Portland A Sense of Place
Summary
TLDRThe script explores Portland, Oregon's transformation into a model of sustainable urban living. It discusses the city's shift from suburban sprawl to a focus on public transit, walkability, and environmental consciousness. Key initiatives include the establishment of urban growth boundaries, investment in light rail, and the development of transit-oriented neighborhoods like the Pearl District. The result is a city that has reduced vehicle miles traveled, increased transit ridership, and attracted 'lifestyle migrants' seeking a sustainable urban lifestyle, all while grappling with challenges of affordability and preserving community character.
Takeaways
- 🌏 The script discusses the global impact of human actions, emphasizing how local activities, such as those in Los Angeles, can affect distant environments like Antarctica.
- 🚗 It critiques the modern lifestyle's emphasis on progress and technology, which has led to environmental degradation and a disconnect from the natural world.
- 🏙️ Portland, Oregon is highlighted as a model city that has successfully combated urban sprawl and prioritized environmental consciousness through land-use planning and public transit development.
- 🛣️ The city's history of urban decay in the 50s and 60s is contrasted with its current status as a leader in sustainable urban living, showing a clear transformation over time.
- 🏡 The script touches on the suburban sprawl and car-centric culture that characterized post-WWII America, which led to isolation, specialization, and environmental harm.
- 🛤️ Oregon's land-use planning law, initiated in 1973, is credited with curbing urban sprawl and promoting compact, well-organized cities that coexist with rural landscapes.
- 🚌 Portland's commitment to public transit is showcased, with the development of light rail and streetcar systems that have reduced car dependency and increased accessibility.
- 🌿 The Pearl District's revitalization is presented as an example of transit-oriented development, where living spaces, businesses, and public transit are integrated to promote a sustainable lifestyle.
- 🏢 The script mentions the challenges of balancing growth with affordability, as the influx of 'lifestyle migrants' to Portland has increased housing prices and raised concerns about gentrification.
- 🌱 Despite the progress, the script calls for continued efforts to ensure that the benefits of sustainable urban development are accessible to all residents, including affordable housing options.
- 🌐 The script concludes by advocating for a reevaluation of the American Dream, suggesting that it should be about providing choices for a sustainable and fulfilling lifestyle rather than material acquisition.
Q & A
What was the state of Portland in the 1950s and 1960s?
-In the 1950s and 1960s, Portland was experiencing a post-war boom that led to environmental degradation, economic decay, and a hollowing out of the downtown area as economic activity and the middle class moved to the suburbs.
How did Portland's urban development philosophy change after World War II?
-After World War II, Portland, like many other American cities, embraced a philosophy that praised technology, industrialization, and the automobile, leading to suburban sprawl and isolation.
What was the significance of the statewide decision in Oregon in 1973?
-In 1973, Oregon made a significant decision to curb urban sprawl and protect its natural landscape by implementing a comprehensive statewide land-use planning process, which included the establishment of urban growth boundaries.
What is an urban growth boundary and how does it function?
-An urban growth boundary is a designated line on the land that delineates areas where urbanization is permitted by right within the boundary and preserved for farm and forest uses outside of it.
Why did Portland halt a freeway expansion project in the 1970s?
-Portland halted a freeway expansion project to divert federal highway funds towards developing a regional light rail line, emphasizing accessibility over mobility and reducing reliance on cars.
How has Portland's commitment to land preservation and transit-oriented development affected its residents?
-Portland's commitment has resulted in shorter trips, stable or declining vehicle miles driven per person, and a higher quality of life, making it easier for residents to access jobs, markets, and entertainment without a car.
What role did the Pearl District play in Portland's urban revitalization?
-The Pearl District was transformed from an abandoned rail yard into a transit-oriented, mixed-use neighborhood, demonstrating a sustainable urban lifestyle and sparking significant development along the streetcar line.
How did the development of the South Waterfront in Portland address the challenge of connecting it with the city's largest employer?
-The South Waterfront was connected to Oregon Health Sciences University, the city's largest employer, by constructing an aerial tram, providing a quick and environmentally friendly link across the freeway divide.
