Portland State University
EN-10: Community Partnerships

Foster Green: Comprising approximately seven neighborhoods in outer-southeast Portland, Foster Green’s mission is to facilitate community investments that build on existing assets to address sustainability goals through projects related to food systems, environmental justice, education, and community development.

Partnering with ROSE Community Development, Green Lents, OPAL Environmental Justice, Zenger Farm, APANO and others working in and around the Lents neighborhood, ISS is supporting community-led efforts through projects related to affordable housing, food systems, environmental justice, and community development.

FY16 highlighted project: designing safe bike and pedestrian route in Lents

https://www.pdx.edu/sustainability/sustainable-neighborhoods-initiative-community-partners

Located in a residential neighborhood in outer-northeast Portland, Living Cully is supported by a diverse, cross-sector group of organizations committed to using sustainability as an anti-poverty strategy.Projects include responding to community needs regarding health, employment, education, and housing.

ISS is partnering with Living Cully to use sustainability as an anti-poverty strategy in one of Portland’s most diverse outer-northeast neighborhoods. Project interests include responding to community needs regarding health, employment, education, and housing.

FY16 highlighted project: affordable housing development and land buys in Cully

https://www.pdx.edu/sustainability/sustainable-neighborhoods-initiative-community-partners

Interns work within partner community-based organization to further goals, community-driven initiatives, and actions in the City of Portland's Climate Action Plan. FY16 had a cohort of 10 internships:

-City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, Climate Action Collaborative Coordinator
-APANO, working on community-led action plan for green space and affordable housing
-City Repair, working on projects related to placemaking for sustainability and climate
-Coalition of Communities of Color, working on research, policy development, community organizing, and advocacy for transportation, housing, economic and environmental justice issues
-OPAL, working on research, policy development, community organizing, and advocacy for transportation, housing, economic and environmental justice issues
-Community Cycling Center, working on expanding community cycling education programs
-Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, working on food systems, food justice and resiliency programs in Gresham and Portland
-KairosPDX, working to develop eco-garden outdoor education curriculum
-Rose Community Development, working to implement and expand a water conservation initiative
-Wisdom of the Elders, working with habitat restoration and climate change documentary projects

https://www.pdx.edu/sustainability/climate-action-collaborative-internships

Climate Action Collaborative:
The Portland Climate Action Collaborative is a partnership between the PSU Institute for Sustainable Solutions and the City of Portland to advance goals outlined in the Portland and Multnomah County Climate Action Plan. The Institute for Sustainable Solutions creates and supports collaborative research projects and internships that lead to relevant sustainability outcomes for the city and region. The collaborative started with support from the Bullitt Foundation in 2013.

Through co-creating projects and identifying outcomes and deliverable for researchers and practitioners, the climate collaborative focuses on:
-Projects that help achieve goals or inform decision-making regarding the Portland and Multnomah County Climate Action Plan while providing meaningful research and educational opportunities for PSU faculty and students.
-Interdisciplinary work that allows us to consider multiple aspects of climate change scenarios, mitigation, and response.

Transportation Research and Education Center (TREC):
TREC, the Transportation Research and Education Center for Portland State University, houses the National Institute for Transportation and Communities, or NITC, and the archives of its predecessor grant program, the Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium, or OTREC. TREC also administers the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation, or IBPI, and other transportation grants and programs. We produce timely, practical research useful to transportation decision makers and support the education of future transportation professionals through curriculum development and student participation in research.

Community Environmental Services:
A student-staffed organization, Community Environmental Services (CES) has more than 20 years of experience working with local governments, organizations and businesses to to institute efficient recycling, waste reduction and resource sustainability programs. CES has worked with the Port of Portland, New Seasons Market, the City of Portland, Nike, and many others.

Green Building Research Laboratory:
Funded by the Institute for Sustainable Solutions and the Oregon Built Environment and Sustainable Technologies Center (Oregon BEST), the Green Building Research Lab is equipped with state-of-the-art equipment for research, testing and evaluation of green building materials and practices. The lab offers several options for industry partners to connect—from equipment rental to joint research projects.

Impact Entrepreneurs:
The PSU's Impact Entrepreneurs program supports social entrepreneurship through leadership training, field studies, mentorship programs and the Social Innovation Incubator, which provides startup resources to nascent nonprofits and businesses working to address social issues.

Cascadia Ecosystem Services Partnership:
CaESP is a collaborative effort to increase the use and usefulness of ecosystem service approaches for advancing the preservation and growth of natural infrastructure in the region. This partnership is convened by Portland State University and advised by an executive committee of ecosystem service practitioners and researchers from the region. The executive committee is convened quarterly to foster communication across leaders, discuss emergent opportunities, and identify areas for tighter collaboration.

Social Determinants of Health Initiative:
The Social Determinants of Health (SDH) Initiative supports and conducts community-engaged, interdisciplinary research, education, and action to promote health equity. It aims to bring together individuals from Portland State University, Oregon Health & Science University, community organizations, governmental agencies, and local health systems. The goal is to improve the health of our communities by identifying, understanding, and addressing social determinants of health.

Collaborative Forest Governance Capacity Building:
Portland State’s Institute for Sustainable Solutions has partnered with the U.S. Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station to conduct a social network analysis in support of collaborative stewardship and public engagement in the Blue Mountains. Social network methodology examines the structural and functional elements of a social network and is increasingly being used to better understand and enhance collaborative natural resource governance. Employing social network analysis, the research team is identifying existing forest stewardship networks and elucidating network characteristics that may impede or support landscape-wide collaboration. Data obtained will be used to provide recommendations for strengthening organizational capacity, enhancing citizen monitoring, promoting broader public engagement, and building effective partnerships among stakeholders involved in rural resource sustainability.