University of Oregon Sustainable City Year

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https://hdl.handle.net/1794/10380

The Sustainable City Year program is a partnership of a cross-disciplinary group of faculty and students with one city in Oregon each year. Coursework in disciplines including design, planning, arts, ecology, journalism, engineering, business, and public policy focus on assisting that city with its sustainability-oriented goals and projects. The Sustainable City Year faculty and students work with city staff and other partners, through a variety of studio projects and service learning courses, to 1) provide students with a real world project to investigate; 2) apply their training; and 3) help a local city transition to a more sustainable and livable future.

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Open Access
A Marketing Blueprint to Enhance Local Businesses in Oakridge
(University of Oregon, 2025) Langford, Sara
The Marketing Management class undertook detailed analyses of four businesses integral to Oakridge’s identity: Trans Cascadia Excursions, Mill Pond Station, The Campfire (Cowgirl Cook’n), and Brock’s Wood Lot. Each project examined these businesses’ unique challenges and opportunities, culminating in tailored marketing strategies and operational insights to help them thrive in their respective markets. This report presents the findings and recommendations from a series of student-led projects to support the City of Oakridge in enhancing its local businesses and community development. The city’s primary goal was to leverage student expertise to address challenges and uncover growth opportunities for key businesses and community stakeholders. Focus on local companies in Oakridge was crucial for this project because they play a significant role in the city’s economic vitality and community identity. By developing tailored solutions supporting sustainable growth and community resilience, the proposed marketing strategies aim to identify and address the unique challenges that Oakridge’s local businesses face. These businesses provide goods and services, attract tourists, create jobs, and foster a sense of community within Oakridge. The marketing recommendations are designed to amplify their impact by increasing visibility, attracting new customers, and enhancing their regional competitive edge. These businesses can thrive through strategic digital outreach, stronger branding, and community partnerships, contributing significantly to the city’s overall economic development and long-term resilience.
Open Access
Increasing Trust Between the Salem Police Department and the Salem Community
(University of Oregon, 2025) Stinnett, Alexis
The Public Relations Strategic Planning course at the University of Oregon partnered with the Salem Police Department to develop a campaign to increase trust between the public and the community. While each group focused on distinct publics and created several strategies and tactics, all campaigns shared a common goal: to improve the levels of trust between the department and the community, ultimately reducing violence and negative police interactions. Student groups conducted primary and secondary research about the City of Salem and the Salem Police Department, as well as current attitudes towards the department. Based on this research, teams designed a campaign around specific publics to help the Salem Police Department increase levels of trust in the community. Recommendations to improve trust between the department and the community consisted of hosting town hall meetings, community events, increasing social media presence, working with youth in schools, and mentorship programs. The most common targeted publics consisted of Hispanic males ages 18-25, youth ages 11-18, youth who have had experiences with the juvenile justice system, and non-English speaking residents. Most plans were designed for implementation within six months to a year, with budgets ranging from $0 to $1,250, to include spending resources on promotional activities and staffing hours. Students designed campaigns with the overall goal to support the Salem Police Department in meeting their mission to “provide superior service to keep Salem safe while enhancing trust.”
Open Access
Reimagining East Bend: Building a Stronger Community in the Heart of Oregon
(University of Oregon, 2025) Beckerman, Johnathan; Cody, Alyssa
Graduate Planning students worked with the City of Bend to redesign a 35-acre commercial site (the Project) over fall term 2024. Four teams applied a unique theme to the project, ranging from Walkability and Transportation; Climate Resilience; Placemaking; to Equitable Community. This report synthesizes each team’s findings, approach, and design proposal. It integrates data-driven insights, historical context, an iterative design process, and phased implementation to create a comprehensive final design addressing each theme. Students visited the site, met with City Councilors and planning staff, and analyzed the site’s designation as a potential Climate-Friendly Area (CFA). Students conducted demographic, economic, and housing needs assessments, supplemented by a review of Bend’s planning documents. This data-driven approach informed a site analysis that identified redevelopment opportunities and constraints. Planning and design frameworks, case studies, and other background research informed proposals that focused on flexible, community-centered designs. A class design charette translate theory into preliminary design concepts and aided in the development of foundational features such as street circulation and building form, laying the groundwork for future iterations. Each proposal recommended a phased approach to establish funding, increase community support, and mitigate displacement throughout the implementation process. As Bend considers the redevelopment of this strategic site, this report provides a range of integrated, adaptable solutions that align with city priorities and community aspirations. The proposals offer a vision for a resilient, inclusive, and vibrant space that enhances the quality of life for residents in Bend’s eastside community.
