Barry Johnson of The Oregonian looks back at Portland's urban renewal program, what was lost in the demolition of neighborhoods and what was gained.
Johnson talks about the 1950s concept of civic improvement: "That idea led the city to scrape clean two "decaying" neighborhoods, South Portland and the neighborhood along North Williams Ave., and replace them with the city's first two major urban renewal projects, Memorial Coliseum and the South Auditorium District. We would now consider those moves mistakes -- even though they produced two remarkable civic projects, the Coliseum and the Halprin plazas -- because they displaced thousands of people and because they failed to create the lively urban areas that cities depend on for their lifeblood."
The urban renewal movement of the 50s led to the citizen revolts of the 70s that transformed the regional government.
FULL STORY: The histories of a city: Portland and the Halprin plazas

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

San Diego Adopts First Mobility Master Plan
The plan provides a comprehensive framework for making San Diego’s transportation network more multimodal, accessible, and sustainable.

Walmart Announces Nationwide EV Charging Network
The company plans to install electric car chargers at most of its stores by 2030.

Seattle Builds Subway-Sized Tunnel — for Stormwater
The $700 million ‘stormwater subway’ is designed to handle overflows during storms, which contain toxic runoff from roadways and vehicles.

Feds Clear Homeless Encampment in Oregon Forest
The action displaced over 100 people living on national forest land near Bend, Oregon.

Is This Urbanism?
Chuck Wolfe ponders a recommended subscription list of Substack urbanists and wonders — as have others — about the utility of the "urbanist" moniker.
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