Portland Residents Participate in Design of 'Green Loop'

The Green Loop [pdf] is a proposed six-mile network of narrow parks that would link neighborhoods on either side of the Willamette River. Jen Kinney of Next City describes the vision thusly:

At about half the size of a typical Portland city block, the 24 narrow Park Blocks are just what they sound like: corridors of green spaces promenading through the city center. But the north and south segments are disjointed … If linked by a pedestrian and bike path, the Park Blocks would comprise about a mile of the Green Loop; the route would then continue, ultimately encircling the dense neighborhoods on both the east and west sides.

Part of Portland's pending Central City 2035 plan, the proposal is still conceptual. Recently, a pop-up exhibition during an open streets event invited the public to participate in the design process. Untitled Studio, the firm implementing the design, asked visitors to plot potential courses on a map, as well as on a 3D model of a streetscape.

The group is comprised of architects as well as journalists, and Next City details several other comprehensive, interactive community engagement strategies it is developing as part of the design process.

The route of the Green Loop tracks the city's plans for development investment. (Image: Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability)