View full sizeRoss William Hamilton/The OregonianU.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan rides Amtrak to Seattle on Thursday afternoon after speaking in Portland, where he announced a new Obama intiative called the Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities. Portlanders have long touted their walkable neighborhoods, speedy mass-transit trains and pedal-friendly policies without much applause from Washington, D.C.
But on Thursday, they got a nod from Shaun Donovan, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary, who chose the city as the place to announce a new Obama administration initiative: the Office of Sustainable Housing and Communities.
”We at HUD are big admirers of what you’re doing here,” Donovan said at Portland State University’s newly-anointed Urban Center, which recently won a “gold” rating from the U.S. Green Building Council.
The new office brings the community values Portlanders have long held dear to the federal level, joining similar efforts at the Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Backed by $200 million, the office plans to study smart growth and put money toward helping communities across the country develop mass transit lines near affordable housing — the type of urban planning Portland has practiced for years.
“We’ve always been at the forefront,” said Gov. Ted Kulongoski. “We want to be the model of how you imbed sustainability in …
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