#PDXinRome ~ SPQR is our PDX

First Stop Portland Director Nancy Hales is in Rome for a two-day summit on cities and climate change hosted at the Vatican by Pope Francis and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. She'll be updating us on her experiences and observations as she meets with leaders from around the globe throughout the week.

 

You can follow her updates in real-time on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

SPQR is our PDX. It is stamped everywhere in Rome: on manhole covers, corners of buildings, even bar napkins.  Senatus Populusque Romanus means "the Senate and People of Rome," and is almost as old as the city itself.  How old you ask?  Rome was founded April 17, 753 BC.

One would think that a city founded 27 centuries ago would have little in common with one only begun in 1851. Ha! I found multiple connections for the civitas. Here are my top seven:

1. Claiming two founding fathers and legends: Rome’s founding fathers were Romulus and Remus. They also claim being nursed by a she-wolf. Portland’s fathers, Francis Pettigrove and Asa Lovejoy, don’t have such auspicious beginnings, but did have that famous coin toss.

Neighborhood Scouting Report: Historic Mississippi Avenue

by Kyle Curtis, First Stop Portland

On a balmy summer day- with the sun playing hide-and-seek behind the clouds- I decided to hop on the Yellow MAX line from downtown Portland to visit the Mississippi neighborhood. The concept of 20-minute neighborhoods prominently features in conversations about sustainable development in Portland, with a portion of the Portland Plan devoted to the concept. Currently, First Stop Portland is compiling a guidebook of Portland, with different chapters that focus on these various neighborhoods. I decided to take a fact-finding trip to one of the city’s up-and-coming neighborhoods, not only to collect information for the book but also to determine whether Mississippi fits the definition of the "20 minute neighborhood" concept.