February 05, 2004
More On The 'Civic Identity' Of A 'Perfect Portland'
Putting the capper on catching up with old items, we turn now to the most recent installment of the "perfect Portland" series in the Portland Tribune, which appeared last Friday.
Since we don't want to just pimp a Tribune piece outside of offering some sort of larger context, we'll take this opportunity to mention our favorite items from both the "perfect Portland" series and the recent "civic identity" article by Randy Gragg in The Oregonian.
Starting with the most recent "perfect Portland" collection, we particularly like the following: Margret Bailey's suggestion that we perhaps "maintain the facilities we already have" by dealing with things such as sidewalks in various states of disrepair; Paul Leistner's long-ish wish that "neighborhoods, local businesses, community organizations and local government regularly work together in a true partnership" rather than being at odds with each other; David Hudson's encougement of more arts festivals, expansion of arts facilities, and support for young artists; Paddy Tillet's push for lighting the Willamette River bridges (there used to be a group working on this one); and Barbara Tetenbaum's idea to create "low-rent storefront spaces for young entrepreneurs" through incentives to building owners, and including a timeframe for business growth.
Going back into the series' first installment, we're particularly drawn to these: Ethan Seltzer's wish that "Portland recommits itself to neighborhood organizing and strong, articulate, able neighborhood associations" rather than the weakening of this system we've been seeing; Philip Yien's desire to see Portlanders do more to support local and regional small, independent businesses; and of course our own call for the return of the Great Light Way (although we've since decided it should be along SW 3rd where it originally existed, rather than along the transit mall).
Finally, our picks from Randy Gragg's commentary on "civic identity" are: strengthening and connecting the local markets for locally-grown food, including through the proposed Portland Public Market; utilizing City Council chambers on off-nights for "town hall" meetings and discussions on a regular basis; developing serious support for so-called young creatives; and turning more frequently to our local designers for local projects.