Open Access
Timber Tectonics in the Digital Age: Multi-use Structures for Silverton
(University of Oregon, 2025) Baidoo, KB
Exploring kit-of-parts construction, the Timber Tectonics team designed and prototyped an emergency shelter using modular stressed-skin panels, facilitating building expansion and sustainable reuse in alternative configurations. A kit-of-parts is a subset of building prefabrication in which building components are pre-engineered and prefabricated into standardized units from raw materials. The benefits of kit-of- parts construction are that it allows for rapid deployment as well as repeatable and reusable units that require little to no modification to be repurposed. To familiarize themselves with kit-of-parts theory and wood shelter construction, students first studied and modeled design precedents to establish a baseline of knowledge around wood shelters. The University of Oregon and Oregon State University combined diverse knowledge in the fields of architecture and engineering that was used to generate several creative design proposals. Working in groups, students from both universities met in person and on video calls throughout the project to draft, prototype, and model elements and ideas for the project. After a review from industry professionals, the student designs were consolidated into one. Students then regrouped to refine seven areas of the project: architectural design, stressed-skin panel design, connections, enclosure, structural analysis, construction, and project management. Student-led fabrication and assembly of the full-scale final prototype took place at Oregon State University’s Emmerson Lab, concluding with a final review. After the term, additional work was done to complete the components and disassemble them for future reuse. Lessons learned from this experience will be used to create a future of more sustainable, adaptable, expandable, and reusable buildings.
Open Access
Revitalizing Gresham’s Historic Downtown Hub
(University of Oregon, 2025) Weber, Suzie
During the fall of 2024, the School of Planning, Public Policy and Management (PPPM) offered a course at the University of Oregon titled “Urban Transportation.” Students in an Urban Transportation course worked with the City of Gresham to revitalize the city’s downtown. Students gathered information about the study area through a meeting with city staff, a site visit, and a simulated community engagement session. With this information, students began to research possibilities for downtown revitalization efforts. Student groups developed suggestions and each group focused on one of five categories: multimodal transportation, network connectivity, parking, development, and community engagement. Each group completed a needs assessment based on the existing conditions of Gresham’s current downtown. Students concluded that the downtown area sees the most activation during the lunch hour and the dinner hour, with parking occupancy peaking at 1 PM and 6 PM respectively. Otherwise, the area is relatively quiet. Students perceived few activities during the 16 hour programming window people desire, meaning there may not many opportunities for nightlife. Downtown is primarily dominated by cars and very few people choose to walk, bike, or bus downtown—despite the possibility of all three. One obstacle to revitalizing Gresham’s downtown is the busy five- lane arterial road, Powell Boulevard. It is a barrier to encouraging more pedestrians and cyclists, and it fragments the network from Main City Park, the beautiful community park adjacent to downtown. Despite these challenges, student researchers suggested ways to bring new life to the historic downtown area while keeping its small town-like charm. The most frequently suggested recommendation was to close a corridor of N Main Avenue to automobile traffic. The proposed corridor is from NE 1st to NE 5th Street, and would include a two-way bike lane, large sidewalks for pedestrians, and increased social spaces. This, along with infrastructure improvements to nearby intersections, would make walking and biking a more attractive alternative to driving downtown. Alternatively, if the city decided against a walking- and biking-only corridor, Gresham could turn N Main Street into a one-way. The unused lane could be converted into a two-way protected bike lane and would accomplish the same goal of encouraging multimodal transportation. Another common theme researchers suggested was improved and centralized signage downtown. The city could create more cohesive wayfinding signage directing visitors to special attractions like the parks and local businesses nearby. The signage could also better direct drivers to underutilized parking lots to address community members’ perceived lack of parking in the area. The use of bulletin notice boards could offer information about biking and walking as viable and safe travel options in Gresham. Other important recommendations addressing Gresham’s historic downtown district’s needs include infill underutilized parking lots with social space hubs, engage with local artists and students to create public art downtown and increase aesthetic pleasure in the area, and implement a street fair to celebrate new development downtown.
