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COOL COMMUNITIES
Building Better Communities in the Metro Area
Mary Kyle McCurdy1000 Friends of Oregon
Charbonneau May 3, 2012
COOL COMMUNITIES
• Legislature has provided an opportunity for healthier communities and reduced greenhouse gas pollution:
– Statewide targets• 2010: Stop all growth of greenhouse
gas (GHG) pollution.• 2020: Reduce GHG pollution to 90% of
1990 levels.• 2050: Reduce GHG pollution to 25% of
1990 levels
Oregon’s Commitment to Healthy Communities
Source: Global Warming Commission
COOL COMMUNITIES
WHY?In Oregon, climate change means:
– Warmer and drier summers—more unhealthy air days– Longer pollen season—asthma and allergies– Increased incidence and intensity of heat-related illnesses and vector-borne
diseases– Wildfire increase in all Oregon forest types– More extreme precipitation events– Quality & availability of water threatened– Frequency & magnitude of coastal flooding increases, displacing people– Food supply threatened: less water, increased and new pests, changing
growing seasons, increased energy costs– Adverse economic impacts: increased food costs, infrastructure damage,
increased energy costs.
COOL COMMUNITIES
Three Components:• State Transportation
Strategy• Targets for Six Urban Areas
– Cars and light trucks– Required for Portland,
optional for others.• Online Toolkit for Action
– Recommended actions and programs for local governments
– Searchable database of actions and programs that work
Oregon’s Transport/Climate Strategy
Image source: whiteearth.org
COOL COMMUNITIES
• Transportation: 1/3 of GHG emissions in US.
• Higher in Oregon• Reducing
transportation-related emissions is key to meeting our targets.
Why Transportation?
(Source: Oregon Department of Energy, 2008)
COOL COMMUNITIES
The Biggest Transportation Culprit: Us.
Image Source: Jamie Francis, The Oregonian
COOL COMMUNITIES
The Biggest Transportation Culprit: Us.
• Passenger travel by cars and light trucks: 60% of Oregon transportation-related emissions.
• We will not succeed unless we provide other options for getting around.
(Source: Oregon Department of Energy, 2008)
COOL COMMUNITIES
• Urban regions: 56% of household transportation emissions in Oregon
The Biggest Transportation Culprit: Us.(especially urban areas)
Source: DLCD Target Rulemaking Advisory Committee
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COOL COMMUNITIES
Setting the Targets
Image Source: Metro, “Understanding our Land Use and Transportation Choices”, 2012.
COOL COMMUNITIES
The Opportunity
Image Source: Oregon State University
“Climate Smart Communities” also means Better Communities in the Metro area:
• Saves farm land• High-quality housing options for all• Amenities within walkable distance• Healthier residents• Thriving local economies• Reliable transportation choices
COOL COMMUNITIES
The Land Use –Transportation Connection
The Potential• Providing neighborhoods where people can walk,
bike, or take a bus to the store, school, doctor’s office, and other daily services can reduce annual GHG emission by 24 % by 2050.
• Residents of the country’s most walkable areas drive 26 % fewer miles per day than those living in the most sprawling areas.
• Portland area: Residents drive 20 % fewer miles than in other major U.S. metropolitan areas because we have walkable neighborhoods with things nearby that you want and need to walk to.
Image source: Villebois Village Center
COOL COMMUNITIES
The Land Use Connection
Source : Todd Littman, Center for Real Estate Quarterly, Spring 2011.
Well-designed, transit-accessible neighborhoods in the Portland region have 55 percent less automobile use than sprawling residential areas.
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• Transit• Sidewalks• Bikeways• Carpooling• Carsharing
Choice—In How We Get Around
Images (clockwise from top): Trimet; Dana Tims, The Oregonian; Ecotrope, OPB
COOL COMMUNITIES
More Than Bike Lanes & Bus Stops
Image Sources: Bob Ellis, The Oregonian (left); Greg Holmes (right)
McLoughlin Blvd.: Bike lanes, but can you spot the biker?
