Item A: Climate & Energy Action Plan Update

Home Browse Search

Introduction 20-minute neighborhoods are places where residents have easy, convenient access to many of places and services they use daily including grocery stores, restaurants, schools, and parks – all without relying heavily on a car. They are characterized by a vibrant mix of commercial and residential uses all within an easy walk. They have higher concentrations of people and are complete with the sidewalks, bike lanes, and bus routes that support a variety of transportation options. The Community Climate and Energy Plan set a goal to achieve 90% of Eugene residents living in 20- minute Neighborhoods by 2030. Likewise, the Envision Eugene draft proposal includes 20-minute Neighborhoods as a central concept vital to our community’s growth strategy with the added benefit of improving livability and reducing our need for urban expansion. The assessment below is an important first step to providing more residents the convenience and access of a 20-minute neighborhood. This report begins with an overview of the 20-minute neighborhoods concept and why this type of development is important. This is followed by a description of the assessment and findings. Appendix 1 contains a toolkit that explains many of the policy and financial tools that are available to policy makers. Appendix 2 contains the complete set of maps that were used for this assessment. Background How are 20-minute neighborhoods different from other planning efforts? How are 20-minute neighborhoods different from “mixed-use” or “nodal development”? The idea behind this 20-minute neighborhood effort is to make a majority of our town mixed- use (containing both residential and commercial development) and pedestrian-oriented (including sidewalks, short distances, and well-connected streets). Instead of identifying a small number of “nodes” that will have mixed use, denser housing, and pedestrian activity, this analysis starts by assessing where those conditions already occur in Eugene, and then identifies the next steps to make significantly more areas of town contain those same pedestrian friendly, mixed-use characteristics. What are the benefits of 20-minute neighborhoods? Health:  The average resident of a walkable neighborhood has a healthier body weight than someone who lives in a less walkable neighborhood.  Our local air quality can be improved by reducing reliance on automobiles, a primary source of air pollutants in Lane County. Finances:  Homes and businesses located in walkable neighborhoods tend to retain higher property values than those that aren’t.  The average direct price of maintaining and operating a car in the US is $8,487 each year and costs are even higher for vans and trucks. Owning and operating an average bicycle Page | 2