Open Access
Introducing Middle Housing in the City of Oakridge
(University of Oregon, 2025) Manning, Georgia
With the goal of introducing new housing types into a city primarily comprised of single-family dwellings, architecture students designed middle-density housing for the City of Oakridge. The course explored various dwelling typologies that fall under middle-density housing and looked at multiple strategies to integrate new dwelling types into established Oakridge neighborhoods. Students outlined their design intentions and goals for each project site to support their ideas. Many common themes emerged across projects such as individuality and autonomy, contextualizing new designs, and strengthening community relationships. Key findings underscore the need for a shared architectural language between new and existing buildings in Oakridge. The proposals also outline a series of strategies to create degrees of privacy. Diverse housing typologies are recommended to connect back to these degrees of privacy and promote differing residential experiences.
Open Access
Pump Up Salem
(University of Oregon, 2024-12) Schillinger, Attila; Bullentini, Kaitlyn; Clifford, Avery; Duda, Nicole; Horvath, Michael; Norton, Ella; Knight, Kayleigh; Plumley, Madison
Students were tasked with the opportunity to design a campaign to educate Salem residents on heat pumps and their benefits to support the city’s sustainability initiatives. The overarching goal of the campaign was to increase awareness of heat pumps and an understanding of their benefits in Salem. To achieve this goal, students developed a strategy broken up into two parts: a storytelling community approach and enabling residents to overcome common barriers. Part one focuses on highlighting early adopters of heat pumps within the Salem community and using peer-to-peer communication with simple language to help educate others on the benefits of heat pumps. Part two focuses on overcoming common barriers in heat pump adoption, such as cost, by using action-oriented language and establishing relationships with potential partners like local banks.
Open Access
Recommendations for Solar Panel Initiatives at Geer Park In Salem, Oregon
(University of Oregon, 2024) Taylor, Zoe; Russo, Andrew
The University of Oregon’s Green Cities students focused on creating innovative and sustainable solar panel proposals for Salem’s Geer Park, located near the Oregon State Penitentiary, which has been historically underfunded and undervalued. The class focused on addressing the city’s questions concerning solar capacity, alignment with sustainable infrastructure objectives, and potential for replication in other locations. By organizing into three focus areas: 1. Solar Park Lighting 2. Community Solar Pavilion 3. Solar Awnings Students conducted a robust exploration of design possibilities. Drawing on diverse academic backgrounds, students enriched their designs with insights from various fields. Through access to diverse resources, including case studies, guest lectures and academic journals, students tailored design ideas for Geer Park’s unique context. The resulting proposals not only aim to enhance community engagement and reduce grid reliance but also offer potential synergies with broader sustainability initiatives. Through their efforts, students strived to transform Geer Park into a resilient and inclusive public space, increasing community engagement amidst the park’s existing underutilization.
Open Access
GIS Analyses of Walkability in Salem, Oregon Volume 2
(2024) Wessel, Ava; Kohler, Nick
Appendix of student final projects
Open Access
Safe and Connected Salem: Bicycle Transportation Recommendations
(University of Oregon, 2024) Schlossberg, Marc; Taylor, Zoe; Sunberg, Nicolas; Scherer, Anna
The City of Salem’s goal is to increase bike mobility, thereby increasing street safety in the process. The City’s comprehensive code outlines ambitious goals aimed at reducing pollution, ensuring safe travel, and developing multi-modal transportation networks that cater to all community members. In pursuit of these objectives, students in the Bicycle Transportation course conducted intensive research and proposed innovative recommendations for designing transportation routes that accommodate various modes of travel. Student research highlights the potential for significant improvements in bike mobility, which can lead to increased street safety and reduced vehicular emissions. Students studied specific areas for potential improvements and interacted with local community advocates to identify where best practice research and innovative ideas would be most beneficial. Students spent months curating their ideal plans to allow for better bicycle movement within Salem. Their recommendations, derived from comprehensive research and analysis, suggest enhancements to bicycle infrastructure that aim to promote sustainable urban mobility, boost public health, and stimulate local economic activity while considering cost, use of street, community needs, and more.
