Metro team represents the region at the International Awards for Liveable Communities
The Portland metropolitan area was named one of the world’s most innovative and sustainable communities Monday night, winning top honors for strategic planning and second place overall at the International Awards for Liveable Communities in Chicago.
Metro Council President Carlotta Collette, Sustainability Center Director Jim Desmond and Planning and Development Director Robin McArthur represented the region at the competition, which recognizes local work to improve environmental health and quality of life. The awards are endorsed by the United Nations Environment Programme.
“We’re very proud to be here representing our region,” Collette said in Chicago. “Sometimes we take for granted how clean and green and vibrant our environment and our community is.”
Based on written entries, finalists were selected from five population categories to present their cases last weekend to a panel of judges. Metro competed in the largest division, for communities with a daytime population of more than 400,000.
Communities scored points for their work in six areas: enhancement of the natural and built landscapes; arts, culture and heritage; environmental best practices; community participation and empowerment; healthy lifestyle; and strategic planning.
Metro emphasized the region’s shift from simply planning a sustainable future to making it a reality with strategic investments. Key examples include the historic initiative to protect rural land and choose potential growth areas for the next 50 years, and two voter-approved natural areas bond measures that have preserved 11,000 acres and opened three major nature parks. But the entry was far-reaching – it featured recycling initiatives, volunteer programs, work to address climate change, healthy-living resources and award-winning venues such as the Oregon Convention Center and Oregon Zoo.
Judges awarded the region the top prize among all community sizes for strategic planning, citing the collaboration of many cities and counties to shape the future. Metro highlighted six strategic outcomes that regional leaders use to make policy decisions, such as economic competitiveness and prosperity and vibrant, walkable communities.
“Planning for the future can be complex, especially when you do not have direct control but have to coordinate the planning of several cities and counties together,” wrote judge Rob Small of New Zealand. He praised Metro leaders for, “creating a long term view for their region that is inspiring and uplifting in its vision.”
The LivCom Awards, as they’re dubbed, attract a diverse pool of entries. Wuxi, China won the large-community category, and Metro shared second place with Al Ain, a rapidly growing city in the United Arab Emirates. Other large-community finalists included Changwon, South Korea; Curitiba, Brazil; Iloilo, Philippines; and Medellin, Colombia.
Collette said she collected innovative ideas from both the competitors in Metro’s category and smaller cities as well as from a United Nations environmental seminar held during the weekend. “There are lots of examples we’ll be taking home,” she said.