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

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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.

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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

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• 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)

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The Biggest Transportation Culprit: Us.

Image Source: Jamie Francis, The Oregonian

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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)

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• 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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Setting the Targets

Image Source: Metro, “Understanding our Land Use and Transportation Choices”, 2012.

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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

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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

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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

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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

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• 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

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• 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

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“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

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• 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

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• 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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• 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: trans@oregonmetro.gov

• Sign up for 1000 Friends e-mail list to be kept up to date on Building Better Communities: tara@friends.org

How You Can Participate