Industrial Lands

Another important way land use planning can reduce greenhouse gas emissions is to strategically locate land for industrial uses. Companies located on industrial lands rely on many forms of transportation for their business to work: receiving raw materials, shipping finished products, access for their workers, etc. They use roads, ports and rail lines.

Locating industrial areas near population centers and critical roads means companies’ vehicles make shorter trips and use less fuel. Changes to layout and design of the facilities themselves can make a difference, too; an efficient loading/unloading process can reduce truck idling time. Both factors net a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Industrial lands can also be designed for easy employee access by non-driving means, like public transit, biking, walking or rolling.

E-commerce also plays a role in industrial lands. E-commerce relies on “last-mile delivery” or the final trip for a package from a local distribution center to a home or business. If urban distribution centers are designed to be friendly to low-emission delivery vehicles like bicycles or electric vans, then that means fewer emissions from last-mile deliveries.

Efficient industrial lands: emissions reduction vision

 

  • By 2050, the majority of new industrial development will occur near major shipping routes, rail lines and ports.

How Oregon is doing

 
 

Many existing industrial lands have been in place for decades, but their needs are evolving. The Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development provides technical assistance and grant funding to local governments to plan for a 20-year supply of industrial lands.

How Oregon can improve

 

The state can support local agencies to remove barriers to enable location-efficient industrial lands. This includes industrial transportation hubs and consolidation centers in urban areas.

The Department of Land Conservation and Development is seeking ways to support business and communities with funding and technical assistance on best practices for industrial land use. The additional funding would bolster DLCD’s ability to help local governments update long-term land development strategies, inventory their existing industrial lands and research new ones, and plan for future infrastructure.

Developing metrics would help measure and track progress in this area.