What has been the impact of Portland's transit and land-use policies on its population growth and housing affordability?
-Portland's policies have led to significant population growth and increased housing prices, raising concerns about affordability and the need for more commitment to creating affordable housing.
How has Portland managed to reduce emissions related to transportation?
-Through investments in public transportation and land-use decisions, Portland has reduced emissions by 14% since 1990 and decreased per capita vehicle miles traveled by 17%, demonstrating the effectiveness of its sustainable urban planning.
What is the message from Portland regarding sustainable urban development?
-The message from Portland is that by starting early with sustainable urban development, including transit and walkability, cities can achieve environmental, economic, and quality of life benefits, and that these choices resonate with many Americans.
Outlines
🌿 Environmental Consciousness and Urban Development in Portland
This paragraph discusses the environmental impact of human progress and how Portland, Oregon, has taken a leading role in creating a sustainable urban environment. It highlights the historical shift from a car-centric city in the 1950s and 1960s to a modern, environmentally conscious city with a vast public transit system. The transformation began with a statewide decision in 1973 to curb urban sprawl and protect natural landscapes, leading to the implementation of land-use planning laws. The city's focus on accessibility over mobility and the development of public transit has resulted in shorter trips and stable or declining vehicle miles driven per person, contrasting with the increasing trend in other metropolitan areas.
🚏 The Evolution of Portland's Urban Growth and Transportation
The paragraph details the strategic planning behind Portland's urban growth and transportation system. It emphasizes the creation of an urban growth boundary to control urbanization and preserve farm and forest land. The city's commitment to land preservation is underscored by its decision to halt freeway expansion and invest in regional light rail, promoting a future based on accessibility. The paragraph also discusses the pedestrian-friendly design of the city, prioritizing walkability and public transit-oriented development. The Pearl District is highlighted as a successful example of this approach, with a focus on sustainable urban living and reduced dependence on cars.
🚋 The Impact of the Streetcar System on Portland's Development
This paragraph focuses on the introduction and impact of Portland's modern streetcar system. It discusses how the streetcar was envisioned as a connector to foster development and reduce car usage, aiming to create a lively urban landscape while minimizing the carbon footprint. The streetcar's success in promoting development and increasing property values is highlighted, along with the private sector's significant role in the city's transportation systems. The paragraph also touches on the challenges of managing growth and ensuring affordability in the face of increasing popularity and gentrification.
🏥 Linking Transportation with Economic Growth: The Aerial Tram and South Waterfront
The paragraph describes the innovative approach to linking economic growth with sustainable transportation in Portland. It details the decision by Oregon Health Sciences University to expand within the city rather than moving to a suburban location, and the subsequent development of the South Waterfront. The construction of the aerial tram to connect the university with the waterfront is highlighted as a key element in this strategy, promoting transit-oriented development and fostering a dense, lively, and affordable neighborhood. The paragraph also discusses the human aspect of these developments, emphasizing the importance of providing choices for residents to live a sustainable urban lifestyle.
🌟 Portland's Sustainable Future and the American Dream Redefined
In this final paragraph, the focus is on Portland's achievements in sustainability and the potential for other cities to follow suit. It discusses the city's success in reducing emissions and vehicle miles traveled, and the increase in transit ridership and bicycling. The paragraph challenges the notion that sustainability equates to deprivation, arguing that it can enhance the American dream by providing choices for a better quality of life. It emphasizes the importance of public transportation investments and land-use decisions in achieving environmental and economic benefits, and suggests that the American dream should be redefined to prioritize aspirations and effective action over material acquisition.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Urban Sprawl
💡Environmental Consciousness
💡Public Transit
💡Land-use Planning
💡Sustainable Urban Lifestyle
💡Transit-oriented Development
💡Pedestrian-Friendly
💡Affordable Housing
💡Emissions Reduction
💡American Dream
Highlights
The desire for a modern way of life that threatens our future is questioned.
The interconnectedness of global environmental issues is emphasized.
Portland, Oregon is presented as a city that has made significant strides in environmental consciousness and urban planning.
