Over the last year or so — and especially lately — there’s been a lot of rhetoric tossed around over TriMet. Between a bad editorial, a near-miss on a labor action, and lots of Internet drama, I think it’s time for some cooler heads to prevail.
1.) The Oregonian’s editorial against measure 26-119. As of [...]

Is the knowledge of fringe, obscure historical remnants like these traces of the former industrial past of the Central Eastside — and the stories behind them — part of the uniqueness of Portland cultural DNA?
What makes up the cultural DNA of Portland? This is a question that, as a student of cities, I constantly ask [...]

For many years now, the Columbia River Crossing (CRC) has been a major news item in the Portland metropolitan region. For those in other regions, the CRC is a project to replace the existing dual lift spans that carry Interstate 5 over the Columbia River between Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington. The planning process was [...]

It’s time for Portland’s transit leadership to stand up for the region’s vision.
Over the last two years, as the economy shrank, local transit services here in the Portland region have been taking serious criticism. A number of narratives have emerged. One is that TriMet’s investments in rail expansion have come at the expense of the [...]

Is Eugene’s Bus Rapid Transit system, EmX, a model for how to build such transit lines? Only if outward appearances matter more than function.
Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) bemuses me. For years, I have watched as bus manufacturers invented a new way of marketing their products as being a lower cost alternative to rail transit systems. [...]

Michael Andersen recently quit his day job as a newspaper reporter to start a mini newsmagazine for the Portland area’s “bus, bike, and low-car” population.
Transportation politics — especially bike and transit politics — can be fascinating stuff, especially to a transportation geek such as myself, but for most people it’s just all so much hot [...]

Does social media mean the world of Mad Men style persuasion is really over? Think twice before you answer. Illustration: Dyna Moe.
Last month, a really cool video on the impacts of social media got updated. I’m referring to this video, produced by Eric Qualman at Socialnomics:

I’m a big fan of the video, and often use [...]

The VooDoo Donut Bacon Maple Bar. Gourmet? No. Unique? No. Portland? Yes.
Among my many interests are food and culture, and as a result I often follow blogs and online discussion forums with culinary themes, sites like Good Stuff Northwest, Portland Food & Drink, and Chowhound. In so doing, however, I’ve detected a rather odd trend [...]

Amtrak’s Empire Builder, seen here at Shelby, Montana, is not a train from Chicago to the Pacific Northwest, but basic public transit for rural America. Photo: Chuck Taylor.
Over the last year or so, there’s been a lot of attention given to the future of High Speed Rail in the United States. Would it work? Would [...]

Urban renewal, like any land-use improvement methodology, has conventions or habits. Conventions are meant to be a framework for success, a recipe that, if followed properly, will yield good results. Conventions, however, tend to become canonical and restricting after a time. They limit what is an acceptable course of action, reducing creativity and possibility.
One [...]