Cascadia Scorecard News
December 2004

Ah, Cascadia. Our region boasts salmon and rivers; snowcapped mountains and towering forests; and cities that regularly top "most livable" lists. But we have problems as well as abundance: half a million children in poverty; cities in which residents are dependent on cars; and growing threats to the creatures and ecosystems that give spirit to our place.

So we posed this question: If we could give Cascadia a few items that would make a big difference to its future, what would they be? Here's our holiday wish list for Cascadia; with support from northwesterners, some of these might be realized in 2005.

1. Cities a child could love.
Kid-friendly cities are walkable, vibrant, and-above all-compact, with key destinations easily accessible by foot or transit. The library is a five-minute walk, school is a bike ride away, and the corner store is, well, around the corner. Even those who can drive-adults-can leave the car at home because there is enough density to support a flourishing public transportation system. And health benefits start to add up. On average, Americans put on a pound or two each year, the equivalent of 50 to 100 extra calories per day. One 15-minute walk a day would burn that off.

Vancouver, BC, wins the regional prize for kid-friendly design, with more than half its residents in compact communities. The city's thriving neighborhoods have not only helped transit flourish but have had a surprising effect on traffic: On Vancouver's downtown peninsula, where densities are highest, vehicle traffic has declined in recent years while walking has increased. This fall, Vancouver opened its first downtown elementary school in half a century, Elsie Roy Elementary, making downtown truly a place where kids can walk-or roller-blade-to school. Read more about Elsie Roy in Price Tags, a pdf newsletter about urban design.

2. The lifespan of a British Columbian.
Is the key to a long life a move to British Columbia? Amazingly, residents of BC can expect, on average, to live about two years longer than folks in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho (about 80.5 years in BC, versus about 78.4 in the Northwest states). In fact, the province's life expectancy tops that of all American states except Hawaii, and of all countries except Japan. (We'll give our BC readers a Japanese-style lifespan.)

Why? One factor might be British Columbia's more pedestrian-oriented cities (see above), which probably contribute to lower rates of obesity and obesity-related diseases. Social connectedness-the number and strength of a person's ties with family, friends, and community-is also a good predictor of health, and may be strengthened by compact communities.

3. California-style emissions standards.
In 2004, California-which has special rights under the Clean Air Act to create its own air pollution standards--adopted ambitious vehicle emission standards for carbon dioxide. The good news is that other states, including those in the Northwest, can also opt in to California's plan. By doing so, we'll reduce our region's contribution to climate change, save money and fuel, and invigorate our economy by reducing gasoline imports. Just as important, we'll help build a powerful West Coast market for energy-efficient vehicles that will help drive change in the auto industry.

This might be the year: Washington and Oregon leaders have announced their intent to join California on a variety of greenhouse-gas-reducing initiatives; and clean-car legislation will be introduced in Washington in the coming months. British Columbia, meanwhile is on its way by virtue of Canada's commitment to a 25 percent drop in emissions per mile by 2010. (For email updates on Washington's clean-car initiative email Joelle at Climate Solutions, joelle@climatesolutions.org, with "clean car" in the subject line and your name and address.)

4. Every child born wanted.
Some 39 percent of births in the Northwest states result from unwanted or unplanned pregnancies. Ensuring that most or all Cascadian babies are born wanted would ease a variety of social problems: Children who are born wanted receive better prenatal care, and have lower infant mortality rates and lower rates of abuse and neglect. Reaching this goal would also put the region on a more sustainable population trajectory. Increasing access to emergency contraception is one key to reducing the Northwest's unplanned births. And 2005 might prove a critical year, with an upcoming US ruling on emergency contraceptive Plan B.

And a few stocking stuffers

• Fewer parking lots and more parks: Read about the costs of free parking.
  
• Rewards for driving less: Drive less and pay less with pay-as-you-drive insurance.
  
• A prove-safety-first policy with toxics: Why we need to test new toxics as carefully as we test new drugs.
  

Getting what we want for the holidays

Strategies for kid-friendlier cities

Blog column on kid-friendly downtowns

Closing the longevity gap

Sightline's energy research

The importance of Plan B, blog column

Sightline's population research