In the 50s and 60s, Portland faced similar urban decay as other U.S. cities, with a shift to suburban living.
The 1973 statewide decision in Oregon to curb urban sprawl was a pivotal moment for the state's development strategy.
The establishment of urban growth boundaries in Oregon was a key planning tool to control sprawl and preserve land.
Portland's commitment to land preservation and public transit development is highlighted.
The Pearl District's transformation from abandoned rail yards to a sustainable urban neighborhood is discussed.
The introduction of the modern streetcar in Portland and its impact on development and reducing car usage.
The role of private sector involvement in the success of Portland's transportation systems.
The challenge of balancing development with affordability and the commitment to affordable housing.
The South Waterfront revitalization project and the innovative use of an aerial tram to connect it with the city's largest employer.
The importance of providing choices for residents to live a sustainable urban lifestyle.
Portland's success in reducing emissions related to transportation and increasing transit ridership.
The message from Portland encouraging other cities to adopt similar sustainable practices.
The concept of the American Dream redefined in terms of sustainable living and accessible choices.
Transcripts
was it a conscious decision or a
momentary lapse of reason
how did progress take priority over
humankind how could the desire for a
modern way of life that threatens our
future be considered a way of life could
it be we are connected to all things in
the universe not the center of it
that suburbs in Los Angeles effect the
melting IceCaps of Antarctica
deforestation in the Congo affects the
Typhoon's of Japan
now we must face the insurmountable
challenges for what they really are
opportunities to reinvent and redesign
he squared the economies of being
environmentally conscious
Portland Oregon is a city ahead of its
time community minded and
environmentally progressive its half
million residents are connected by a
vast public transit system traversing
575 square miles across Portland's metro
area but there was a time not so long
ago when that wasn't the case
life here in Portland in the 50s and 60s
was pretty much like life in most of the
United States
you know the post-war boom had hit the
environmental quality here was was
horrible downtown was turning into
parking lots and empty streets I visited
Portland in the 60s and it was a dreary
dump to be straightforward about it you
know it was down and out economically it
was decaying it was you know all the
economic activity had moved to the
suburbs the middle class had moved to
the suburbs Portland was following the
path of most other mature cities we were
hollowing out the downtown we were
trying to compete with suburban shopping
malls by building more high-rise parking
structures more surface parking lots and
the idea was to sacrifice the inner city
so that people could get out of it and
into it more rapidly more than a million
persons each year have pulled up stakes
in the cities and turn commuters
traveling 20 30 40 or more miles each
day factory or business and back again
we went wrong in America in the way our
cities developed after World War two
there was this dominant philosophy of
that kind of was in praise of technology
and praise of industrialization and
praise of the automobile effectively
what happened in United States was the
mass production and the specialization
played itself out in a different form
she'd played itself out as suburban
sprawl when you look into suburban
landscape in America and what would with
our cities you see a landscape of
isolation and specialization
and so that fragmentation of the city
and that isolation of uses and of people
had huge consequences huge negative
consequences so you get a little home in
the suburbs the big dream coming to but
it backfires into a pipe dream exhaust
pipe dream
I mean it's safe to say what was
happening across the landscape in the
United States in the 60s and early 70s
with sprawl congestion sort of
surrendering communities to the
automobile was a wake-up call to us in
Oregon so bringing back the city center
reinventing it and making it work again
for a pretty broad range of people
became something that that a lot of
people thought about Portland I think
did it
better than most
this reinvention began with a rare
statewide decision in 1973 to curb the
urban sprawl encroaching on Oregon's
natural landscape the bipartisan effort
spurred cities like Portland to
reconsider its development strategy the
land-use planning law in Oregon was the
product of a visionary Governor Tom
McCall and a advocacy group 1,000
friends of Oregon that collected
activists and and civic minded people
and put them to this cause of defending
the rural landscape and almost as an
afterthought ensuring livable cities
that afterthought became more clear over
time and that those two really worked
together that good landscapes with with
real farming in them are well served by
good compact well-organized cities but
the original impetus was really
preserving farmland Oregon was the first
state to implement a comprehensive
statewide land-use planning process that
mandated that each and every one of our
