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Forest Journalism for a Sustainable Future

In Springfield, mayor’s innovation, persistence leads timber town into future

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Mayor Christine Lundberg of Springfield, Ore., is leading the community’s efforts to grow demand for mass timber and get students excited about wood and advanced manufacturing. Photo courtesy of Marcus Kauffman, Oregon Dept. of Forestry.

SPRINGFIELD, Ore. – Mayor Christine Lundberg had the revolutionary idea: Take a banal urban edifice – a cement parking structure – and recast it as the catalyst that connects Springfield’s rich history with a forward-thinking future.

Her citizenry concurred, and now Springfield (population 60,000) plans to build a four-story parking structure out of cross-laminated timber (CLT). [Read more…]