudents 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.Item Open Access Environmental Law: Green Building, Graywater, and Stormwater(University of Oregon, 2010) McGinn, Jennifer; Wilson, JanAs 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.Item Open Access Financing Affordable Housing Subsidies in Sisters, Oregon: Creative Options and Evaluation of Potential Municipal Revenue-Generating Activities(University of Oregon, 2022) Skawski, Chris; Lewis, Rebecca; College of Design, University of OregonThis report contains the collected work of graduate student groups in PPPM 629: Public Budget Administration over the course of fall term 2022. These student groups conducted research to evaluate and forecast productivity of revenue generating activities for consideration by the city of Sisters to augment their Affordable Housing Reserve Fund. The revenue sources presented in this report were selected for their productivity, or other factors related to the tax or revenue generating activity that make them particularly attractive options. Revenue sources are presented and described, forecasts for expected revenue are presented, and analysis offered for City staff. Major highlights of this work include: Each revenue source has tradeoffs. Some that are particularly productive may have negative impacts on economic activity within the City. Sources that may be particularly well-aligned with the end goal of raising affordable housing funds may not be especially productive. Student recommendations include adopting the Construction Excise Tax because of its low administrative burden and generally strong productivity estimates. Several of the revenue recommendations raise questions that the City may not be able to answer alone. It may be that exploring these options fully involves engaging nearby jurisdictions. No single strategy will solve the issue of housing affordability. City staff and leaders may need to mix and match revenue-generating activities to create a comprehensive strategy for long-term revenue.Item Open Access Green Cities: Sustainable Development in Springwater(University of Oregon, 2009) Cunha-Rigby, Matthew; Young, Robert F.The Green Cities Project focuses on providing the City of Gresham with a set of policy and plan recommendations for the Springwater Community. Springwater, a 1272-acre site on the southeast edge of the Portland Metro Area, was added to the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) in 2002 and was the subject of the 2005 Springwater Community Plan. The Community Plan outlined a series of goals and land-use proposals for the area’s future development, intending to bring economic development to east Multnomah County, to provide family-wage jobs and employment opportunity for the area, and to promote a livable, sustainable environment for future residents. The work of Green Cities provides an alternate land-use proposal and development policy for the Springwater Community. This proposal aims to meet the goals of the 2005 Springwater Community Plan, while utilizing ecosystem services and sustainable development strategies to create a livable community. The Green Cities proposal approached development in Springwater by organizing research into five project teams, focusing on the site’s Energy, Mobility, Sustenance, and Waste needs, while incorporating the site’s Natural Flows into plan and policy development.Item Open Access Gresham City Hall : Conceptual Designs Plans for a New City Hall(University of Oregon, 2010) Falkenstein, Lizzie; Arms, Shannon; Beardsley, Kelcey; Moore, ErinThirteen schemes were developed for the Gresham City Hall project under the Sustainable Cities Initiative during the winter term of 2010. Each group took a unique approach to the challenges and opportunities presented. All were concerned with density, creating viable public space, displaying sustainable systems, creating a ‘democratic’ building that emphasized public participation and visual connection, and strengthening pedestrian and transit paths to and through the site. Projects that had carefully crafted outdoor space, iconic building forms, a range of large-scale sustainable strategies and effective plan layouts seemed to garner the most interest from reviewers, both those from the City of Gresham and professionals. While a new City Hall is still years away, all of the proposals offered vital points of view and a range of solutions to the constraints with new development.Item Open Access Gresham Climate Futures Report: Spring 2010 Climate Preparedness in the Lower Willamette Subbasin(University of Oregon, 2010) Fracchia, Elena; ; Vynne, Stacy, 1979-; Fleury, NickIn this report, prepared for the City of Gresham and the Sustainable City Year program, climate change preparedness will be discussed as it pertains to the City of Gresham and the Lower Willamette Subbasin. The report begins by giving an overview of climate change and this project. Next, this report will discuss the various systems (natural, human, built, and economic) that are focused on throughout the report. It will next discuss the future climate projections for the city of Gresham. With this background established, the report then goes through the specific impacts and recommendations provided by local experts regarding climate change preparedness necessary for each of the previously described natural and community systems. Finally, the report concludes with a vision of Gresham for the future as well as an action plan for the city to begin preparedness planning for the impacts of climate change.Item Open Access High Performance, High Density, High Ambitions: Housing for the Salem Housing Authority(University of Oregon, 2010) O'Neil, Shane; Keyes, PeterIn 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.Item Open Access Industrial ecology(University of Oregon, 2010) Ofri, Orit; Howard-Grenville, JenniferThis 