BUILD URBAN GREEN ZONES
Portland, Oregon
In 2010, Portland, Oregon, launched a plan to turn five neighborhoods into "EcoDistricts" where emissions, energy use, and waste will one day approach net zero. The South Waterfront, a former industrial zone, was chosen as a pilot; five years in, it’s full of promising projects, such as:
Wildlife Restoration
A 100-foot-wide greenway running alongside the Willamette River includes a refuge for young salmon and provides a nesting ground for migratory birds, including the osprey that have made the South Waterfront their home.
Solar Energy
A 6,000-square-foot wall, which spans two floors of the Oregon Health & Science University Center for Health & Healing, is covered with sunshades that double as photovoltaic panels, preventing the release of 97 metric tons of CO2 each year.
Efficient Transportation
An aerial tram takes commuters to and from the waterfront, and the 1,720-foot-long Tilikum Crossing, America’s longest carless bridge, carries light-rail trains, buses, bicyclists, and pedestrians to the rest of the city.
7. CHANGE THE FACE OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Pittsburgh
When Bill Peduto became Pittsburgh’s mayor in 2014, one priority was to make his administration as diverse as possible. He partnered with the Pittsburgh Foundation and the University of Pittsburgh’s Institute of Politics to launch Talent City, a platform for recruiting and evaluating candidates for city positions from far outside the typical talent pool. Of the 45 people hired via Talent City—who include police chief Cameron McLay—55% are women, and more than a quarter are black. "We needed a much better system [for hiring] than the old political-machine system of bringing in the staff of the campaign and friends and political donors," Peduto told Fast Company earlier this year.
8. MAKE PEOPLE A PRIORITY