University of Oregon Sustainable City Year

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https://hdl.handle.net/1794/10380

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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Open Access
A Marketing Blueprint to Enhance Local Businesses in Oakridge
(University of Oregon, 2025) Langford, Sara
The Marketing Management class undertook detailed analyses of four businesses integral to Oakridge’s identity: Trans Cascadia Excursions, Mill Pond Station, The Campfire (Cowgirl Cook’n), and Brock’s Wood Lot. Each project examined these businesses’ unique challenges and opportunities, culminating in tailored marketing strategies and operational insights to help them thrive in their respective markets. This report presents the findings and recommendations from a series of student-led projects to support the City of Oakridge in enhancing its local businesses and community development. The city’s primary goal was to leverage student expertise to address challenges and uncover growth opportunities for key businesses and community stakeholders. Focus on local companies in Oakridge was crucial for this project because they play a significant role in the city’s economic vitality and community identity. By developing tailored solutions supporting sustainable growth and community resilience, the proposed marketing strategies aim to identify and address the unique challenges that Oakridge’s local businesses face. These businesses provide goods and services, attract tourists, create jobs, and foster a sense of community within Oakridge. The marketing recommendations are designed to amplify their impact by increasing visibility, attracting new customers, and enhancing their regional competitive edge. These businesses can thrive through strategic digital outreach, stronger branding, and community partnerships, contributing significantly to the city’s overall economic development and long-term resilience.
Open Access
Activity Center Identification in Medford, OR
(University of Oregon, 2014) Griepenburg, Bjorn; Yang, Yizhao;
The City of Medford seeks to identify activity centers to achieve an array of policy goals, including those that foster nodal development, increase residential density, and encourage alternate forms of transportation. Through the University of Oregon’s Sustainable City Year Program, a class of graduate students from the Community and Regional Planning program identified and analyzed potential activity centers. This report synthesizes information and analyses compiled by four student teams. It contains a description of the class’ methods, analysis of each activity center, limitations, next steps, and supplemental materials.
Open Access
Adaptive Reuse A Public Safety Facility for Redmond Police
(2016) Tran, Katrina; Moore, Joe
This report summarizes the design proposals for an adaptive reuse public safety facility in Redmond, Oregon. The building is currently a National Guard training facility, but it is likely to be sold in the near future. The city is considering it as a future location for the Redmond Police Department, which is in desperate need of a larger, updated facility.
Open Access
Advancing Sustainability by Fostering Civic Engagement
(University of Oregon, 2010) Nelson, Jonathan; Stavitsky, Al; Stavitsky, Al
Sustainability is a fairly understandable concept when dealing with concrete examples. Buildings and urban planning can reach sustainable standards by conserving energy, efficiently handling waste or encouraging residents to utilize smaller carbon footprints. But how does sustainability pertain to communication? At the most basic level, if a community doesn’t communicate, its sustainability is threatened. The City of Salem, like many governmental organizations, seeks better communication with its residents. City leaders met with a graduate-level Journalism class in the University of Oregon’s Strategic Communication program to discuss how to foster more civic engagement between city staff and residents in order to foster a more sustainable community. Specifically, city leaders want to ensure they engage in two-way communication with the broadest audience possible and directed the Strategic Communication class to help achieve that goal. The city also specifically requested that any plans include the use of technology, possibly including podcasts, webinars, and the city’s website.
Open Access
Albany Water Avenue Corridor Revitalization: Challenges and Opportunities
(University of Oregon, 2016) Johnduff, Michael; Margerum, Rich; Parker, Robert; Rosenburg, Stacy
The City of Albany partnered with the Planning, Public Policy, and Management Department through the Sustainable City Year Program to help the city generate ideas for ac va ng the Water Street corridor and to consider its connec ons to the downtown historic core through analysis and research of catalyst sites. This document summarizes the methodology, ndings, and recommenda ons. These include: an entertainment complex, targe ng the need for ac vity in the area; a historical walk, addressing the changing iden ty of the district; a parkway, addressing the need for connec vity in the site; an innova on district, diversifying the economy in the area; and a food hub, genera ng needed commercial synergy.
