Quote:
Originally Posted by tworivers
I'm glad Portland isn't (mostly for economic reasons) "reaching for the stars". The mega-tower craze around the world is the literal expression of global capital, the same system that has reduced most of the world's population to penury.
The future is over, anyways. It's increasingly unlikely that we're going to creatively wiggle out of some sort of species-level re-adjustment in the next few centuries. I'd rather work locally to create a dense, vibrant, human-scale urban fabric that will be habitable in the uncertain and likely-fractured days that are coming.
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I'm more optimistic about the future, but I do agree very strongly with you about scale. I love skyscrapers, but I'm glad Portland is mostly keeping a more human scale. I'd be more excited to see several under utilized blocks fill in rather than seeing a new 600+ footer. It's not as if we have a lack of vacant lots, surface parking lots or under utilized buildings.
Portland may never be a world class architectural postcard city, but I'm ok with that.
My fear for the future of Portland is all about affordability. Will I still be able to afford to live here, or will I get priced out? Will local shops be able to afford to stay here, or will they get priced out? I've lived in cities that saw extreme growth - Dallas and Houston back in the 90s - but they stayed affordable by sprawling out almost indefinitely. Dallas stretched halfway to the Oklahoma border the last time I was there. Such wild growth. I've been amazed by the growth here too over the past 18 years, especially the past ten. We're growing inward and upward, though it's less about going super tall and more about filling in. And that's fantastic. But, oh, the rent.
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