Cities and Climate Change: Learning from the Portland Experience

The Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area has had remarkable success in mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, the leading cause of global warming, in recent years. This is largely attributable to decisions and investments in urban form and mobility. Gil Kelley, former director of planning for the City of Portland and currently this year’s Lincoln–Loeb Fellow, will discuss the key elements of Portland’s success, the challenges Portland still must face, and the potential applicability of the Portland experience to other North American cities and regions. The talk is part of the Lincoln Institute’s ongoing investigation into the relationship between urban form and climate change mitigation and adaptation.