cities identify an urban growth boundary
an urban growth boundary is a line on
the land that says inside this line we
will allow urbanization and in fact
urbanization is permitted by right you
don't have to fight about it outside of
that line it's preserved for farm and
forest uses
throughout the 70s other decisions
underscored Portland's commitment to
land preservation the city halted a
freeway expansion project diverting
federal highway funds to develop a
regional light rail line allowing
commuters to leave their cars at home
Portland chose a future based on
accessibility rather than mobility and
we're seeing the results of that today
Portland trips are shorter than most
other places in the United States the
growth of the vehicle miles driven per
person here is stable or declining as
opposed to increasing in most of the
other metropolitan areas of similar
sizes and so 2530 years later now we're
seeing the benefits of having made that
choice it benefits my life so much to be
able to go anywhere I want to in the
city without having the drive without
having to find parking without having
the taper gas if I couldn't take public
transportation to a job and I had to
drive it's not worth it to me it's not
worth the aggravation I lose time out of
my day time that I can spend on myself
for me to get to work I usually walk
because it's close enough and I enjoy
the walk but I also take the bus you
know a couple times a week in bad
weather and you know for us there's a
bus stop a block away from our house
good morning
Louisville City for me means a place
where you can buy locally grown
ingredients you can get to your job you
can get to the market you can get to art
or entertainment and you can do that
without having to traipse a half hour
forty-five minutes out of your way in
traffic to do something simple in
downtown fort won and in fact in
Portland neighborhoods the pedestrian is
the first-class passenger that's the
rule you don't have to push a button to
cross an intersection they're wide
sidewalks the intersection timing is
such that there's enough time to get
across the street
we don't build huge wide streets that
are hostile to cross it's a hundred
little things that implement that
common-sense policy that in a city the
pedestrian comes first and everything is
organized around that
transit-oriented development planning
businesses in housing with public
transit in mind was the objective
when Portland planners decided to revive
the city's abandoned rail yards this is
the heart of the Pearl District the what
you see behind me here was an empty
brownfield dead rail yard
ten years ago nothing that you can see
was here ten years ago a whole new
neighborhood where there was essentially
a blank slate but it's not just a whole
new neighborhood it's a whole new
neighborhood where people live a much
more sustainable urban lifestyle than is
typical in the United States of America
most of the buildings around us have
less than one parking space per
residential unit they have no dedicated
parking for the retail stores in the bit
in the ground floors of the buildings
the trip behavior what transportation
planners call trip behavior of the
people that live in this neighborhood is
fundamentally different to people in the
suburbs so there are literally millions
of miles of avoided automobile use
because people live here and live this
way the Pearl district it was much of
its transformation to the modern
streetcar line that began gliding
through it in 2001 unlike the bumpy
clinging trolleys favored by tourists
visiting San Francisco Portland's modern
streetcar carries 10,000 riders a day
7,000 more than planners estimated
Charlie Hales wonder for the city
commissioners many people credit charlie
with being the one who really saw the
potential for the streetcar and was able
to make the streetcar happen
well the streetcar was envisioned as a
connector we need a way to circulate
around in the downtown for distances
that are just a little too far to walk
but it was also hoped that the certainty
of the investment that if you could see
rails in the street that people would
build and customers would buy housing
and other development projects there
that might be different than if they
were just served by cars and buses we
hope that that was the case what we were
searching for and we talked about the
streetcar war two things one was to
foster development and developers like
streetcars because they like permanent
track transportation as tired
transportation buses can be moved from
one route to another and suddenly you
can be with or without service the track
is a kind of statement of commitment its
secondary goal is to move people out of
cars because every city faces both the
traffic congestion problem a parking
problem we also came to realize that men
environmental goals and so it became a
kind of virtuous tool for the city to
both develop move people create a lively
urban landscape and avoid the carbon
footprint of the car
one of the most effective tools in
Portland has been the energy from the
private sector
all of our transportation systems have
had significant participation from
private sector leaders that makes him
successful there was some resistance in
the sense that people were skeptical
what would it was why would you want to
do this are you going to destroy the
