A five-minute video funded by the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation tells the story of black communities struggling to preserve their traditions in what's been called the whitest city in the United States.
Oregon Humanities magazine recently debuted "Future: Portland," a short video produced by Ifanyi Bell and inspired by an essay Bell wrote for an earlier issue of Oregon Humanities about the challenges of growing up black in Portland (or as the essay puts it, growing up "tolerated and underestimated" in Portland). According to a post on the Oregon Humanities website, the five minute video includes "civic leaders [describing] the loss of Portland’s strong black communities and the hope of restoring them in the future."
Casey Parks reports on the video for The Oregonian, noting especially that no one in the video uses the word gentrification. "They don't have to. The stories African Americans tell of home in 'Future: Portland' do more to tell the story of this changing city than any buzzword can," writes Parks.
The article by Parks provides more of a backstory on Bell's process in creating the video but also the opportunity the video means to seize. Bell is quote directly in the article: "This is an opportunity for Portland to do what no other city has done, to really wrestle with these issues and come up with some kind of action….I no longer have to convince people there is a problem. We understand what's at stake. The most difficult part is finding out what to do with this knowledge."
Read the full story: Loss and Hope for Portland’s Black Communities
Kids and Urbanization
The question of whether there is space for children in rapidly changing cities was under investigation in two recent studies with somewhat contradictory findings.
Portland's 'Community-Led Urbanism' Tackles Displacement and Sustainability
A grassroots plan seeks to cultivate a sustainable, affordable center of Black culture in the neighborhood of Albina.
10 U.S. Cities Launch Anti-Displacement Network
More than half of American tenants are rent-burdened, putting them at risk of displacement. A national collaboration with PolicyLink hopes to help.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Amtrak, CN end decades-long dispute with eight-year agreement
The new operating agreement establishes an updated framework for the companies to work together, including processes to resolve disputes.
Nation's most wind-powered state turns to coal as data centers increase energy demand
For the first time in decades, Iowa has increased its generation of coal power.
Alabama scores up to $2.5 billion federal loan for largest infrastructure project in state’s history
The Mobile River Bridge and Bayway Project aims to ease congestion at Alabama’s worst bottleneck.
Trump is considering data centers on 6 states' public land — some state officials say they had no idea
If the administration approves the proposed projects, data center and data center-related developments will cover 17,600 acres of public land.
Despite court ruling, Trump is keeping nearly all wind projects in the US on hold
At least 110 wind energy projects have not heard from the government since a federal judge ruled that the Trump administration's freeze on wind turbine clearances was likely illegal.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
KFH Group Inc.
Greater Baltimore Committee
Eagle County Government
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello