Portland

Making Sure Bike Lanes Aren't Viewed as "White Lanes"

Bike infrastructure is often viewed with skepticism in minority neighborhoods across the U.S. Jay Walljasper looks at how to extend the benefits of biking to communities that often have fewer options for transportation and exercise.

October 24, 2013 - People for Bikes

Portland Cycling

Will Portland Lose its Status as America's Bike Commuting Champion?

While bike commuting is gaining nationwide, it's actually dropping in Portland which has held the enviable title of tops in bike commuting for large cities since 2005. Minneapolis and Seattle, #2 and #3 respectively, are gaining, warns BikePortland.

September 26, 2013 - BikePortland

Welcome to the Age of "Driving Light"

As a nation, we are driving less, but we are increasingly stuck in traffic. What explains this paradox? Using Portland as an example, where driving peaked in 2004, Joseph Rose attempts to explain with lots of help from transportation experts.

September 20, 2013 - The Oregonian

Buy Mass Transit Tickets With a Smartphone In Portland

Portland launches first U.S. mobile ticketing apps to enable mass transit riders to buy tickets with their iPhone and Android smartphones.

September 6, 2013 - Engadget

Cities Take the Lead to Revive Scuttled Columbia River Bridge Project

Efforts by local leaders to revive a $3.4 billion plan to replace the bridge linking Portland, Oregon to Vancouver, Washington is just the latest example of a trend in metropolitan innovation in the face of federal and state gridlock.

July 17, 2013 - The New York Times

Empty Parking Lot

From Peak Car to Peak Parking?

Fewer cars on the road, less driving, why not fewer parking spots? Cities like D.C., L.A., Denver, Philadelphia are responding by reducing or eliminating parking minimums, while Portland, which had already eliminated them, are bringing them back.

July 10, 2013 - The Wall Street Journal

Portland Cycling

How Did Portland Become North America's Bicycling Capital?

In retrospect, it may seem like Portland’s biking boom was inevitable. But not too long ago the city was eclipsed by other Pac NW cities for share of bicycle commuters. What happened between 2002-2008 to kick-start the city’s bike craze?

July 9, 2013 - BikePortland

Could Golf Courses Become the Next Redevelopment Frontier?

In Portland, Oregon an unlikely partnership of environmental and business interests is supporting a plan to rezone an 84-year-old golf course to allow industrial development, bringing a new slant to the term 'greenfield development'.

June 11, 2013 - The Oregonian

Is CA High-Speed Rail Stalling the Federal Rail Program?

House Republicans object to further funding of the High-Speed Intercity Passenger Rail program - largely due to California's expectation to receive $42 billion in federal funding - yet less ambitious projects have shown much promise.

May 8, 2013 - Governing Magazine

Portland Parklet

Portland Parklets Program Gets Kicked to the Curb

A pilot program introduced parklets to Portland last summer to seemingly widespread applause. Fearing the loss of parking, a group representing downtown business owners has successfully lobbied the city to cancel the program in the downtown core.

April 17, 2013 - BikePortland.org

Bike-Oriented Development Sprouts in Portland

With the traditional metrics of retail economics and geography being undermined by the Internet, businesses are searching for new ways to reach potential customers. Astute business owners in Portland are recognizing the value in good bike exposure.

March 6, 2013 - Green Lane Project

Wood-framed Storefront

Picturing Ten Urban Qualities Important for Every City

Writing in The Atlantic Cities, Chuck Wolfe provides ten illustrated examples of enjoyable environments that reflect an evolving recognition for the qualitative aspects of the urban experience.

January 30, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

How Will Portland Develop Its Last Major Parcel?

Brian Libby examines the plans for Zidell Yards, downtown Portland's last major real estate opportunity, which "seeks to be a macro development comprised of many different micro-sized parts."

January 7, 2013 - The Atlantic Cities

Small Houses Find Big Following in Cascadia

In a photo essay on small homes and the people who love them, Sightline Fellow Alyse Nelson explains the attraction of compact living and the ways in which small homeowners are living it up by scaling down.

January 3, 2013 - Sightline Daily

palms

Tempe Better for Bikes Than Portland?

This week, the website Walk Score announced the results of its expanded Bike Score evaluation. With more than double the amount of cities than initially ranked, the usual favorites (Minneapolis, Portland), were joined by some surprises.

December 20, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

Should Maine Spend More on its Cities?

70 percent of Maine's economic activity and 90 percent of its population growth over the last decade took place in three metro areas. So why is the state "giving money to ‘well-off’ suburbs at expense of urban areas?" Matthew Stone investigates.

December 19, 2012 - The Bangor Daily News

Just One Obstacle for Portland Bike-Share: Who'll Pay?

Notoriously bike-friendly city; home to country's leading bike-share operator; a latecomer to the bike-share bandwagon. What's working with this picture of Portland, Oregon?

December 16, 2012 - Oregon Public Broadcasting

Santa Cruz cargo bike ride

Bicyclists, Not Drivers, are the Better Consumers

Familiar with the perception that bicyclists are generally kids with no money and too much time? Emily Badger discusses the findings of a study that shows riders out-consume drivers over the course of a month for all businesses except grocery stores.

December 7, 2012 - The Atlantic Cities

New Apartments in Portland: No Parking = No Car? Not So

Turns out if you don't provide the parking, tenants still bring their cars - they just park on the street, according to a limited Portland survey. Neighbors asked city planners for a moratorium on 'parking-less' apartments and adding parking minimums

November 18, 2012 - The Oregonian

Vancouver Skytrain near Chinatown

Should We Slow Down Our Pursuit of Rapid Transit?

Jarrett Walker examines the desirability of slow transit as argued by University of British Columbia Professor Patrick M. Condon in support of a vast streetcar network for Vancouver.

November 11, 2012 - Human Transit

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.

Top Books

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100 Most Influential Urbanists

The who's who of urbanism, according to Planetizen readers.

Urban Planning Creators You Should Know

A short list of voices on social, video, and podcasting platforms.