parking or even destroying my business
in the construction phase to the
property owners I just went to them and
said our engineers are promising on so
block a week so you can go to the beach
for a week and when you come back there
will be a streetcar line in front of
your building and your property will be
worth twice what it was when you left to
go to the beach and I'll tell you that
quiet a lot of concerns but it turned
out I was white why did the Marke
property values probably went up four
times and but that wasn't just a
streetcar it's what happens that the
streetcars apart
well I picked this location for the
store in part because there's a bus out
front
there's the trolley stops out front and
Light Rail is two blocks away so I'm
attracting people who use public
transportation we'll see many times
people will be taking the trolley and
they'll get off at this stuff because
they see my store it's tremendous for
our business
it is about vitality as a neighborhood
and that I think is the great success
story in Portland we've had three
billion dollars worth of development
along the streetcar line had twice the
density levels of the rest of the city
so ten years ago there was one business
in the Pearl District
Michael Powell's Powell's Books most
people have heard of this big bookstore
now there are 250 businesses in the
Pearl District everything under the Sun
and that happened both because of policy
the city required that new buildings
have ground-floor retail space and
didn't require that they have parking
important and then the population growth
downtown supports all these new
businesses
two strips
you moved here because of the streetcar
yeah yeah
yeah yeah yeah I've heard a lot of folks
that made the decision to live along the
line because it works strollers bikes
and people in China with five folks and
chairs we only have one door to get on
it off yeah yeah almost almost becoming
a victim of our own success the Pearl
District success led planners to
revitalize the brownfields along
Portland South Waterfront by linking it
to the city's largest employer two and a
half miles away a mattad the two were
separated by the i-5 Junction passengers
on the aerial tram are 500 feet above
rush-hour traffic
Oregon Health Sciences University had
the choice of expanding in a suburban
location or finding room somewhere here
in their Central City campus for
expansion the problem is at the top of
the hill
meanwhile the brownfield site the you
know that we're sitting in right now we
were looking to redevelop and it just
became sort of a natural fit the South
Waterfront is really an extension of the
idea we tried out in the Pearl district
we had a similar industrial area
sprawled out along the river but also
walled off from good access by the
presence of an interstate highway so
here's this isolated piece of land yet
on a waterfront and as it turned out
proximate to the biggest employer in the
city 3,000 feet away
uphill across that freeway the big
challenge was finding something that
would link the two campuses and that's
where the idea of the aerial tram came
to being something that could get people
to and from the hill in a matter of
minutes it's clean easy
that wouldn't inflame the neighborhood
in terms of with noise or emissions
in terms of the trimmer ahead of all the
financial projections that we laid out
in terms of operations and ridership and
the development that we were hoping to
incent down on South Waterfront this
building here and the residential
buildings off to our right you know are
prime examples of development oriented
transit where you know this development
wouldn't be here without the streetcar
or without this aerial trim this is you
know one of the premier sort of models
for all the work all the experimenting
that we've done over the past couple of
decades to bring land-use planning
transit transportation planning along
with mixed-use development
public/private partnerships to create
what is going to be one of the most
dense and at the same time lively and
affordable neighborhoods in the city of
Portland
so what's this like at the human level
yeah we see this transit system it works
great there are all these statistics
that show that Portland uses less energy
and burns less gasoline than other
places but do people love it here well
as it turns out they do and of course
the ultimate compliment is that people
keep moving here
we had about 4% population growth last
year and we seem to have built a better
mousetrap and the world is beating a
path to our door we moved from
Minneapolis about eight years ago and we
both have some urban planning background
in our education and Portland's probably
knocked out for that people ought to say
well did you move for work and you know
we moved for life that's what I would
say it's really a place where we can
live our values easily and we're one car
family and we can do it with kids in
Portland in a lot of other urban areas
it's just too difficult to do that
we've always pictured that we would live
in the city we've never even considered
living in the suburbs and I think it
comes down to we don't want to spend
that time in the car
lifestyle migrants people that can live
any number of places choose to come here
because we've designed the city for that
sustainable urban lifestyle it is this
