Portland, United States of America

Considered one of the greenest cities in the world, Portlanders have enjoyed clean air and water with lush vegetation in and around town for decades. Portland is prone to winter and spring floods because the city is located at the confluence of the Columbia and the Willamette Rivers and Lain on Missoula flood deposits. The city shows highly flood vulnerable areas clustered in the historically developed areas in the lowlands that often serve low-income immigrants. Portland has improved stormwater management by a combination of grey and green infrastructure. With the intentional installation of storm green infrastructure in low-income and flood-vulnerable neighborhoods as well as a pioneering program such as a willing seller land acquisition program to move residents out of floodplains, the city strives to achieve its social and environmental equity goals. However, recent climate-related water hazards and development pressures challenge flood risk management. With a unique urban growth boundary containing growth within the limit, Portland has become denser. Such dense development, which often encourages development on floodplains, leads to uncoordinated efforts between land use and water planning, hindering a futuristic climate resilience plan that includes creating a flood-resilient city.