Reflection by Madison Thibado and Macey Schondel
Despite spending the past three years at the University of Portland we had never once heard of the Jade District. The Jade District is an area in Southeast Portland that boasts one of the most diverse communities. Meeting with the Asian Pacific American Network of Oregon (APANO) completely opened our eyes to a new part of Portland and a new approach to environmental justice. The APANO office was located on SE 82nd and Division St intersection. We were given the opportunity to tour the neighborhood and observe the many projects APANO has initiated around their community. While on this walk, we noticed a lack of consistent sidewalks, safe bike lanes, and robust public transportation access. APANO had noticed this too, which was one thing that fueled their desire to create a safe, beautiful place for their community to feel proud to be a part of. One of the most interesting strategies of this type of community development and advocacy we learned was that of creative place making. Creative place making describes organizing things like local art, community spaces, and gardens in a neighborhood in a way that sponsors a stronger identity of the community and build connections with the environment around them. One way APANO has worked to create their place in the Jade District is through painting of the public trashcans. The paintings resembled places and people in the area to portray the unique story of the Jade District. These beautiful, locally-sponsored pieces of art have created new connections and value to the Jade District residents. These trashcans felt like a hidden gem of the neighborhood that we are thankful to have learned the story behind them. These seemingly small acts have led to large improvements in the strength of identity that the diverse Jade District residents hold. Working towards the future, APANO is now planning their work with the Portland Clean Energy Fund (PCEF), a new form of support for climate justice movements. It was incredibly inspiring to meet with a group of people so passionate about climate and social justice.
We were also lucky enough to hear from two other change-making organizations, Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility and Verde. Both of these organizations helped us to look deeper into the Portland Clean Energy Fund and how it will hopefully benefit other underrepresented communities along with APANO. The Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility highlighted the importance of building healthy communities as being a key factor in climate resilience. Under PCEF they would be able to gain support in making underserved parts of Portland a stronger community as well as helping to move towards clean energy. Verde similarly hopes to build stronger communities using PCEF money. Getting to meet with groups who would directly benefit from the fund helped to provide some perspective into the potential for change in Portland in the future. It was interesting to learn the importance of strengthening communities as a way to combat climate change injustices in Portland. While this huge issue of climate change seems daunting, being able to see firsthand how so many different groups are working to fight it was incredibly inspiring. We are so grateful to have been able to connect with people fighting for justice in our community.
Going forward, we hope to take this new community-based perspective into consideration as we continue to push for climate justice in our own lives and communities.
In solidarity,
Madison and Macey