great place to live in all of a sudden
people are aware of it and you know we
moved here from someplace else and your
people are moving in like crazy and so
the price of housing is going up and
there's some real issues about
affordability and what the city's gonna
look like in a couple more decades you
know my wife says I don't recognize the
city anymore you know it's it's just
changed that much well she loves the
restaurants and the cultural aspects of
what that means but she regrets the
character that was there that's out
there anywhere but that's I don't that's
progress it's change many people have
raised this concern about gentrification
if we're getting all this new investment
what do we do to make sure that the
least of us basically can benefit from
the vitality coming to these
neighborhoods we have over 3,000 units
of affordable housing permanently
affordable housing in the pearl and
river districts and we have a commitment
now through the Portland Development
Commission that 30% of the funds spent
in urban renewal areas will be committed
to affordable housing we're late to this
frankly it's a lot more difficult to do
affordable housing when you are a
destination of choice than basically
when you have a lot of cheap real estate
around but the city's made a commitment
the communities have made a commitment
and you know I think we're doing almost
as much as we could we can do more I
want the three hundred thousand people
in a couple of decades that are you know
forecasted to be born and move here to
live within a quarter-mile of transit
and if we can do that between the trips
not taken and the trips that will be
taken on transit we're going to be
fulfilling you know my hope and my
vision that we provide every Portland or
a cheap transit option for every trip
where cars are really used on an
infrequent basis not because of any sort
of political correctness or browbeating
but because people choose to take
transit or choose to walk or bike
because for them that is the best mode
Portland is one of the few cities in the
world that has actually reduced
emissions related to transportation
since 1990 you know down about 14% one
of the few cities in the world that has
actually seen a per capita vehicle miles
traveled reduced since 1990 about 17%
transit ridership since 1990 in the city
of Portland is a 90 percent bicycling is
up 257 percent and so you know early on
a lot of chances were taken that you
make these kind of investments and these
have been serious amounts of money
invested in transit you know would or
would we not see the kind of benefits
and I think Portland is proof you know
that you make the right kinds of public
transportation investments and combine
those with good land-use decisions and
you're going to see you know
environmental and quality of life and
economic development benefits we have to
get used to a couple of things as
Americans and one is that the fuel that
has run our transportation system and
much of our economy is going to run out
that's why they call it fossil fuel
that's a concept that's very
uncomfortable and obvious once you think
about it and now we're starting to think
about it
Portland started thinking about it a
little earlier than other cities but
again the message from Portland is we
just started this a little earlier it
seems to be working why don't you try it
- like transit and walkability and good
design you know a lot of people speak
about sustainability as kind of a you
know kind of a kind of a burlap future
you know instead of worrying silk we're
all gonna be wearing burlap that it's
about somehow giving up on the American
dream or giving up on a standard of
living that we may aspire to I don't
think we should give up on the notion
of having an American dream and far from
it on the other hand I think we ought to
really ask ourselves some tough
questions about what we mean by that if
having the American dream is really
about acquisition you know I think we're
we're just in trouble but if the
American Dream is about enabling people
to make the most of themselves have some
aspirations and to be able to act on
them effectively I think we can still
offer that and I don't think that's
about deprivation actually quite the
contrary I think that's about
reprogramming where we're putting our
resources to make that American dream
more accessible to more of us
I hear it all the time the people are
different in Portland the only thing
different about Portland is that we've
actually put enough of this stuff in
place that people do have a choice and
that's a very American idea and it turns
out that if you give them those choices
in this places as diverse as Portland
and Dallas and Houston and Minneapolis a
lot of people would like that choice
they'd like to own one car not two and
spend more money on maybe remodeling
their kitchen than buying another car
and they'd like to be able for their
kids to walk to school they'd like to be
able to bike to work on nice days not
everybody has to live this way this is
not some radical agenda forcing
Americans out of their single-family
homes this is about choice that's an
American value and it actually resonates
in all kinds of American places for more
information about e-squared
visit our website at eetu series.com
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