11.23.2010

What's in the Water, Portland?

The city of Fort Worth, Texas, is at a critical juncture. In a state that has grown through sprawl and auto-dependent development, civic leaders are trying to bring ideas like New Urbanism, Smart Growth, and transit-oriented development into their Trinity River Vision redevelopment master plan. Recently, First Stop Portland hosted a delegation of leaders from Fort Worth visiting Portland to meet with local leaders who shaped similar major redevelopment schemes here like the Pearl District, South Waterfront, and Portland Streetcar projects.

Fort Worth TVA delegates visit Jameson Square

While the political and economic realities of large projects like these were certainly integral to these discussions, the question that surprisingly arose at each of our meetings throughout the day was a matter of culture: isn’t it something special about Portland that makes it’s leaders and citizens amenable to projects like these? What is it that makes development like this possible?