Sustainable garnish? (Portland, Green: low income, houses, landscaping)

[Quercus]

Hey all. Portland is on my short list for US cities to move to that overall have a strong interest in reducing their eco footprint. I am currently wrapping up a masters in design and looking to leave the east coast for a while if not for good. To an outsider, Portland has some very exciting activity going on as far as people from diverse educational, professional and socioeconomic backgrounds working towards living sustainabily.

As residents of this city, do you feel that my impression of your fine city is accurate?

To what degree do you feel that sustainable landscape\architecture is accepted and sought after by lay persons or do you feel that it is something that is most likely to be found in elite neighborhoods and public "trophy" projects?

Does anyone even think about this kind of stuff or do I need to step out of my academic bubble and soak up the real world for a change?
Questions, questions...

[RxMarcus]

Originally Posted by Quercus

Hey all. Portland is on my short list for US cities to move to that overall have a strong interest in reducing their eco footprint. I am currently wrapping up a masters in design and looking to leave the east coast for a while if not for good. To an outsider, Portland has some very exciting activity going on as far as people from diverse educational, professional and socioeconomic backgrounds working towards living sustainabily.

As residents of this city, do you feel that my impression of your fine city is accurate?

To what degree do you feel that sustainable landscape\architecture is accepted and sought after by lay persons or do you feel that it is something that is most likely to be found in elite neighborhoods and public "trophy" projects?

Does anyone even think about this kind of stuff or do I need to step out of my academic bubble and soak up the real world for a change?
Questions, questions...

I can't answer your question as I do not live in Portland, but one of the main reasons that Portland is one of two cities that I am considering moving to is because of "green" reputation. So you are not the only one that thinks about this kind of stuff.

[Pen Cap Chew]

There are quite a few buildings in Portland with LEED certification and many older buildings that have become more environmentally friendly. Portland is hot and getting hotter for going Green. SustainLane.com named Portland the most sustainable city in the United States. More developers are seeking LEED status as it is considered a good investment. People like yourself are moving to Portland and helping to expand this Green idealogy. Portland has the cleanest air of the largest 25 US cities. More bike riders, more vegans and vegetarians, more eco-thinking peeps are calling Portland home.

Here is a link for "The City of Portland Office of Sustainable Development":

Office of Sustainable Development

[kelcat]

Portland is either the number one or in the top five of number of LEED certified buildings (too lazy to look it up sorry) in the country so Portland is definitely up there in terms of its green creds. LEED certification usually applies to larger commercial or development projects but I know of a few residential projects that are applying for LEED residential certification.

The landscape architectural applications usually apply to rain water and sewage mitigation technologies and low water usage plantings. Walking around the city I have definitely noticed individual houses using "low maintenance" lawns minimizing grass planting and using alternative ground covers.

Every major architectural firm in the city is using LEED expertise as a marketing tool and some are walking the walk as well (using green strategies in their office environments and design). I mentioned in another post that I have no idea about LA firms in the city but the architectural firms in the city have to go somewhere to collaborate in order to plant stuff. One project that I know of involving green design in the landscape architecture is in the landscaping around the convention center. If you're interested in larger applications you might check out this project and maybe contact some of the larger firms to see if they have LA departments within the firm or LA offices that they work with in the city. Otherwise one cool thing about Portland (among many I suppose) is the business environment there seems to be particularly welcoming to entrepreneurs and creative start ups so if you want to start a business in this field there is probably a bit of opportunity there as well...

[oldtintype]

[quote=

To what degree do you feel that sustainable landscape\architecture is accepted and sought after by lay persons or do you feel that it is something that is most likely to be found in elite neighborhoods and public "trophy" projects?

Does anyone even think about this kind of stuff or do I need to step out of my academic bubble and soak up the real world for a change?
Questions, questions...[/QUOTE]

Even "low income" housing is being built green. Check out this building: www.thesitka.com