Open Access
Transitional Housing Futures: Urban Design Proposals for Delta Park Center
(University of Oregon, 2024) Larco, Nico; Lillard, Lora; Raggett, Mark; Hodge, Nick
Students in a graduate urban design studio based at the University of Oregon’s Portland campus were asked to reimage the Delta Park Center in Portland, Oregon, with a primary emphasis on developing transitional housing solutions. The project aimed to address the area’s lack of identity and inadequate transportation infrastructure while creating a vibrant and sustainable urban space. The class investigated historical and cultural contexts, conducted thorough site analyses, and developed proposals to enhance residential density, reanimate public spaces, and integrate sustainable practices. Key findings from the student projects include the need for increased residential density to address Portland’s housing crisis and the reactivation of public spaces to foster community engagement. Central to these proposals was the integration of transitional housing to support vulnerable populations and provide a pathway to stable living conditions. The proposals emphasized the importance of sustainable urban design, leveraging transit connectivity, and green infrastructure to create a more livable and environmentally friendly district. The course underscored the value of collaborative planning, involving stakeholders and community members to ensure that the projects meet local needs and promote social equity. The recommendations from the studio’s research highlight the potential for the Delta Park Center to transform into a dynamic and inclusive urban neighborhood, benefiting both current residents and future generations, with a particular focus on providing safe and supportive transitional housing.
Open Access
SCYP Salem Compilation Report
(2024) SCYP Staff
This compilation report details the collaborative efforts of the University of Oregon’s Sustainable City Year Program (SCYP) partnership with the City of Salem during the 2021-2022 academic year. This partnership involved over 20 projects across five schools and colleges, 14 faculty members, and over 350 students addressing key strategic priority areas identified by the Salem City Council. Projects ranged from public budgeting and climate action public relations campaigns to transportation policy and urban planning. The report summarizes the SCYP partnership to provide the City of Salem practical recommendations and innovative solutions to help the community tackle its challenges, leveraging the latest academic insights and the energy of university students to drive forward a more sustainable future.
Open Access
Salem City Spin
(University of Oregon, 2024) Peeples, Jack; Ruth, Xander; Wright, John
This campaign aims to encourage Salemites to reduce their reliance on personal vehicles and instead utilize active transportation in the form of biking. Shifting from cars to biking as one’s primary mode of transportation reduces traffic congestion, lowers carbon emissions, and promotes a healthy lifestyle.
Open Access
Equity-Centered Research Methods for Oregon Communities
(University of Oregon, 2024) Bartholomei, Mason; Bean, Wyatt; Belcher, Ruth; Lucero, Augustin Olivares; Riogeist, Jasper; Severeid, Emily; Ngo, Nicole
Like many states across the United States, Oregon has a history of using transportation, land use, and housing tools inequitably, which has directed and concentrated benefits to the privileged and harms to underserved communities. Oregon’s past included restrictions on who could own land, redlining and exclusionary zoning, prohibiting more affordable types of housing, and unjust siting of massive highway projects. In recent years, Oregon has begun to acknowledge and take steps to address these inequities. The state’s Land Conservation and Development Commission has updated its Transportation Planning Rules and adopted rules to create and implement the Climate-Friendly and Equitable Communities (CFEC) program. CFEC aims to reduce climate pollution, increase transportation and housing options, and promote equitable land use planning outcomes. The program also requires Oregon’s metropolitan cities and counties to engage in a major equity analysis when conducting a major update of their Transportation System Plans (Oregon Administrative Rule 660-012-0135(3)). Public Administration graduate students researched documentation and materials to develop a methodology that could assist with completing tasks required by sections (a) and (b) of that rule: (a) Assess, document, acknowledge, and address where current and past land use, transportation, and housing policies and effects of climate change have harmed or are likely to harm underserved populations; (b) Assess, document, acknowledge, and address where current and past racism in land use, transportation, and housing has harmed or is likely to harm underserved populations.
