With the recent adoption of its first-ever green building policy, Metro has set new sustainability standards for all the agency’s facilities and developed properties, from regional parks, solid waste transfer stations and the Oregon Zoo to venues such as the Portland Expo Center and Oregon Convention Center.

Start off the 2011 Sunday Parkways season by getting outside and having some fun! The first Sunday Parkways event of the year will be Sunday, May 22, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., in East Portland. Cars will be kicked to the curb and walkers, bicycle riders, joggers and skaters will take to the streets instead. The Parkways seven-mile route will wind through neighborhood streets closed to cars for the day, and along a section of the Springwater Trail connecting Lents, Bloomington, Gilbert Heights and Ed Benedict parks. 

Convening about 250 elected officials, business and community leaders from across the region, Metro held a Climate Leadership Summit on Friday that explored ways the Portland area can build vibrant neighborhoods and spread economic growth while reducing emissions that are linked to climate change.

Patrick Condon, University of British Columbia Professor of Landscape Architecture and author of many books on community design and sustainability, will speak at a brown bag event at Metro on Tuesday, March 29, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Condon will share new ideas from his latest book, Seven Rules for Sustainable Communities. Condon contends that cities are responsible for 80% of all greenhouse gas emissions largely due to the  factors and patterns associated with late 20th-century growth. He goes further to say that we can make significant strides in achieving U.S. greenhouse gas reduction targets by changing the way we build and retrofit our cities.  His visit comes during a week in which elected officials and community leaders will be addressing transportation methods and how they impact the livability of our region in a number of forums.

The Climate Leadership Initiative will provide a brief presentation to the Metro Policy Advisory Committee on how to prepare the Willamette Valley region for a changing climate. The initiative's recommendations are based on the recently released report, “Building Climate Resiliency in the Lower Willamette Region of Western Oregon.” A full presentation about the report findings will be provided via a webinar on Wednesday, Feb. 23 at 10 a.m. Learn more and register to watch the presentation made to MPAC.