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.Item Open Access Minto-Brown Island Park Studio(University of Oregon, 2010) Bingle, Logan; Nevers, Vanessa; Ruggeri, DeniThe 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.Item Open Access A New Future for the Sisters Elementary School Site(University of Oregon, 2022) Betros, Rosemary; Rola, Katherine E.; Banks, Megan; Brown, Anne; Knudson, Kaarin; Schlossberg, Marc; College of Design, University of OregonOver fall term 2022, Community and Regional Planning graduate students worked with the City of Sisters to design a research based redevelopment proposal for the Sisters Elementary School and Sisters School District administration building site. Students analyzed potential opportunities and challenges of revitalizing these two adjoining properties through three different lenses: 1) age friendly neighborhoods; 2) adaptive reuse of preexisting structures, and 3) a community and recreation center. Despite different focus areas, as the teams moved through the planning process, they sought to incorporate what they understood to be community values: connection, livability, accessibility, equity, and safety. With their focus areas and these values in mind, they organized their proposals around the overarching themes of connectivity, built spaces (especially housing), and open and green spaces. The teams imagined the site in a way that would sustain Sisters’ strong sense of pride and community as the city continues to grow in the future. They also wanted to encourage healthy lifestyles for Sisters’ residents and ensure that people of all ages, incomes, and abilities could access the site safely. This report describes the information that the teams gathered and analyzed to create their designs, details each team’s site proposal, and offers ideas for implementation.Item Open Access North Downtown Waterfront Development: Building Design Proposals(University of Oregon, 2010) Schmidt, Elizabeth M.; Larco, NicoDuring 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.Item Open Access Review of Large-Scale Retail Design Standards and Development Principles: Accessibility, public space, human scale, safety, and sustainability in the urban landscape(University of Oregon, 2010) Witzig, Monica; Turnoy, Scott; ; Yang, YizhaoThis document is a compiled review of design standards that wil provide the City of Gresham with best practices related to large-scale commercial design standards and development regulations. For large-scale commercial or retail projects, it is important that a community’s design review program ensures development qualities consistent with the following urban design principles or values identified by the City of Gresham: • Accessibility • Public Space • Human Scale • Safety • SustainabilityItem Open Access Rockwood Cultural Asset Mapping : Building Community and Engaging Residents(University of Oregon, 2010) Moore, Stephanie; Fenn, John B., IIIThis document outlines work done by graduate students in the Public Folklore and Cultural Programming course in the Arts & Administration Department during the Winter term 2010 and provides recommendations to the Gresham Redevelopment Commission for further study. The objective of this work was to build community identity in the Rockwood neighborhood by beginning the process of collecting the cultural assets important to Rockwood residents. Throughout the term the graduate students met with local community leaders in Rockwood to discuss previous community building initiatives and their issues. This information allowed us to understand what problems arise when trying to begin a fully inclusive community planning process.Item Open Access Salem Target Industry Analysis(University of Oregon, 2010-06) Barnes, Emma; Braseth, Mark; Gonzalez, Kim; Hayes, BryanThis 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.Item Open 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.Item Open Access Shaping Light: Sunshade Studies for Gresham City Hall and Rockwood/Civic Drive Light Rail Station Designs(University of Oregon, 2009) Meier, Sina; Cheng, NancyThis course was comprised of three major exercises: the design of a light modulating screen; the design of a sun shading device for Gresham City Hall’s west-facing facade; and the design of a light rail station at Civic Drive and Rockwood Station. This report describes in detail all three projects and includes samples of student work as well as findings and design recommendations.Item Open Access Sustainability Focused Data Analysis: To what extent do walkability, crime, and neighborhood predict housing prices?(University of Oregon, 2009) Armstrong, Price; Greene, JessicaThis study asks whether residents of Gresham, Oregon value the benefits of mixed land use as indicated by higher housing prices in walkable neighborhoods, controlling for other factors that affect home prices. By controlling for these other factors, this analysis identifies key predictors of housing values in Gresham and teases out the association of walkability with home prices, independent of lot size, neighborhood crime, and other possible confounding elements.Item Open Access Sustainable Development Concept Plan for Rockwood(University of Oregon, 2009) Abbott, Steve; Margerum, Richard D.; Parker, Robert; Young, Robert F.The intent of this concept plan is to create a safe and central place for diverse community groups to come together, for businesses to grow, and for the physical design of the streets to provide a healthy, pedestrian-friendly atmosphere. The concept plan presented in the following report suggests steps for transitioning Rockwood back to a thriving, and integral and valued part of the larger Gresham community. It is hoped that recommendations included here will provide the City of Gresham and residents of Rockwood with an actionable blueprint for achieving its sustainability goals.