Best Cities For Design
Posted by: kmikeym
Brian Libby of the Portland Architecture blog posted about how Portland Ranked #5 In "Best Cities For Design" List. The list was compiled by RMJM Hillier, one of the world's largest architecture firms.
The rankings were based on ten criteria: public transit systems, LEED certified or registered buildings, art and design universities, museums, sustainability rankings, architecture awards, employees in creative industries, housing and community design awards, and buildings on the National Historic Register. MJMH then commissioned a public opinion and research firm to interview over 1000 residents of those cities on architecture and design issues and incorporated those results into the research to determine the final rankings.
The days of urban sprawl are over ...
Posted by: kmikeym
Richard Florida (the man who coined the phrase "creative class") wrote a column in the Globe and Mail titled The days of urban sprawl are over ... but not for the reasons you think. The point of the article is that:
Rising energy costs may be the proverbial straw that is breaking the camel's back, but the geographic transformation we are living through is driven by something far bigger than high prices at the gas pump.
He says:
We are now passing through the early development of a wholly new geographic order - what geographers call "the spatial fix" - of which the move back toward the city is just one part.
... in today's idea-driven economy, it's time costs that really matter. ... it makes little sense to waste countless collective hours commuting. And, according to detailed research by the Nobel Prize-winning economist Daniel Kahneman, commuting is among the least enjoyable, if not the single least enjoyable, of all human activities.
Thus, urban cores are again becoming centres for technology, jobs and economic growth. Leading-edge companies are recognizing the value of an urban location.
While we are in the early development of this new economic geography, one trend is clear: The history of economic development and of capitalism revolves around the more intensive use of urban space. The coming decades will thus probably see greater concentrations of people, increasing densities, and further clustering of industry, work and innovation in a smaller number of humongous cities and mega-regions globally.
This article isn't specifically about Portland, but I wonder if Portland will be helped or hurt by this trend. Two ways is could hurt are, a) a "brain drain" where the best and brightest are lured to larger cities with more opportunities, or b) a swelling population that eventually dilutes the essence of Portland.
I don't really think we're at risk of losing our Portland-ness, and I'm pretty optimistic about the estimated influx of people that are expected to move here over the next ten years or so. More people means we'll have more opportunities and can support more ambitious projects and ideas.
Old Town Uwajimaya
Posted by: kmikeym
It's looking like Uwajimaya is going to happen, which is really exciting. Mike Thelin describes it best over at Portland Spaces:
... a 40,000-square foot store capped by 140 units of low-income housing and possibly a restaurant in what's currently a surface parking lot between Fourth and Fifth Avenues and Streets Davis and Couch. This development would give Old Town what it most needs: a reason for people to go there.
You Get What You Pay For
Posted by: kmikeym
In December of 2005 the City of Portland had a "wire cutting" ceremony which left us feeling concerned about the promise of Portland's Wi-Fi cloud. If you look at the Metro-Fi website today it sure does look like they have covered a large part of Portland:
But of course personal experience and Unwire PDX Watch have shown that the cloud they built is a myth and a recent Mercury article proclaims the project is Dead in the water. None of this comes as any real surprise. The only people who ever seemed to think anything would come of this project were MetroFi and the City, and neither have much of a successful track record when it comes to technology implementation. In the end you get what you pay for, and Portland's poor decision to try to get a free Wi-Fi cloud is the real cause of the failure.
(Whenever Wi-Fi networks fail one is obligated to bring up wonderful Hermiston.)
POPSCI: Portland #1 Green City
Posted by: kmikeym
According to Popular Science magazine's America's Greenest Cities article, Portland is ranked number #1!
"America's top green city has it all: Half its power comes from renewable sources, a quarter of the workforce commutes by bike, carpool or public transportation, and it has 35 buildings certified by the U.S. Green Building Council."
Hyperlocalizing Hydrology in the Post-Industrial Urban Landscape
Posted by: kmikeym
Pruned, a blog about landscape architecture and related fields, has a great post about a Portland stormwater runoff system in place at NE Siskiyou Green Street.
"Instead of using expensive and high maintenance system to funnel urban runoffs to distant, equally expensive and high maintenance treatment facilities and discharge points, they are instead managed on-site with simple, cost-effective, attractive and environmentally sustainable infrastructure."
There are a number of great pictures and diagrams (before and after) on the post as well.
The Friends of Ross Island
Posted by: kmikeym
The Friends of Ross Island is, as they describe themselves, a "self-appointed, ad-hoc group." The website, friendsofrossisland.org, is not yet up and running, but they have created a presentation and booklet designed to start the conversation about the conservation of Ross Island.
