If you have never been linked with an efficient building, I suppose you can't be too surprised that much of this stuff goes over your head.

And available in Yiddish and Swahili too!

"citizen-led efforts to create a city that is more prosperous, equitable, and exceptionally high performing"

Oh I get it.

Just like how Milwaukie Light Rail is happening.

It's the people. How nice.

At the bottom of the page, the spam prevention question was "What state is Portland in?"
I wonder what answers are acceptable... i can think of a lot of them.
Cheers, Mike

Nice doublespeak. I think I smell make work for liberal arts majors and contracts for PR firms.

I can wade through the eco-speak. But what is a link to the West Hayden Island plan doing on this page, other than the bureau pushing this travesty uses the word "Sustainability" in their name?

Re: Portland Native's comment....
Yes, I believe the complete Yiddish translation is ... meshugge.

It's all poppycock.

'Sustainable' ain't.

These initiatives will continue to erode the liveability of Portland neighborhoods by minimizing open space while maximizing population intensity and the strains on public amenities. It will attempt to maximize the returns for land and building owners while minimizing space, durability and liveability. Ironically, 'efficiency' will be lost in the process.

Sounds like more magic talk to further the 'planners->demolition->contractors->keep unions busy' unique form of government we live under.

“Ecodistricts strive to achieve better results by working together instead of separately,” said Mayor Adams. “These districts demonstrate that private/public partnerships work in achieving community wide benefits.”

Dumb old Cory Booker, working on reducing his city's murder and violent crime rate rather than ecodistricts.

Here: http://emptybottle.org/bullshit/index.php

Make some of your own.

but what in the name of heaven is that guy talking about?

Does it matter? we're probably paying him $80keep a year as a consultant to generate this bilge.

Watched one of the videos promoting Portland.
At the end, one calls what we have going here the Portland experiment.

There seems to be a disconnect here between the "positive buzz words" and the downward spiral of our livability within this corral.(UGB)

This is why they want people out of cars, because they have created a monster plan, look at the traffic congestion now and they want to add millions more?

I don't think these that buy the mantra approve of our livable neighborhoods that have any yards/space. I can envision that some will be declared blight to create more units for people to live in their 20 minute neighborhoods, and more behavioral
control.

Topic for huge discussion, but I have written about it before here.

Now to Eco-districts. I have quite a bit of literature on this and need to read it.
For now though, remember when some time ago Adams and a GE person were
signing some agreement? GE was involved with Eco-Districts.
Check out the list of current sponsors:
http://ecodistrictssummit.com/sponsors

When can we expect the announcment the city of Portland is handing out Mao jackets to the residents ?

For some who think one can eventually escape smart growth,
Read and weep.

http://americancity.org/forefront/view/zone-zone-on-the-range

Zone, Zone On The Range
Bringing Smart Growth to Wyoming
Story by Nathan C. Martin

With its boomtown spurts of unplanned growth, roughneck culture and cowboy-esque commitment to individual property rights, the city of Rock Springs, Wyo., population 23,036, doesn’t seem like the most ideal venue for implementing a smart-growth vision of density and sustainability. Hell, ways of life that Texas politicians fake for television still exist in Wyoming, the nation’s least populous state, to a significant extent. But for Jana McCarron, Rock Springs’ city planner, deep-seated individualism isn’t an insurmountable obstacle. This summer, after months of public input in the form of meetings and surveys, the California-bred McCarron hopes to unveil a master plan to replace the city’s current one, which has remained substantially unchanged for 30 years. Writer Nathan Martin takes a look at how efforts to curb sprawl in Rock Springs have fared in the past, and how McCarron — who doesn’t work inside the bubble that envelops many smart-growth advocates — will do things differently. Also, an examination of recent nationwide opposition to sustainable development, and how nonetheless it just might work in a place where California, New Mexico and Arizona seem dense by comparison.

- Learn about the best practices for implementing smart-growth policies in an inhospitable political climate.

- Read about a quiet retrofitting of the frontier.

- Explore the role of urbanism in cities that, to untrained eyes, look more like the country.

"When can we expect the announcment the city of Portland is handing out Mao jackets to the residents ?"

Ask Allan L.