Wonder what's being sold here
They're holding a "civic ecology charrette" in the Mount Tabor area tomorrow morning. With a free lunch, no less. It's hard to read through all the code to figure out what it's going to be about:
Join business and neighborhood leaders as we design a more resilient future for our SE community. This is a facilitated event and an opportunity for us to find ways to support each other in identifying and making changes at the individual household and business level that can lead to a more sustainable community. At the same time we'll be thinking about ways we can collaborate to make better use of our resources and evolving technologies -- all in keeping with the scale and values of our neighborhoods. Participate in a resource mapping exercise to identify systems for energy, waste, water, food production and local economies. The result can be a better bottom line and more livable, resilient neighborhoods.
We wish that so much schlock wasn't being sold as "green" nowadays. It would be nice to approach this sort of thing with an open mind. Alas, suspicion is the watchword. And the word "charrette," of course, has been the prelude to many, many bad public money plays in Portlandia in recent years.
Maybe this is a clue:
Speakers include: Tim Smith of SERA, Steve Couche of the SE Portland Tool Library, Sarah Sullivan of Abernethy's Garden of Wonders, Reuben Deumling of Sunnyside NA and not yet confirmed Steve Gutmann of Getaround
If any of our readers attend, we'd be interested in a report afterward.
| Posted at 8:44 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (16)
What: no drum jam?
Posted by Texas Triffid Ranch | May 18, 2012 9:24 AM
SERA...something's gonna get built....on a filled in/covered up reservoir?
The tool library will provide the tools and then a garden will be installed?
Oh yes! and all private cars will be banned in SE so anyone who wants 4 wheels will have to contract with the Get Around folks.
The NA person will be passing out Vaseline.
Posted by Portland Native | May 18, 2012 9:57 AM
Not sure what dad is doing to his kid. Maybe trying to get him up in tree to see what the neighborhood used to look like before all the crap apartment complexes blocked out the view.
Posted by Tim | May 18, 2012 10:17 AM
Looks like only 1 apple? left on that tree and no cars either.
Posted by Portland Native | May 18, 2012 10:30 AM
Hopefully it's not an organic apple. New research indicates that organic food can increase the chances of becoming a self-righteous jackass.
Posted by Pragmatic Portlander | May 18, 2012 10:54 AM
"It's hard to read through all the code"
That's the us vs them mentality. If they say something to obfuscate the issue, how the heck do you disagree with them since they obviously know stuff you don't?
Letters/Word count = A+
Actual communication = D-
Posted by Steve | May 18, 2012 11:01 AM
Each attendee will be handed some lotion and a roll of paper towels.
Posted by RJBob | May 18, 2012 11:10 AM
Why Mt. Tabor neighborhood? Get ready to carve out another piece of the park. Fence it off for more special interests or better yet, sell off the fringes for condos! Who cares about open space anyway! It's not considered a "highest use" in development and zoning circles. No use should trump our communities few open and free spaces.
Posted by Shannon | May 18, 2012 11:15 AM
Every time I've participated in a CoP charette with the phrase "a more resilient future" they never have one of the futures being "leave it as is" and let present economics, zoning, market determine the future.
13 people plus 19 CoP employees will show up putting on 12 red dots from their small group's 5 future choices.
You're screwed Mt. Tabor, and 13 people will be determining your future. That is Sam's citizen participation
Posted by lw | May 18, 2012 12:18 PM
"....design a more resilient future for our SE community." I'd read this as pavement and roofing being more resilient than trees and other plants. Once you've put in enough skinny house infill, you'll have a truly resilient community.
Posted by Alice | May 18, 2012 12:19 PM
Wonder what's being sold here,
The neighborhood, the character and livability!
Watch out, the next "redo!"
Propaganda for the next "Eco-district?"
Are they next in line for "blight and URA"?
As far as I am concerned they touch Mt. Tabor and the reservoirs, they are cutting out the heart of our city!
This is a facilitated event and an opportunity for us to find ways to support each other in identifying and making changes at the individual household and business level that can lead to a more sustainable community.
I am sure this will be facilitated and quite controlled, what now, some nice talk about being "with it" and moving towards the "future" with the right buzz words along with those fancy illustrations presented for the green and red dots?
Making changes? .....how about no changes?
Can't have that, we have to keep the redo playing like a broken record until every inch has been scratched and done along with our behavioral changes accompanying to accept being treated like sheep!
All for the planet.
All for the children.
All for the streetcar!
Posted by clinamen | May 18, 2012 1:17 PM
Makes one want to move out to East Portland just to be left alone by these cultists.
Posted by Snards | May 18, 2012 3:30 PM
Charrette or Charade?
Posted by Starbuck | May 18, 2012 8:15 PM
Hope this neighborhood gets off easy. Like maybe a few of those sawed off bicycles hung from telephone poles.
This malarky is one more article showing pipe dream chasing juveniles, like Jefferson Smith, are the zombies running Stumptown. Get rid of one juvenile (Adams) and get another one in his place (Smith possibly).
Posted by Bob Clark | May 18, 2012 9:40 PM
They'll take part of Mt Tabor Park for a re-education camp for us reprobates who won't raise chickens or give up our cars and want our weekly garbage service back. We'll be conscripted to labor in the resilient kombucha brewery until we see the error of our ways.
Posted by dyspeptic | May 18, 2012 10:51 PM
"resilient neighborhoods"
Because "sustainable" is so 2010.
Posted by Erik H. | May 18, 2012 11:03 PM