Bus stop near Black Butte Ranch, US 20
COOL COMMUNITIES
• Neighborhoods with different kinds of housing provide choice for people of all ages and family sizes, for example, from children to empty-nesters.
• Neighborhoods with homes near shops and services, connected with sidewalks, make “community.”
• It’s where people want to live - over 80% of Americans want to live in communities that allow them to use their car less often.
Choices in Living
Image source: Trimet
COOL COMMUNITIES
• We walk much less than previous generations. From 1975 to 1995, the number of trips U.S. adults made by walking plummeted 42 %, while the annual amount of miles driven rose 4 times more quickly than the population.
• Obesity. Childhood obesity tripled in past 30 years; 1/3 of children and adolescents now considered overweight or obese. US #1 in world in overweight and obese adults.
• Respiratory Illnesses are increasing. Asthma is at epidemic levels among pre-school children, increasing 160% from 1980 to 1994. Due to higher levels of pollen from temperature changes and vehicle pollution.
• Driving – the largest contributor to air pollution in Oregon. Decreasing driving decreases the air pollutants that cause asthma and other respiratory diseases. Providing opportunities to get around by a means other than always driving a car leads to improved air quality and physical health.
Choices That Improve Health
Image source: Jonathan Maus, BikePortland
COOL COMMUNITIES
“We have engineered walking and bicycling out of our communities"
• People who live in neighborhoods that support healthy diets and physical activity - sidewalks and a mix of uses like schools and grocery stores easily accessible by walking or bicycling - are 38 %less likely to get diabetes than those who live in neighborhoods without those options.
• Walking 3+ miles/week reduces risk of coronary event by 35%.
• 80% of Type 2 diabetes can be prevented by increasing physical activity and eating healthy.
• Physical activity increase cognitive performance in kids, college students, and adults.
• Free bus passes have lead to weight loss.
Walkable Neighborhoods = Healthy people
Image source: Sean Dreilinger
COOL COMMUNITIES
• Transportation is the 2nd largest expense for most households, 20%-50% of household expenses
• Families living in auto-dependent neighborhoods spend much more on transportation. – Average annual cost of owning a car: $8000– Portland bus and train commuters save an average of
$859 per month by leaving the car at home.
• Portland area: Residents travel 20% fewer miles by car than in other major U.S. metropolitan areas. Regional transportation cost savings: $1.1 billion/year.
• Homes in compact communities use 20% less energy for heating & cooling than in sprawling communities.
• Homes in compact communities use 20-50% less water per capita.
Choices That Save Money For Families
Image source: Trimet
COOL COMMUNITIES
• 25% reduction in infrastructure costs (sewers, roads, water, etc.) by serving more compact growth patterns, rather than low-density, auto-dominated development patterns.
• Low-density development requires more fire and police stations and equipment per capita.
• “Sprawl” consumes 21% more raw land, and increases water and sewer costs by 6.6%, local road costs by 9.2%, and housing costs by 8%.
• During the next 30 years, Portland area residents could save up to $594 million in health care costs because of the city’s investment in biking.
Choices that Save Money For Communities
Image source: The Oregonian
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• Building bikeways and sidewalks creates more jobs than building new roads. Studies show that for every $1 million spent, bikeways and sidewalks create 10-14 jobs; roads only 7.
• Investing in transit creates more jobs than building new roads; from 30% to 70% more jobs per dollar.
Choices that Create Jobs
Image sources: Trimet (top); Jonathan Maus, BikePortland (bottom)
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Choices that Save Farm Land
Image source: Flickr user Desert4wd
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COOL COMMUNITIES
• Ask Wilsonville to host a workshop with Metro – open to the public - focused on strategies that work best for Wilsonville and Charbonneau. How can Wilsonville achieve better bus service, more sidewalks, housing choices, etc…
Wilsonville Mayor Tim KnappMetro Councilor Carl Hosticka
• Contact Metro yourself to be included in Metro’s Climate Smart Communities events: [email protected]
• Sign up for 1000 Friends e-mail list to be kept up to date on Building Better Communities: [email protected]
How You Can Participate