Open Access
An Analysis of the City of Medford’s Parks & Recreation Department
(University of Oregon, 2014) Boyer, Coleman;
Open Access
Applying Business Strategy to Manage Uncertainty
(University of Oregon, 2020) Cohen, Rachel; Cabinte, Ryan
Master of Business Administration (MBA) students from the UO Center for Sustainable Business Practices were tasked with equipping Lane Transit District with a set of financial and business strategy tools to help the agency adapt to a changing mobility landscape and provide the community with a sustainable level of service for the long-term future. Over the course of six months, the team created and presented to LTD leadership a financial projection model and a scenario planning workbook. The team also had the opportunity to test and implement these tools given real issues LTD faced at the time. Armed with a financial baseline that models future transit tax revenues given past revenue growth and independent economic indicators, the team compared “business as usual” projections with shortfalls caused by the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic in Lane County. The team projects a gap of up to $15 million in payroll and self-employment tax revenues through the end of fiscal year 2021. Additionally, the team deployed its scenario planning tool to envision potential opportunities and challenges LTD might face given the outcomes of uncertainties the agencies is facing, including local and regional land use policy, and the extent to which society and individuals embrace the ‘sharing economy’ over ownership of assets. The team found that while density and reduced ownership of assets (especially personal vehicles) are generally more conducive to the traditional fixed-route transit model, LTD has many opportunities to creatively deploy new services, partnerships, and technologies to thrive and serve the Lane County community in any scenario. While these tools have been handed over to LTD leadership alongside presentations and documentation, this report explores insights and lessons learned from the process. Major recommendations include: 1. LTD should diversify its revenue sources and/or assets in order to build a sustainable funding model. 2. LTD should embed long-term thinking into day-to-day operations, empowering team members from operators to the Board of Directors to think about complex issues, communicate uncertainties, and participate in the process.
Open Access
ARCH 683 Studio Report
(University of Oregon, 2020) Arroyo, Amy; Cartwright, Virginia
Students planned and designed a new downtown “Enoteca,” Italian for a local and regional agricultural library, in Downtown Eugene, Oregon. The Enoteca is a space to educate the public about southern Willamette Valley wine production. In addition to the Enoteca, the program includes a ballroom and a restaurant providing farm-to-table cuisine. In addition to the program, students had the freedom to incorporate any other use they believed would enhance the city of Eugene lifestyle and needs. The location, on Willamette Street, would help enhance the LTD’s Eugene Station environment and expand an active part of Downtown Eugene. The city of Eugene and LTD envision the site ideally including a housing component to increase housing density in Downtown Eugene. Currently, downtown is an “eight to five” business district; increased housing could help improve activity after business hours. Sustainable design solutions were proposed, beginning with: a) Setting a budget and a program. b) Establishing a rule for the design solutions to include the AIA Cote Ten Measures. c) Create a project schedule. A budget is an architect’s road map. The measures are the soul of the project. The schedule is the “road map + soul = profit.”
Open Access
Assessing the Potential for Nonprofit Organizations in Redmond, Oregon
(2016) Hussein-Wetzel, Deqah; Mason, Dyana
Professor Dyana Mason’s Nonprofit Consultancy class worked in four groups to provide nonprofit advice to Redmond community members and city staff in four separate subject-areas. Students assessed the feasibility of establishing nonprofit organizations for a community foundation, a family justice center, a cultural arts center, and a housing shelter.Students assessed organizational needs and recommended solutions for organizational success. Further, students conducted a needs assessment for each of the aforementioned nonprofit organizations. By using a variety of methodologies including case studies, stakeholder interviews, and recommendations, students studied the feasibility of starting each nonprofit organization/foundation.
Open Access
Assessment of MovingAhead’s Potential Funding Options
(University of Oregon, 2020) Burdette, Eric; Lewis, Rebecca
As part of Rebecca Lewis’ Public Budget Administration class, LTD tasked student groups to come up with innovative sources to fund a service expansion named MovingAhead. The MovingAhead package is estimated to have $274 million in capital costs, as well as $4.3 million in increased annual operations costs. In response to this challenge, two groups were tasked with developing funding options for capital costs and two student groups were tasked with finding funding options for operations costs. Each group was expected to have at least three funding packages and have a top recommendation based on evaluative criteria. The capital funding groups both had recommendations based on Urban Renewal Districts, among others. Both operations funding groups mentioned Transportation Utility Fees among their recommendations. The four groups recognize that their recommendations should be researched further by LTD or other entities to ensure that they would be able to implement these funding options. This will also ensure stable and resilient long-term funding.
