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The solutions to the two biggest planning challenges of our time are intertwined. Climate change and affordability seem to be separate issues, but there are planning and urban design approaches that could provide major ways to address them both.

As previous blog posts have indicated, both of these challenges are in part the result of, and continue to be exacerbated by, the huge expansion of suburban development. The planning and design professions (architects and landscape architects) have been aware of this situation for some time, but now it’s time for them to step forward and be major players in providing reasonable solutions to these challenges.

And basically, we know what needs to be done. We need to transition much of suburban America to more urban forms of development. The trick is finding the right set of incentives and regulations, and providing redevelopment models that will work in suburbia.

Looking at suburban landscapes, there appears to be little hope. But starting with station areas along high-frequency transit lines, intense mixed-use projects can be developed using a variety of building forms to fit local circumstances, and then extended outward as transportation options are developed. The planning and design professions need to develop a variety of effective and efficient urban design solutions for these different circumstances.

The private development sector will implement these projects, but without good models from which to work, well-thought-out solutions that address the real challenges we face will be rare. The Metro 2040 Plan provides the overall guidance for this transition, but how that is accomplished needs firm leadership at the local government level to effectuate sound planning and design solutions. Providing multiple attractive, affordable, alternative urban nodes will also relieve the pressure to redevelop and gentrify areas in Portland.