Sept. 7, 2009
For a publication based in California, we sure write a lot about Portland. I guess this isn’t surprising, given Portland’s iconic status as the planners’ nirvana – the place where planners’ crazy ideas get implemented and actually work and make everybody happy. But there’s another reason why we write about Portland: It is a place where a lot of things California planners talk about are ground-tested and, most of the time, actually work.

Portland’s achievements are especially impressive given the fact that Portland is not an enormous city – at about a half-million people, it’s roughly the size of Oakland, Fresno or Long Beach. This doesn’t mean that every city in California should slavishly follow Portland’s example. It’s never a good idea to simply point to another city and say, We should just copy them. But it is worth thinking about why Portland does things – and does them successfully – that a lot of other cities can’t seem to do.

After a visit to Portland last week, I’d say there are six important lessons to learn from Portland. The important thing is to apply the lessons to your own town, and not try to recreate Portland.

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Source: California Planning and Development Report