The Cure for Ailing Parking Lots

In Portland, up to 400 food stands have sprung up around the city, enlivening underused spaces.

1 minute read

January 21, 2010, 7:00 AM PST

By Tim Halbur


Philip Langdon of New Urban News tours Portland's popular food "carts" - which aren't really carts at all, but small stands. Langdon reports that the carts not only activate dead spaces in the city, they also provide jobs and micro-businesses for a community that suffers from low employment.

Langdon writes, "The explosive growth of food carts runs counter to the usual trend in urban regeneration. Typically when a city center becomes a place where middle- and upper-middle-class people want to spend time, the architectural code of conduct becomes more formal, more carefully constructed. Food carts, with their budget-driven, ad hoc designs, take a city in the opposite direction."

Wednesday, January 20, 2010 in New Urban News

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