Presenters:

Rob Bennett, Executive Director, Portland Sustainability Institute

Scott Lewis, CEO, Brightworks

Johanna Brickman, Manager of Sustainable Built Environment Program, Oregon BEST

Lisa Abuaf, Senior Project Manager, Portland Development Commission

Eric Ridenour, Project Architect, SERA Architects

Vinh Mason, Policy Analyst, City of Portland

An EcoDistrict is a vision for an integrated and resilient district or neighborhood that is highly resource efficient; captures, manages, and reuses a majority of energy, water, and waste on site; is home to a range of habitat and open space; and enhances community engagement and wellbeing. EcoDistricts deliver the lowest possible environmental impact and highest long term economic and community returns. While we have the technologies and rating systems to achieve this, we do not yet have the governance, financing, or engagement models to carry out such projects across multiple stakeholders. Cities and utilities have not developed district scale utility service models and policy tools to drive district scale infrastructure development and conservation. In response to this, and with the recognition that global scale challenges such as climate change, water scarcity, and pollution have the greatest opportunity to be addressed at the neighborhood scale, the Portland Sustainability Institute is leading the EcoDisticts Initiative.

This session provides brief context and framing of the EcoDistricts Initiative, and will engage participants in exploring ideas of governance, finance, civic engagement, and other factors as applied to varying neighborhood typologies and project types. Each breakout group will have 2 facilitators from the EcoDistricts Technical Advisory Committee, with expertise in governance, finance, and technical implementation. The groups will report back to share and synthesize emerging patterns into a product that Living Future participants will be able to take with them and implement.

Session Format: PRACTICUM.

Presenter Bios

Rob Bennett

Rob is the founding executive director of the Portland Sustainability Institute. He was most recently the residential and cities policy manager for the Clinton Climate Initiative. Prior to that, he led the development of Vancouver’s Green Building Strategy and facilitated activities for the Southeast False Creek redevelopment. In Portland, Rob founded the City’s Green Building Program, G/Rated, and led conservation program and policy development in the areas of energy efficiency and corporate sustainability.

Scott Lewis

Scott Lewis is the founder and CEO of Brightworks, a leading sustainability consulting firm with offices in Portland, Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles. Brightworks helps developers, designers and planners create and implement visionary sustainability programs as the basis of lasting and social, economic and ecological value. Scott is also the founding chairman of the Portland Sustainability Institute and a member of Portland Mayor Sam Adam’s Sustainability Cabinet.

Johanna Brickman

In her role at Oregon BEST, Johanna connects Oregon businesses with Oregon BEST’s shared network of laboratories and expertise across the Oregon University System to transform research related to the sustainable built environment into on-the-ground products, services, and jobs that power Oregon's green economy.  Prior to joining Oregon BEST, Johanna served for nine years as Associate Partner and Director of Sustainability at ZGF (Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects), a nationally-recognized architecture, interiors, and urban design firm. At ZGF, Johanna provided experienced leadership to the firm’s Sustainable Design Team. She has become a respected consultant and presenter on issues of sustainable design in the U.S. and abroad.

Lisa Abuaf

Lisa Abuaf is a senior project manager for the Portland Development Commission, Portland’s redevelopment and economic development agency.  She has been with PDC since 2004, and was previously with the City’s planning bureau. Lisa’s work focuses on downtown revitalization, including both infrastructure and catalytic public-private partnerships. She leads PDC’s partnership efforts with Portland State University, and is the City’s project manager on the Oregon Sustainability Center.

Eric Ridenour

Eric Ridenour is an architect and urban designer with SERA Architects in Portland, Oregon.  He has worked on a variety of project types and has particular interests in planning for higher education and community master planning, as well as green development and building strategies.  He has been the project manager for SERA’s work on the PSU Pilot EcoDistrict.  He was a founding co-chair of Cascadia’s Portland branch, and teaches at PSU as an adjunct professor.

Vinh Mason

Vinh Mason works for the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability on establishing ecodistrict performance measures and developing a community-wide High Performance Green Building Policy.  In 2008 he completed a Master of Environmental Management Degree at Portland State University focusing on the adaptive design of climate protection policy.  Prior to joining the City's Green Building team, Vinh was an environmental engineering consultant and sustainability professor for 14 years.