[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 122 (Thursday, July 31, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1287]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  SUPPORT FOR THE WORK OF ECODISTRICTS

                                  _____
                                 

                          HON. EARL BLUMENAUER

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 31, 2014

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I'm pleased to express my support for 
the work of EcoDistricts, a national organization founded in my 
district in Portland, Oregon, and which fosters innovation, community 
action, and sustainability at the neighborhood level.
  I have spent my career working to build livable communities in my 
hometown of Portland and around the country. These are communities 
where people are safe, economically secure and healthy. The EcoDistrict 
model has achieved great success in achieving this goal by starting 
small and engaging neighbors, local businesses, and government in the 
process of improving communities and creating spaces where employers 
want to locate and families want to live.
  We have seen the success of Portland's EcoDistricts, which are 
diverse and range from downtown near Portland State University, to the 
Lents neighborhood in the Southeast part of the city. This is an area 
that has struggled for decades with crime, air quality, transportation 
access, and equity issues. The engagement fostered by these districts 
helped approve a project to stripe bike lanes on the major arterial to 
Lents, a farmers market now runs every Sunday through the summer that 
features local immigrant communities, and volunteers are helping kids 
create gardens at three neighborhood schools.
  The EcoDistrict model and process does more than just set goals and 
implement projects. It helps neighbors identify shared values and work 
together to make their shared spaces fit those values. I am thrilled 
that this model has since been expanded to other cities around the 
country, and look forward to continued success stories.
  Thank you to the EcoDistrict team, and to the leaders involved in 
this initiative, for continuing this important on-the-ground work to 
make communities across the nation more livable.

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