PlanGreen

PlanGreen works with governments and the private sector to provide:
* Planning and Urban Design
* Policy Development
* Public Involvement
* Financing Strategies
to help communities become part of a regenerative economy.

Collectively, human decisions and practices can either continue to degrade the world that nurtures all living entities—or begin to restore it.

Sustainable Sites Initiative
2008 Draft Guidelines & Performance Benchmarks

PlanGreen and its associates help communities adapt some of the Sustainable Urbanism measures that have brought Portland, Oregon a reputation as a sustainability leader and shape them to the needs of your own community or institution.

PlanGreen can help you create the policy and programs to significantly reduce your contribution to climate change by:
* Encouraging land use that allows people to live close enough to walk, bike or take transit to work, school, and services
* Developing excellent urban design policies that help existing neighborhoods to embrace density
* Investing in alternative transportation networks
* Limiting road capacity increases
* Creating disincentives to driving
* Moving towards food system security though promotion of local urban agriculture
* Adopting highly effective measures to promote green building and renewable energy
* Instituting a green streets program

In the last 20 years, vehicle miles traveled for residents of the Portland area have decreased while those for the rest of the state have increased. Portland’s most recent pre-design for green street projects identify design and construction savings of 20% to 63% over traditional storm sewer systems. These savings are calculated without accounting for the ecosystem benefits—which are substantial.

PlanGreen is passionate about helping communities utilize ecosystem services to both reduce costs for infrastructure and regenerate their landscape. We can help your community to build on the most advanced technologies to create policy and a program to:
* Infiltrate stormwater to recharge streams and rivers
* Improve the water quality of your streams and rivers
* Take pressure off your combined sewer system
* Soften the streetscape
* Increase evapotranspiration and carbon sequestration
* Reduce the urban heat island effect
* Provide traffic calming
* Add landscape amenities for adjacent private property
* Provide habitat for your native pollinators
* Educate residents about their natural heritage
* Celebrate your native landscape

PlanGreen can help you get ahead of the curve with the forthcoming rating system—Sustainable Sites. We can help you show all stakeholders that the cost of changing conventional methods of landscape design, development, and maintenance is not only money well spent, but also critical in addressing the challenges climate change is bringing with it.

PlanGreen also has expertise with the LEED-ND rating system. Through one of LEED-ND’s three sponsors, the Congress for New Urbanism, and through the Portland-based Sustainable Urbanism Ratings Group, we were active in shaping that system. Visit us at http://www.plangreen.net or call 503-245-7858.