Oregon

Portland urban designer Arun Jain has released his Urban Design Framework, a vision that requires planners to give themselves more leeway "without giving up core values."

Officials from three counties in the Portland region are trying to work together to decide where to locate regional urban reserves of land for future development and rural reserves for preservation.

Members of a citizen group in Bull Mountain, an incorporated area in Washington County, Oregon, are at odds with an agreement that would allow cities to provide all urban services and dictate urban growth boundaries.

High Country News reports on Fresno's infamous Taco Flat in this 4-pager. Seattle's Nickelsville and Portland's Dignity Village are held up as better examples of squatter settlements. Architecture and 'informal urbanism' of tent cities is examined.

Oregon has just received a wilderness designation on more than 200,000 acres of land. Environmentalists are welcoming the move, which they hope will protect sensitive lands from development and misuse.

Portland's Metro authority is mapping out the region's transit plans for the next 30 years, and the public is getting involved.

Population estimates mean that the Portland region will need about 300,000 additional homes by 2030. Where they should all go is up for debate.

BikePortland.com editor Jonathan Maus interviews Rep. Wayne Krieger about his legislation requiring cyclists to register their bicycles.

The mayors of Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington have come to an agreement about the size of a new bridge that will connect the two cities -- but on the condition that a bistate commission be set up to control congestion through tolling.

The Christian Science Monitor editorializes in support of the VMT fee replacing the gas tax just as the latest federal transportation financing commission report recommends, as Oregon Governor Kulongoski hopes to do, and as some will do in Europe.

Sightline's Clark Williams-Derry looks at low gas prices, a down economy, and vehicle-miles-traveled, noting that the precipitous declines in VMT have halted, and suspects it may plateau.

Population growth estimates foresee the equivalent of an additional 15 Seattles concentrating in the Pacific Northwest over the next one hundred years. How the region handles this growth is up for debate, but with a distinct sense of urgency.

Population growth, and its impact on land use, should not be overlooked, argues environmental writer John Feeney, who's set up a conference of scientists to examine the issue. This article looks at how population growth is affecting Oregon.

DC writer Alec Dubro questions the pursuit of the green car, concluding we should cease its financial support. Though people may prefer the car culture, it would make more sense to pursue a ‘post car future’, citing Portland’s compact neighborhoods.

Transit officials in Eugene, Oregon, have announced plans to install a test route for a magnet-guided bus technology.

Portland's new Westside Express Service officially opens today, carrying passengers from Beaverton to Wilsonville. The Oregonian calls it, "a punch of hard-rolling rust-and-grease."

Plans for a new bridge over the Columbia River in Oregon have local officials in a debate over lanes, tolls and sprawl.