Open Access
Bicycle Transportation
(University of Oregon, 2010) Welch, Monica; Schlossberg, Marc
The proposals reviewed in this document were generated as a result of collaboration between the City of Salem and the University of Oregon Sustainable Cities Initiative. Fifty-one students in a Planning, Public Policy, and Management course entitled “Bicycle Transportation”, taught by Professor Marc Schlossberg, reviewed and examined critical elements of an urban bikeway system and proposed projects that would encourage increased bicycle ridership.
Open Access
Bike the Hub: Creating a Family-Friendly Bike System in Redmond
(2015) Montzka, Dianna; Nicolello, Bree; Vollstedt, Anya; Tejedas, Hope; Schlossberg, Marc
This report documents the ideas, methodologies, and proposals produced by students of the Bicycle Transportation class for the City of Redmond, Oregon. Project members visualized a family-friendly bicycle network that included both connections to and from schools, as well as the redesign of several auto-centric corridors. The scope of the projects were open-ended, but students were expected to make recommendations that could be used in future city transportation projects. The City of Redmond is consistently making efforts to improve the safety of their bike network and to increase the number of residents who bike.
Open Access
Bike Walk Roll Public relations Campaign
(2016) Andrus, Olivia; Babb, Emory; Ganim, Megan; Hopp, Quinn; Lopez, Pablo; Tilby, Caitlin
Students in professor Margy Parker journalism class developed a short-term, mid-term, and long-term recommendations to promote biking, walking, and rolling in Redmond.
Open Access
Booth-Kelly Mixed-Use District
(University of Oregon, 2012) Pecenka, Jennifer; Muller, Brook; Asnis, Marc; Beamer, Mike; Biniaris, Aliki; Bonnett, Erik; Bryant, Hannah; Cavin, Laura; Cohen, Daniele; Day, Emi; Ferrell, Heather; Gibbons, Shane; Hybel, Kimberly; Kelsey, Kristin; Rosenthal, Alex; Skoog, Courtney; Young, Kevin
Graduate and undergraduate architecture students in Professor Brook Muller’s terminal studio during winter and spring terms of 2012 examined potential redevelopment scenarios for the Booth-Kelly site, located in downtown Springfield. The city anticipated redevelopment concepts and guidelines developed as part of the studio could potentially be adopted into the Downtown Refinement Plan and implemented in the future. Students identified several programmatic schemes that describe how the site could become a destination location with a pedestrian-friendly appeal. Seen as a collision of industry and nature, sharing multiple habitats and crossing paths, the site’s industrial beauty and rich history are ideal for unique design solutions that exemplify these characteristics. An in-depth focus on its ecology led many students to incorporate much of the surrounding context in a systems thinking approach. Many of the designs seek to interconnect various processes, from both onsite and offsite byproducts and resources, and to bridge natural and urban resource flows. Common themes emerged with different programmatic emphases, including: adaptive reuse, agricultural production and distribution, community education, linking downtown to industry, and adaptable piecemeal development. While each project holds a different focus, the studio collectively promoted many of the same design values.
Open Access
A Budgeting Analysis of a Proposed Special District
(2015) Austin, Ellie R.; Lewis, Rebecca
Students in the graduate level Public Budget Administration course within the department of Planning, Public Policy, and Management at the University of Oregon examined the viability of an Economic Improvement or Business Improvement District (EID or BID) in Redmond, Oregon’s downtown. The City of Redmond provided three elements it wanted included in any proposed EID or BID, including a full time staff person, beautification efforts, and promotions and marketing.
Open Access
Bus Stops as Community Gateways
(University of Oregon, 2020) Del Rosario, EJ; Williams, Daisy
This report summarizes the design proposals for conceptual bus stops that are responses to the current environments at two existing Lane Transit District (LTD) sites. This 10-week course led students with little to no formal design experience in understanding the connection and process of designing a functional and replicative structure. General requirements of the project included design of a bus stop that matched LTD’s considerations such as rider amenities and security. Additional design possibilities included creating unique structures that would improve the experience of users. Through practical experience, a class of fourteen students built on their ability to communicate their proposals through drawing, 3D modeling, and Photoshop, software that allows users to create visualizations. Students also learned traditional forms of architectural communication through drafting, elevations, and site plans. Through site visits, the class learned common strategies to study space and observed the environment that commuters experience while using the buses and stations. Four student proposals were chosen to provide a range of designs. The completed designs offered different and unique elements, such as introducing unique amenities, technology, and designed environmental responses to the bus stops. Each design emphasized the common themes of increased user interaction and sustainability.
