On October 24th, 2019, Metro, our Portland metropolitan area regional government, released an updated version of their “Designing Livable Streets and Trails Guide.” GreenWorks was part of the team that contributed updates to it.

It’s a set of design guidelines that require transportation infrastructure to be designed to serve the people and environments they’re built in, not just the vehicles that use it. The updates refresh the well-known guide and provide some important updates, prioritizing livability, safety, and reducing our greenhouse gas emissions.

Recently, the Oregon Economic Development Association awarded the City of Hermiston its Urban Renewal Project of the year. “These projects have changed the face of downtown Hermiston for the better,” the East Oregonian quoted Hermiston Mayor Dave Drotzmann saying, “combining public planning and private investment to create a more attractive and cohesive core.”

“Can our public gardens preserve threatened plant species as the climate changes? Can they be places of beauty and psychological health that are more inviting to communities our public gardens have not typically engaged? Can public gardens transition from traditional ornamental collections to becoming critical societal infrastructure?”

‘There is an urgent new role public gardens can play,’ says Sclar. ‘We must get it right.’”

- Portland Parks Foundation

Northwest Portland came together to build a new, inclusive playground when the old one become unsafe. GreenWorks was honored to work with great partners like Portland Parks & Recreation, students from the adjacent Metropolitan Learning Center, Friends of Couch Playground and Harper's Playground to come up with a design that allows kids of all abilities to play together.

North Clackamas School District’s magnet school, New Urban High School, was built in 1924. Thanks to a 2016 bond Clackamas County voters approved, New Urban High School (NUHS) will soon receive long-awaited renovations—a complete remodel, seismic upgrades, fire safety and technology improvements, and many others. Opsis Architecture is leading the design team on the project and GreenWorks is excited to be doing the site design, which includes two courtyards, benches, surrounding landscaping, and stormwater management. GreenWorks Landscape Designer Nadja Quiroz explained more:

On Wednesday, September 11th, Portland City Council gave the Gateway Green project permission to bid for a construction contract. This is routine business at the City, but to the project team and park supporters, it’s thrilling. It means the many years of advocacy, public engagement, and design work will take one more step towards becoming a reality.

Gateway Green is a 25-acre site located at the confluence of two major freeways in East Portland, a historically park-deficient area of the Portland Metro Area. Since 2012 GreenWorks has been involved in the project and most recently produced a master plan to guide future work centered around restoring habitat, improving access, and enhancing recreational opportunities, specifically off-road cycling. We asked landscape designer Kelly Stoecklein, who has been spending a lot of time on the project over the past two years, about the significance of last week’s events.