EcoDistricts and Mixed-Use Developers: A Perfect Fit

Portland, Oregon, already known as a green-conscious city, is pushing the envelope yet again. A program of the Portland Sustainability Institute defines several pilot “EcoDistricts.” These neighborhoods “commit to achieving ambitious sustainability performance goals, guiding district investments and community action, and tracking the results over time.” Seattle is doing it too. Great idea.

Sustainability can only be achieved by limiting consumption through cutting demand for transportation, sharing facilities and spaces, and maximizing the efficiency of infrastructure. So EcoDistricts almost by definition will rely on mixed-use.

One intriguing idea is that an EcoDistrict would have a zoning overlay with incentives and standards that encourage green design and construction. As developers, we would welcome that, if the codes encouraged flexibility. Permits and approvals should reward innovative solutions and the creativity it takes to build sharable facilities. Rigid prescriptions and over-regulation stifle that inventiveness.

Another good idea is that a percentage of taxes from an EcoDistrict be allocated for the construction and retrofits needed to meet the sustainability goals. The city would save in the long run if more efficient infrastructure were put in place, and because the district would likely acquire greater desirability and value.

From building mixed-use in urban areas, we already know that the infrastructure and utility framework will be determining factors in an EcoDistrict’s success. That’s where sharing of resources really happens – and can be maximized. Questions like how a solar power source, or water holding scheme, or a geothermal system can be regulated and monitored among the mix of uses must be thought through early. If an EcoDistrict’s incentives and tax-derived subsidies can offset the costs for infrastructure solutions like those which the market might not yet realize are valuable, its vision of sustainability can be made real.