Portland State University
PAE-19: Community Sustainability Partnerships

Portland State University engages with more than 1,000 community partners annually. These partnerships range from very formal and institutional in focus with the local transit agency to very small scale partnership between individual faculty and community partners that engage students in a local stream restoration project. It would be impossible to list the range and scope of all of these partnerships. These partnerships all touch on the various dimensions of sustainability. Organizations across campus supply opportunities for businesses and organizations to get involved with PSU, often furthering their own sustainability goals while providing valuable research opportunties for students and faculty. Here is a sampling of partnership opportunities: 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 effient recycling, waste reduction and resource sustainability programs. CES has worked with the Port of Portland, New Seasons Market, the City of Portland, 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. Urban Sustainability Accelerator This program, housed at the Nohad A. Toulon School of Urban Studies & Planning, pairs experts in Portland—both on- and off-campus—with city leaders and developers from mid-sized cities around the country who are wrestling with their own sustainable development projects. Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium The federally funded Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium (OTREC) is based at PSU and home to researchers studying multiple aspectss of transportation inlcuding electric vehicles, bike, pedestrian and transit infrastructure and technology-assisted transportation systems. Cascadia Ecosystem Services Partnership Cascadia Ecosystem Services Partnership (CaESP) provides a hub of strategic assistance, communication, and support to promote a shared direction for ecosystem services work in the Cascadia region, especially Oregon and Washington. Sustainable Neighborhoods Initiative Linking the university and the community through place-based curriculum, the Sustainable Neighborhoods Initiative harnesses the passion of students and the expertise of faculty to help neighborhoods tackle district-scale sustainability initiatives. Classes have taken on a range of projects such as conducting transportation surveys with neighbors or developing energy efficiency campaigns. Community Watershed Stewardship Program This partnership between PSU and the City of Portland's Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) was developed in response to a pressing community need: As the Portland metro region urbanized, its streams, rivers, and lakes have become increasingly polluted, and stormwater runoff has overloaded the city's drainage infrastructure. The CWSP engages and supports the neighborhood residents in watershed improvement projects through campus-community partnerships. See also: http://www.pdx.edu/research/strategic-partnerships