Greater Portland : Urban Life and Landscape in the Pacific Northwest / Carl Abbott.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Abbott, Carl, author.

Series:

Metropolitan portraits.

Metropolitan Portraits

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Landscape architecture--Oregon--Portland Region.

Landscape architecture.

City and town life--Oregon--Portland Region.

City and town life.

Human geography--Oregon--Portland Region.

Human geography.

City planning--Oregon--Portland Region.

City planning.

Portland Region (Or.)--Social conditions.

Portland Region (Or.).

Portland Region (Or.)--Civilization.

Genre:

Electronic books.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (248 p.)

Place of Publication:

Philadelphia : University of Pennsylvania Press, [2015]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Selected by Choice magazine as an Outstanding Academic TitleIt has been called one of the nation's most livable regions, ranked among the best managed cities in America, hailed as a top spot to work, and favored as a great place to do business, enjoy the arts, pursue outdoor recreation, and make one's home. Indeed, years of cooperative urban planning between developers and those interested in ecology and habitability have transformed Portland from a provincial western city into an exemplary American metropolis. Its thriving downtown, its strong neighborhoods, and its pioneering efforts at local management have brought a steady procession of journalists, scholars, and civic leaders to investigate the "Portland style" that values dialogue and consensus, treats politics as a civic duty, and assumes that it is possible to work toward public good.Probing behind the press clippings, acclaimed urban historian Carl Abbott examines the character of contemporary Portland-its people, politics, and public life-and the region's history and geography in order to discover how Portland has achieved its reputation as one of the most progressive and livable cities in the United States and to determine whether typical pressures of urban growth are pushing Portland back toward the national norm.In Greater Portland, Abbott argues that the city cannot be understood without reference to its place. Its rivers, hills, and broader regional setting have shaped the economy and the cityscape. Portlanders are Oregonians, Northwesteners, Cascadians; they value their city as much for where it is as for what it is, and this powerful sense of place nurtures a distinctive civic culture. Tracing the ways in which Portlanders have talked and thought about their city, Abbott reveals the tensions between their diverse visions of the future and plans for development.Most citizens of Portland desire a balance between continuity and change, one that supports urban progress but actively monitors its effects on the region's expansive green space and on the community's culture. This strong civic participation in city planning and politics is what gives greater Portland its unique character, a positive setting for class integration, neighborhood revitalization, and civic values. The result, Abbott confirms, is a region whose unique initiatives remain a model of American urban planning.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Foreword / Martin, Judith A.

Introduction: Portland's Historical Personality

1. Capital of the Columbia

2. Everyday Portlands

3. The Best Planned City?

Conclusion: Civic Opportunity

Notes

Index

Acknowledgments

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 215-228) and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 08. Jul 2019)

ISBN:

9780812204148

081220414X

OCLC:

606571172