Open Access
Open-Source Oakridge: Exploring Open-Source Software and Creating a Buildable Lands Survey for the City of Oakridge
(University of Oregon, 2024) Haefker, Finn; Yang, Yizhao
A team of students in Advanced GIS conducted a two part project to support GIS development needs and application for the City of Oakridge. First, students conducted a comparative analysis of four leading open-source Geographic Information Systems (GIS) products. Given that Oakridge uses open-source GIS software for their planning work, staff sought clarification on what software would best suit City needs. During the research process, students created an evaluation framework based on literature review findings to score each software program. Students then created a Qualtrics survey targeting University of Oregon students who had experience with GIS software then scored the software again based off the survey results. Students then scored these software again based off the survey results. The survey results were expected among students and City staff and reaffirmed the City’s initial software choice. Although the survey could not provide a fully accurate comparison, due to its sample size and timeframe, it did provide valuable insight on student experiences with other GIS software. Although not applicable to the City of Oakridge, the survey also highlighted potential disconnects if used in an academic setting. The second component of this project created a buildable lands survey, which could provide City staff insight on development-feasibility and assist with densification efforts in the future. This report includes data on housing insecurity, which students researched before conducting their mapping analysis. Students then established a series of criteria based on their research, information provided by the City of Oakridge, and data that was manually created in Arc-GIS pro. Students applied these criteria as separate layers, which eventually yielded a final map showcasing parcels that could be suitable for various levels of densification. The total acreage of suitable parcels was very encouraging as it exceeded Oakridge staff’s initial request to establish at lease 60 acres of parcels that would be suitable for densification.
Open Access
Leveling the Playing Field: Designing Assessment Tools for Equity in Salem’s Parks
(University of Oregon, 2024) Stapleton, Ellee; Cole, Nathan
This document describes and contains the work of students in LA 407 / 507 Equitable Urban Parks with Professor Stapleton at the University of Oregon. Students created three assessment tools for the City of Salem to assess the current conditions of their parks. The report covers the purpose of the tools and how they were created. The tools are in Appendix C: Tool Protocols, Materials, and Instruments. The City of Salem manages 90 parks and is currently updating its citywide park system master plan (master plan), last updated in 2013, that guides development and maintenance of these parks. The master plan is updated about once a decade (City of Salem 2024). Some residents of Salem are concerned that the distribution of parks and funding in the City is inequitable, and the City would like to address this by conducting an equity analysis of their parks system and including an equity component in the new master plan. The work of Equitable Urban Parks follows Professor Stapleton’s Spatial Justice Seminar, in which students investigated if parks were equitably distributed throughout the City (Cassell and Donnelly 2024). In Equitable Urban Parks, students created assessment tools that can be used to compare conditions and resources across different parks in the City. The findings from these two courses offer complementary explorations of park equity with the Spatial Justice Seminar considering equity through the lens of distribution and Equitable Urban Parks looking in more detail at the qualities of specific park resources.
Open Access
Salem Parks Equity & Service Area Report
(University of Oregon, 2024) Cassel, Katie; Donnelly, Caitlin; Stapleton, Ellee
In response to the City of Salem’s goal of identifying park service area delineation methods that would facilitate a more equitable and accessible park system for residents, Spatial Justice Seminar students analyzed equity and delineated potential park service areas in Salem. Throughout the term, students explored what spatial equity meant, reviewed precedent studies, completed observational-based research or spatial based research on Salem’s Park system, and then provided recommendations based on their findings. The spatial methods observed in the report are Euclidian distance, travel times, street network analysis using Thiessen polygons, and overlaying data. The nonspatial methods observed are surveys, intercept surveys, demographic data, and benchmarking. The most applicable precedent studies include the cities of Los Angeles, California, Fort Collins, Colorado, Eugene, Oregon, and Bellevue, Washington. Precedent studies integrated both spatial and non-spatial methods of data collection to have a comprehensive understanding of disparities in their park system.
