The Portland "planners" only read their own B/S so they are unaware of anything else.

sorry folks, but the "planners" are never the ones doing the population growth calculations. they're only being told "account for x population growth".

the predictions/calculations/etc. are being done by mathemeticians, demographers, economists. some of those work for the City, some for other agencies, some work several floors up in the Urban Center at PSU.

I'm highly critical of mainstream modern urban planning, and they surely often take growth figures as gospel, but they generally ain't the ones doing the prognosticating.

Their methodology is bogus; SoWat is not a statistically significant sample.

they generally ain't the ones doing the prognosticating.

Whoever is, is a "planner."

Whoever is, is a "planner."

fair enough. I might be being picky about the title.

I agree with your point, Jack, that this is about being overbuilt. But it is possible to be overbuilt and abandoned. Just ask Beau Breedlove.

Rental properties are the problem area.

*Rimshot*

That's Sam Adams on timbale.

Conan's down 44% from the Tonight Show last year and I'm doing Beau Breedlove jokes here.

Oh well, maybe Sam will slip me an envelope of cash to stop. I'll call it a loan if he will.

Hey, Bill. Isn't Leno coming back pretty soon?

Anything east of I-205 sure looks abandoned.

None,
Mid-September. They said to call - I hope I'm back in the mix. It's been okay but not as much fun. Thanks, Jack, for a place to vent!

I think the theme right now for this new show and the whole country for that matter is uncharted territory.
John Lennon thought his days were strange. Imagine what he'd think of this.

But it is possible to be overbuilt and abandoned. Just ask Beau Breedlove.

Good lord, I think I just peed myself a little.

oh, and speaking of jobs for teens:
http://www.portlandonline.com/mayor/index.cfm?c=49278&a=252526

Portland has deferred $600 million in road maintenecne.

An antiquated sewer and water delivery system continues to crumble.

The region worsens for traffic and commerce mobility.

Affordable housing has become a municiapal bodoggle chase.

And one planning failure after another has to be propped up with agency propoganda to self sustain their own butts.

The PDC, TriMet and Metro are rotten to the core along with other municipallities.

So insane is the approach here that these agencies think if something is a total failure, WES, we need more of it.

International Affairs Director? Puh-leeze!

They should hire the guy from PDC who made over $130k describing how Portland can be a "world class city."

The mental disease of foolishness is spreading.

West Linn thinks the $20 million solar highway will bring them fame and prestige.
Sort of like the tram?

Beaverton Mayor Doyle thinks speding millions on a Beaver Stadium will make the city center and Round a model of success.

Milwaukie thinks MAX will bring a boom, and the rest of the region has plenty more of the same.

We need an economic development program for Bill McDonald so Beaverton doesn't steal him

We need an economic development program for Bill McDonald so Beaverton doesn't steal him

I'll send Bill a stimulus package. Her name is Wendy.

I'm not surprised. I know several folks that are leaving town and more that would like to but feel trapped in their homes.

The title of that article really bothers me.

It's not that people are abandoning cities, it's that the Home Builder Industry built way more homes than necessary. The article acts like it's the cities fault, when it's really the construction industries fault.

Meh.

I cant help but draw comparisons to Manila circa 1983 when I was there. All the roads leading to the presidential palace were smooth and paved. All the best architecture shiny and glorious in the city core. Meanwhile unpaved roads and abject poverty circled the city. People living in boxes behind mostly empty 4-star hotels and a cadre of cronies holding all the wealth and power. The press too fearful of reprisal to write about any of it.
If we let Sam or Randy finish their term what we will end up with 3.5 years from now is an entrenched dictatorship exactly like that. Everyone in Portland needs to open their eyes and oust these shameless, lying crooks before it's too late.

The article acts like it's the cities fault, when it's really the construction industries fault.

The cities permitted them.

To paraphrase from that Greyson & Horton song, it's their fault, darling.

http://www.rhapsody.com/professor-longhair/crawfish-fiesta/its-my-fault-darling

"It's my fault, for lettin' the big times come between us and our happiness."

Next up, a city funded "Shekels for Shacks" program in which owners of "wasteful" homes in Alameda, Irvington, Lake Oswego, the West Hills and other blighted areas can receive cash incentives to move into LEED certified condos in the Pearl and SoWhat.

Please delete the above comment so that Sam the Sham and the Rand-Tones don't get any bright ideas.

Justin, it's NOT "the city's fault'?

In just the three urban renewal zones in the central city, there has been over $1.7 Billion of tax subsidies to build housing. Why not let the free market help moderate the swings of markets. That way there is less hyper building.

Wow, need to send the Forbes folks to the city of Detroit for a refresher course on the term "abandoned"

It's impossible for buyers to "abandon" developments that never managed to attract them in the first place . . .

Sadly, SoWhat and The Round can't even master the "seduce" part of the equation.