new urbanism

this article from the seattle times explains why portland and vancouver have healthy and growing downtowns. key bit of wisdom:

"The streetcar was first a development tool and only second a mode of transportation," says former Portland councilor Charlie Hales, who championed it. The line wasn't built to get to the Pearl District, it was built to create the Pearl District.

i was just commenting yesterday on how odd i find it that the red line's north hollywood stop is a few blocks removed from anything of any possible interest. the three adjacent corners are empty lots.

i'll almost certainly be visiting portland for oscon 2003. i'm more excited about doing so after having read this article.

» Monday, February 17, 2003 @ 7:05pm » 1 comment, add yours

« long-haired freaky people need not apply • charity, february 2003 »

Comments

vancouver is actually a beautiful place to live even though the weather, for the most part sucks. but BC is one of those rare places on the planet that are so beautiful that you can actually tolerate the bad weather.

portland, on the other hand, didn't suit me. kind of like "bad weather and nothing there."

» arvind » Tuesday, February 18, 2003 @ 10:36am