Open Access
Engaged Journalism: Listening to Salem's Hispanic Community
(University of Oregon, 2024) Duong-Tran, Joshua; DeVigal, Andrew
Working with the Sustainable City Year Program (SCYP) and the City of Salem, this class sought to understand how information flows through the Hispanic community in Salem. This Engaged Journalism course conducted a survey, facilitated a conversation with 80 students, and visited Salem to better understand community information needs. Recommendations support greater information access for these communities via collaborations with local entities. Divided into age groups ranging from under 18 to over 65, with the largest demographic being the under 18 category, 36% of residents indicated that sharing information among coworkers and classmates constituted the primary channel for learning about events that held significance for them or their community. Participants generally gravitated to personal networks and social media when locating community information. The survey revealed that when an event occurred within their community, most residents turned to their personal networks, such as Facebook groups, and social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok for further insights. Half of the participants mentioned K-12 education as the prime issue of importance. Based on these findings, the Engaged Journalism class compiled the following categories of recommendations to better meet the information needs of Salem’s Hispanic community: media literacy enhancement via local news collaboration; short-form content distribution through Instagram and TikTok; and bilingual resource guides distributed in popular third spaces (community centers, schools, etc.); centralized radio collaborations exploring pivotal topics distributed on bilingual platforms; and local civic information community gatherings hosted in popular third-party spaces.
Open Access
GIS Analyses of Walkability in Salem, Oregon Volume 1
(University of Oregon, 2024) Wessel, Ava; Kohler, Nick
Driven by a shared commitment to improve environmental health, community wellbeing, and accessibility, students in the Advanced GIS class collaborated with the City of Salem to develop data-driven strategies for urban improvement. Walkability, a concept that refers to the safety and comfort of pedestrian infrastructure, serves as a link between both social considerations and urban design principles. Improvements in walkability can be associated with decreasing traffic congestion and carbon emissions, while improving pedestrians’ overall quality of life. In winter 2024, students created recommendations based on spatial patterns gathered from the City of Salem’s geodatabase. Using datasets ranging from transportation networks, demographic makeup, and public facilities, students addressed three specific aspects of walkability in Salem: 1. Public Transportation Core Networks analyzed datasets with the intent to improve the accessibility and effectiveness of Salem’s public transportation. 2. Equity Focus Areas analyzed pedestrian infrastructure trends to increase accessibility in a lower-income area of Salem. 3. Climate-Friendly Areas created recommendations to improve pedestrian safety within Salem’s expanding mixed-use infrastructure downtown. Student recommendations aimed to elevate Salem’s walkability score and foster community livability, sustainability, and social cohesion. By prioritizing public transportation and pedestrian infrastructure, the City of Salem can encourage a reduction in carbon emissions and an increase in walking and cycling. The shift towards sustainable transportation can help tackle urban design challenges such as traffic congestion and design effectiveness. This report highlights some of the key findings and suggestions to improve walkability, contributing to a more vibrant and sustainable urban environment.
Open Access
Minto-Brown Island Park Boardwalk
(University of Oregon, 2024) Allan, Scott; Jacobson, Caitlin; Seifert, Colby; Skillin, Julia; Sosa, Anna; Zaikoski, John; McLaughlin, Patrick
Located along the Willamette River near downtown Salem, Oregon, Minto-Brown Island Park is subject to extended flood events that limit pedestrian access during wet periods throughout the year. Beaver dams divert and pool water which can leave the trails submerged. Salem’s seasonally wet climate, in addition to the surge in river levels due to snow melt, and the resurgence of beavers necessitates a design alternative extending the usability of the flooded trails during these times. The City of Salem has partnered with a Portland State University Capstone team to reach a design solution for this problem.

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