BY MICHAEL COCKRAM
The new Oregon Research Institute Building
aims to achieve LEED Platinum rating.
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Green Cities Movement
Is Eugene on the bus?
T
he Green Cities Movement is an ef-
fort by local governments around the
globe to deal directly with the envi-
ronmental problems they face. As national
governments, such as our own, stay the
course toward environmental disaster, cities
are left to deal with the results.
One unlikely champion of the movement
is Jaime Lerner — the former mayor of
Curitiba, Brazil. In the early ’70s Lerner was
“installed” by the government and he
promptly made a high-tech bus system a pri-
ority. The city grew in density around the sys-
tem — concentrating the population and con-
serving green space. Now in a city of 2.2 mil-
lion the system accommodates an amazing
two million rides a day and helps make
Curitiba perhaps the greenest city on earth.
But we don’t have to look very far for in-
spiration. Our big sister Portland was the first
U.S. city to meet the Kyoto Protocol’s target
for reducing carbon emissions. President
Bush’s myopic statement that “Kyoto would
have wrecked our economy” is rebuffed by
Portland leaders who contend the city has
benefited with a effective public transporta-
tion, more green space, lower energy costs
and cleaner air. Mayor Tom Potter told The
New York Times that the perception that these
measures would be drain on the economy is
just wrong: “It’s economical; it makes sense
in dollars.”
Although Eugene lags behind many other
cities, Mayor Piercy’s administration has
shown signs of positive change. The city has
announced a partnership with three develop-
ers building green projects. The developers
are given somewhat lightweight incentives
such as a greased permit process and free
technical advice — not exactly the big tax
breaks that Hynix sucks up — but it’s a start.
The city hasn’t yet allocated real financial
resources to promoting sustainable projects.
And there is more they could do without
spending much money. One move that should
have been adopted years ago is to follow
Portland’s lead and require all new civic
structures (such as the new City Hall) to be
LEED certified. The U.S. Green Builders
Council’s LEED rating program (Leadership
in Energy and Environmental Design) has be-
come the standard in determining the sustain-
ability of a project. Another is to increase tip-
ping fees at the dump (also done by Portland)
to encourage reuse and recycling.
The U.N. reports that in 2005, for the first
time in history, more than half the world’s
population lives in cities. In the U.S., the
Jeffersonian ideal of the citizen farmer
spreading across the country is being sup-
planted by population pressures and a cul-
tural shift to urban/suburban living.
When I moved to Eugene in 1986 the pop-
ulation was less than two-thirds what it is
today — yet the urban core has changed little
in those 20 years. We have a small city down-
town with sprawling population of a mid-
sized city.
A recent article in The New Yorker pointed
out that if you really want to reduce your en-
vironmental footprint you shouldn’t think
about a little cabin in the woods — you
should move to Manhattan. In terms of effi-
ciency of energy and materials one answer is
density. The apartment building is a model of
efficiency with shared walls, floors and ceil-
ings reducing materials. If you spread New
York City’s population out to the density of
Eugene it would fill a 20-mile-wide swath
from here to Portland. Of course many of us
live in Eugene for its relaxed atmosphere, its
trees, its wooded bike paths. A more intense
urban core could actually help preserve those
things — and with density should come green
space in the form of urban parks and greener
streets.
The Madison Avenue high-rise isn’t the
answer in Eugene. But St. Vincent de Paul’s
Aurora Building and the upscale Tate
Condominiums represent what downtown
Eugene should begin to look like — four to
eight stories tall. At different ends of the eco-
nomic scale both buildings incorporate com-
mercial elements on the lower floor and get
people invested in living downtown. The city
should encourage denser development and
discourage more pancake buildings down-
town — if a Whole Foods wants to move
downtown it should be in a mixed-use multi-
story building development.
Our city has some catching up to do.
Without the resources of Portland it will take
vision, creativity and commitment. Let’s
hope the current city administration has that
commitment to sustainable development, and
isn’t applying more of the thin coats of
“greenwash” coming out of Washington. ew
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Michael Cockram is a free-lance writer on architecture,
and director of The Italy Field School at the UO
Department of Architecture.
DECEMBER 1, 2005 9