Land Use | Portland State University

Land Use & Management Practices

What PSU Is Doing

Bee Campus USA

PSU is a certified Bee Campus USA. We are committed to creating a campus that fosters habitats for pollinators. Our landscaping team focuses on increasing native plants, nesting sites, and reducing the use of pesticides.

Tree Campus USA

Recognized as an official Tree Campus USA for the last five years. View the Tree Care Plan for campus, adopted in 2014.

Salmon Safe Certified

We are a certified Salmon Safe Campus. Properly managing stormwater runoff, reducing use of chemicals, conserving the urban tree canopy, and utilizing diverse, and more can help provide benefits to our watershed.

IPM

Our Integrated pest management (IPM) plan was completed in 2012, which guides sustainable landscape maintenance. On campus, there was a 98% decrease in pesticide use between 2007 and 2010.

Storm Water

Storm water management techniques such as bioswales, pervious planters, eco-roofs, and storm water planters located throughout campus.

Clean Air Corridor

Clean Air Corridor along the park blocks prohibits smoking and the creation of air pollutants such as exhaust from idling vehicles and leaf blowers.

Planting On Campus

Native and drought tolerant plant species prioritized in landscaping.

PSU South Park Blocks

The 12 "Park Blocks" that bisect our campus are Portland’s oldest park and provide greenspace and tree canopy.

Campus Orchard

Campus orchard at 12th & Montgomery houses fruit trees and the campus apiary.

Green Roofs

Green roofs on several buildings provide additional greenspace and pervious surface.

Open Space On Campus

PSU seeks to maintain a vibrant urban campus landscape that provides an attractive and functional linkage to the built environment and natural areas surrounding the campus. With the expansion of campus over time, creating an open space plan provides guidance for the University to ensure that PSU will continue to value and create multifunctional landscapes across campus.

Through community outreach and in partnership with the Campus Planning Office and support from the Student Sustainability Center, the Campus Sustainability Office has conducted focus group interviews, an informal student survey and invited students, faculty, staff and community members to participate in hands-on visioning workshops to identify the principles that should guide the open space plan. A draft of the plan is expected to be completed by fall 2018.

Guiding Principles

Reflecting PSU’s commitment to sustainable practices, the goal of the open space plan is to create a strong sense of place, promote student success, support academics, research and outreach, as well as strengthen access and connectivity. Through outreach, the following principles have been created to help develop the open space plan and concepts.

Open Space Plan

What benefits do Portland State’s gardens, parks, plazas and eco roofs offer to the campus community? How can we ensure these space best serve campus needs? These are just some of the questions that are addressed in PSU’s Open Space Plan.

View Open Space Plan

PSU is a SITES community partner. Land is a crucial component of the built environment and can be planned, designed, developed and maintained to protect and enhance the benefits we derive from healthy functioning landscapes. SITES helps create ecologically resilient communities.

Learn More

Proposed Designs

Oak Savanna

Located at SW 10th and Montgomery, the Oak Savanna is a critical open space that sees heavy use by the campus community serving many roles: outdoor classroom, recreation field, meditation space. In February 2017, PSU began working with landscape architecture firm 2.ink Studios to develop a design concept. View the proposed plan for the Oak Savanna & share your thoughts.

SW 11th Avenue

Located on the west side of campus, SW 11th Ave is a primary location for an enhanced northern gateway to campus. The gateway can incorporate new buildings and open spaces to create a sense of entry into the PSU campus and activate 11th Ave as a high quality, pedestrian-friendly campus street. Partnering again with landscape architecture firm 2.ink Studios, a design concept has been developed for this key gateway street.

Feedback for Oak Savanna Plan

Feedback for SW 11th Ave Plan

Do you have feedback on PSU sustainability programs or this website? Are you interested in connecting with the Campus Sustainability team to discuss ideas you have about sustainability work at PSU? Did you find what you were looking for on this website? What ideas do you have about how we can improve the information presented here? We value your ideas, questions, and feedback.

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