2014 National Convening Skills Presenations Portland Plan | Page 7

For generations, Portlanders worked with intention
to create a city that is culturally vibrant, intellectually
curious, innovative and beautiful. Instead of creating
sprawl as in many other growing urban areas — Portland
linked land use, transportation, economic development,
greenspaces and people, and poured effort and
resources into building strong neighborhoods.
Together, Portlanders cleaned the river, improved air quality
and became the first city in the U.S. to adopt a plan to lower
carbon emissions. Portland reintroduced the modern streetcar,
promoted new ways of managing waste and stormwater and
became a major international freight gateway and hub for
the clean tech revolution. Over the past 40 years, Portland has
shown it could grow a vital local economy, protect the natural
environment and support vibrant places to work and live.
Today, despite these many successes, times are tough and
resources are scarce. Education, jobs, housing and other
issues need attention, and there are major challenges on
the horizon. In this context, it is easy to think ambitious
plans aren’t achievable or affordable. But to effectively tackle
these challenges, Portland must set a f