Open Access
Business Medical District Economic Improvement District, Redmond
(2015) Zlevor, Kelsey; Lewis, Rebecca
Students in the graduate level Public Budget Administration course within the department of Planning, Public Policy and Management (PPPM) at the University of Oregon (UO) were tasked with examining the viability of an Economic Improvement District (EID) or Business Improvement District (BID) in Redmond, Oregon’s Medical District. The City of Redmond provided three (3) elements it wanted included in any proposed EID or BID, including maintenance, business recruitment, and administration and management. One student group worked on this project. The group considered case studies of similar EIDs in Bend, Corvallis, Hillsboro, and Salem, and incorporated elements and/or budgetary items into their recommendation to the City of Redmond as appropriate. (See Appendix C for full case study analyses). The group proposed two funding strategies: The first assessed properties based on square footage, and the second assessed properties based on assessed value.
Open Access
Cartographic Visualization of Parks, Trails, and Recreation Centers in Albany, Oregon
(University of Oregon, 2017) Miley, Emily; Meacham, James; Hendricks, Lauren
In order to aid the City of Albany’s Park and Recreation Department (P&R) in the creation and visualization of their 2017 P&R Master Plan and to help serve the growing population, Albany partnered with the Sustainable City Year Program (SCYP) at the University of Oregon. SCYP students strive to aid the Parks and Recreation Department in e ectively showing areas of access, opportunity, and amenities across Albany. P&R hopes to expand funding to areas that may serve greater areas of the population while the City of Albany hopes to connect riverfront parks and amenities with other areas of the city by means of trails and bike networks. They also hope to utilize the results produced by students to analyze areas for increased funding to promote usage by the public. In order to help visualize accessibility, cost, and location variables, the City of Albany collaborated with an Advanced Cartography class at the University of Oregon, to nd ways to seamlessly present large amounts of information in one layout. By utilizing basic design principles, the students worked with ArcMap and Adobe Illustrator to e ectively portray existing and proposed trails, park locations, maintenance costs, and accessibility, and recreation center access.City of Albany P&R sought to visualize recreation facilities within the city in order to help increase accessibility for the growing population. The students used parks and recreation data to map existing amenities as well as possible areas for growth and funding. Students mapped recreation trail systems, as well as parks, recreation centers, and park and facility maintenance costs. Students used cartographic principles to e ectively display the parks and recreation amenities for the P&R Master Plan.
Open Access
Cases for Age-Friendly Planning And Policy
(University of Oregon, 2024) Webster, Brian; Li, Alex
The City of Salem and its largest resource for older people, Center 50+, are in the process of planning for a momentous shift in the City’s demographic composition: citizens are getting older. Salem’s rapidly aging population necessitates a comprehensive approach to creating and maintaining an age-friendly city. This seminar class was tasked with finding, researching, and evaluating successful cases in age-friendly planning and public policy. By learning from programs that have made other cities more accessible for their older population, Salem can ensure that it does the best it can for its older community members. The student research highlights the critical importance of fostering independence and community engagement among older residents. By prioritizing these areas, Salem can significantly enhance the quality of life for its older residents and solidify its position as a welcoming community for all ages. Across the students’ research and resulting case studies, key themes arose: • The need to support aging in place through accessible and affordable housing, robust transportation options, and information environments that work for older people • Effective collaboration among government, non-profit organizations, and community members • Methods to effectively maximize finite volunteer hours • Outreach that meets older people where they are both physically and technologically This report synthesizes the lessons from student analysis of successful cases into takeaways for the City of Salem and its citizens. By implementing the recommendations from this course and utilizing the analysis to shape ongoing programs targeted toward older people, Salem can support its aging population and become a thriving age-friendly city.
Open Access
Catalyzing Community Feedback and Engagement in Silverton
(University of Oregon, 2020) Ruff, Josie; Mundy, Dean
The Campaign Planning class (J453) at the University of Oregon worked with the City of Silverton to develop the following public relations (PR) plan to address the City’s communication needs. The class broke into groups to come up with separate plans. The following document takes parts of each plan and combines them into one large PR plan. The PR plan’s timeline is six months and costs around $4,500, representing between 140 to 255 staff hours. For the best evaluation measures, the last month of the plan should host a community event that could appeal to most citizens. Students completed their work in early March 2020, prior to knowledge about the significant impacts of COVID-19 on daily life. Engagement during and beyond the pandemic are not explicitly addressed as part of this plan but the City may choose to adapt the work to meet future outreach needs.

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