I didn't catch all their names, but the presentation was led by Mike Houck from the Urban Greenspaces Institute, and Bob Salinger of the Audubon Society and Travis Williams of the Willamette Riverkeepers were there as well, mostly jumping in during the Q and A period. The crowd was mostly people living in the South Waterfront district, but they've been giving the presentation to a lot of different people.
I was surprised to learn how much of Ross Island was used in the construction of Portland. Seeing the images of the shrinking island and learning that the gravel was used for the sidewalks and construction of so much of Portland, the Friends of Ross Island have a pretty compelling idea: Ross Island was used to build the City of Portland, and now it's time for the city to rebuild the island.
Currently the dirt being excavated from the Big Pipe project is being used to partially fill the lagoon. Part of the original lease of Ross Island to Ross Island Sand and Gravel stated they had to restore the island, that agreement was amended at some point to say they only needed to restore 10% of the 1979 agreement, which the Friends of Ross Island support as it allows Ross Island to be wetlands.
I liked that they include the mining activity as part of the history of the island. Rather than pushing for the processing facility to be moved, they acknowledge that it's a part of the island. While Ross Island Sand and Gravel is no longer dredging the island, they are using the facility, and there are no plans of them ever moving it. It struck me as exceptionally practical for the eco-focused Friends of Ross Island to accept a gravel processing facility on what they hope will be a nature preserve.
Even within the pretty small group they have different ideas of how Ross Island should be used, as far as how much people should be allowed to be on the island. Mike Houck mentioned he'd like to see a no-wake or no-motor zone established for the Holgate Channel, which seems like a very reasonable and good idea. Overall the Friends of Ross Island seems more about starting the discussion of as opposed to rallying people to support their vision.
Managing Ross Island will be a series of trying things out, seeing what works, and trying new things. By starting the conversation now and getting people up to speed on the issues then when the process really starts moving things will happen more smoothly and faster. I'm looking forward to learning more about Ross Island as it takes its place as a Portland icon.
Portland's 2008 Awesome
Posted by: kmikeym
Some things to look forward to in 2008! Send me more ideas (or post in the comments) and I'll add them to the list!Arts
The New American Art Union's Couture '08 program begins in January. (Oregonian)
Business
Belmont Station is excited about Deschutes Abyss Imperial Stout and Oregon Trail Bourbon Barrel Porter, both of which they expect in January.
The Nines, the hotel above the downtown Macy's, will open.
Events
May 29-June 1 - RAILSCONF 2008 is the official event for the growing Rails community.
June 22 - Sunday Parkways will offer Portlanders a chance to stroll, pedal, and play on a six-mile loop of streets that will be closed to motor vehicle traffic from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm. (video)
July 21-25 - OSCON will be the 10th year of the O'Reilly Open Source Convention.
Politics
Voter owned elections will enable more people to run for office, increasing the pool of qualified candidates and getting more people involved in local politics.
Sam Adams will become our next Mayor! (and perhaps more importantly, Tom Potter will NOT be the mayor!)
Public Transportation
ODOT will release new bicycle license plates.
Construction starts on the eastside streetcar.
Portland bike-sharing!
The WES train opens up on September 12th!
Bike funding in Portland could be tripled!
Beyond 2008
2009
Oregon is smoke free!
The renovations of the bus mall are complete!
5 cent deposit on bottles of water.
Design phase of new Sellwood Bridge
2010
Carbon Tax plan to take effect.
2011
Construction could start on new bridge.
The eastside streetcar starts running!
2015
New bridge opens.
Metro Wins National Planning Award
Posted by: kmikeym
The American Planning Association has given its 2008 National Planning Award for Best Practice to Metro's Transit-Oriented Development Program for efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
"American cities need to rethink how they plan and build or rebuild themselves," said Carol Rhea, the association's 2008 awards jury chairwoman. "Transit-oriented development represents this new thinking, and Metro is showing us how it can be done."
Greener Oregon in 2008
Posted by: kmikeym
The broadest array of new environmental laws in years sets standards for fuel, for renewable power generation and for appliance efficiency reports The Oregonian.
Oregon enters 2008 with the broadest lineup of new environmental and clean-energy laws in decades.
The bills, passed by the 2007 Legislature and vigorously endorsed by Gov. Ted Kulongoski, address everything from the blends of ethanol in a car's fuel tank to the amount of wind-powered electricity in a home to the efficiency rating of a hot tub.
More than 20 other states have similar standards, but Oregon's is among the most aggressive. Currently, renewable energy accounts for about 1 percent of the state's electric power.
