Lloyd Crossing Sets a New Standard
Portland has been recognized for decades as a leader in urban planning. Today its progressive philosophies are being applied to environmental policy-making. Tackling sustainability on an urban scale, the Portland Development Commission has conceived a model neighborhood known as the Lloyd Crossing Sustainable Urban Design Plan. A massive undertaking, the Plan sets goals and objectives that are intended to guide development over the next 45 years.
It has become common to hear individuals speak of reducing their carbon footprint. The Lloyd Crossing Plan is applying this concept to an area covering 35 city blocks. It is the city’s goal to restore the neighborhood to the environmental equivalent of an untouched (pre-development) forest ecology - while more than tripling the actual developed square footage of the district. The magnitude of this project makes it a learning process in sustainability that bears watching by the rest of the nation.
The Plan’s History
Lloyd Crossing is a district that will become geographically integrated into the city when construction is completed linking Portland’s light rail system with its new streetcar line. Situated within an urban renewal area, plans for its redevelopment began to take shape in 2001, and the issue of sustainability quickly rose to the fore. Initial desires to exceed LEED Platinum standards were ambitious enough, but the bar was raised to new heights when “pre-development metrics” were adopted, making it the Plan’s goal to create a densely developed zone with an environmental impact approaching zero.
The firm of Mithun Architects+Designers+Planners was selected to assemble and lead a team of professionals in the development and execution of the project. They have identified 3 key aspects of sustainability that the Plan will address:
- Creating a habitat for wildlife
- Managing water usage by utilizing the site’s own runoff effectively
- Limiting energy consumption through heavy reliance on solar energy and also by leveraging LEED principles during construction
The Lloyd Crossing Plan is garnering attention across America because it has outlined a viable approach to achieving its goals. Real world economic and financial concerns are solidly addressed, in keeping with Portland’s past successes in placing constraints upon development while simultaneously building a thriving city. Drawing on familiar urban planning concepts, such as mixed-use, higher-density development and public/private partnerships, implementation of the Plan should establish a neighborhood identity that will help the area reap a high return on its investment.
Image credit: AIA
