Oregon’s Infrastructure Rates C–

Through her freelance business, Marshall Designs, COC’s graphic designer Nancy Marshall worked with Christian F. Steinbrecher to design a 67-page report that gives Oregon’s infrastructure a barely passing grade.

After an extensive two-year effort, the Infrastructure Review Committee of Oregon Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers, chaired by Steinbrecher, examined the state’s infrastructure, giving grades for airports, bridges and roads, dams and levees, drinking water and wastewater, energy, navigable waterways, rail, solid waste and transit. In addition to proposing solutions for the problems in the individual infrastructure areas, the report highlights approaches to raise the grades and improve Oregon’s viability. It calls for Oregonians “to be more proactive and fund infrastructure to allow for its systemic renewal and replacement, instead of waiting to react to catastrophic failures, such as the I-35W bridge collapse in Minnesota in August 2007.”

View the detailed report at www.asceor.org/documents/ReportCardHQ200.pdf.

COC in the Oregonian: Planner to present Portland’s green policies in Taiwan

Following is the write-up on Bob Wise’s sustainability efforts in Taiwan taken from the Oregonian‘s Web site. Enjoy!

Planner to present Portland’s green policies in Taiwan
by Dylan Rivera, The Oregonian
Thursday June 04, 2009, 10:37 AM

A leader of Portland planning firm Cogan Owens Cogan is traveling to a national conference in Taiwan to present the latest Oregon and Portland-area sustainability efforts.

Bob Wise, senior project manager for the firm, is helping draft the Taipei 2050 EcoCity Vision, a long-range planning document for Taiwan’s largest city. He’s been asked to make a presentation about Oregon sustainability efforts to the Taiwan National Council for Sustainable Development’s annual conference.

“We’ve worked in Taiwan off and on for 10 years,” Wise said. “They’re always interested in what Portland and Oregon are doing.”

The sustainable development conference includes business leaders and cabinet-level members of Taiwan’s federal government. Wise said he plans to explain how Portland became the No.1 city in the nation for sustainability in rankings by SustainLane. He also will discuss the Living Building Challenge, which is a new green building standard, and the eco-district concept, which would have buildings share water and energy infrastructure to achieve greater efficiencies.

Wise was chairman of the Portland/Multnomah County Sustainable Development Commission when green building policies and climate change plans were developed.

Cogan Owens Cogan’s Taiwan work is performed through Team Oregon, a joint venture with SERA Architects and Century West Engineering of Portland.

– Dylan Rivera; dylanrivera@news.oregonian.com

http://www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2009/06/portland_planner_to_present_gr.html

PSU Forums Spring Term 2008

Presented by Arnold Cogan, FAICP, Planner-in-Residence in the Nohad A. Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning.

This forum will be held in room 303 of the Urban Center from 10 to 11:30 am. Specific dates, topics and speakers are as follows:

April 25: Why infrastructure is an important element of regional planning.
Guest speakers: Robin McArthur, AICP, Metro Regional Planning Director, and Ted Kyle, Capacity Program Manager of Water Environment Services for Clackamas County. To be discussed: Advancing the state of the art of infrastructure planning from its current piecemeal approach to one that is more regionally based. While this applies to large, expensive facilities such as highways, water systems and sewer projects, it is also important for smaller facilities such as parks, schools, libraries and other public buildings. A possible model to consider is the current study underway at Metro.

All forums will be webcast live and archived for future viewing. Our expectation is that each event will stimulate spirited conversation, focus our expectations on the role of planning in the future and provide students, faculty and others with new insights.

For more information, please contact Arnold Cogan at: 503-225-0192 or at arnold.cogan@coganowens.com

PSU Forums Spring Term 2008

Presented by Arnold Cogan, FAICP, Planner-in-Residence in the Nohad A. Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning

Three forums will be held in room 303 of the Urban Center from 10 to 11:30 am. Specific dates, topics and speakers are as follows:

April 4: How does sustainability complement the practice of planning?
Guest speakers: Tim Smith, Director of Urban Design and Planning for SERA Architects, and Bob Wise, Senior Manager at Cogan Owens Cogan, LLC, and Director of sustainability programs for Team Oregon, a multi-disciplinary consulting firm specializing in sustainability services overseas. They will explore how the principles of sustainability can be applied to the field of planning. To be discussed: the triple bottom line of sustainable development of economic opportunity, environmental quality and social equity and its potential for transforming traditional planning into a more effective discipline for the 21st Century.

April 25: Why infrastructure is an important element of regional planning.
Guest speakers: Robin McArthur, AICP, Metro Regional Planning Director, and Ted Kyle, Capacity Program Manager of Water Environment Services for Clackamas County. To be discussed: Advancing the state of the art of infrastructure planning from its current piecemeal approach to one that is more regionally based. While this applies to large, expensive facilities such as highways, water systems and sewer projects, it is also important for smaller facilities such as parks, schools, libraries and other public buildings. A possible model to consider is the current study underway at Metro.

May 30: Status of the Big Look.
Guest speaker: John Fregonese, President of Fregonese Associates. Mr. Fregonese is the manager of the consulting team working for the Big Look Task Force which is charged with identifying the most appropriate approach for land use planning in Oregon over the next several decades. He will describe the rationale and current status of his study, to be completed by the end of 2008.

All forums will be webcast live and archived for future viewing. Our expectation is that each event will stimulate spirited conversation, focus our expectations on the role of planning in the future and provide students, faculty and others with new insights.

For more information, please contact Arnold Cogan at: 503-225-0192 or at arnold.cogan@coganowens.com