An EcoDistrict is a new model of public-private partnership that emphasises innovation and deployment of district-scale best practices to create the neighbourhoods of the future - resilient, vibrant, resource efficient and just.
The EcoDistricts Framework, developed by the EcoDistricts in Portland, Oregon, aims to guide and support implementation across a diverse range of projects, from large-scale brownfield redevelopments to low-income neighborhood revitalisation.
The EcoDistricts Framework is a practical tool to guide innovative district-scale sustainable development projects from concept through implementation. It is specifically designed to help cities and urban development practitioners to be more successful, with an emphasis on process management, integrated project delivery and community collaboration.
Elected leaders and senior council staff of Future Cities Collaborative members joined leading thinker, Rob Bennett, to discuss district scale best practise to create neighbourhoods of the future.
About the workshop
This session provided city leaders and senior council staff with an understanding of the EcoDistricts Framework and its approach to building community sustainability projects.
Rob and Adam drew upon experience from Portland, Oregon's pilot Ecodistricts and illustrated through a case study provided by UrbanGrowthNSW. The technical, financial and policy implications of projects was also addressed.
Drawing from best practice case studies, attendees left the session with the basic knowledge and tools to apply components of the EcoDistricts framework toward their own programs and projects including:
- Defining the business case for EcoDistricts and why scale matters
- Identifying key opportunities in your community to develop an EcoDistrict strategy, or components of it
- Evaluating organisational models for engagement and governance for your ecodistrict
- Understanding funding mechanisms that support ecodistricts
- Identifying opportunities to craft public policy to support ecodistrict outcomes