Swallow all beverages before reading
Urban renewal is a state-authorized, redevelopment and finance program designed to help communities improve and redevelop areas that are physically deteriorated, suffering economic stagnation, unsafe or poorly planned.The Portland Development Commission plays a major role in making Portland one of America’s most livable cities, using urban renewal as a tool to focus public attention and resources in specific areas of the city. PDC helps Portland realize capital projects – parks, streetscape improvements, community centers – that would not happen on their own.
PDC leads the planning and implementation of comprehensive projects that fulfill Portland’s goal of creating healthy, vibrant neighborhoods throughout the city. The agency focuses on implementing plans unique to each urban renewal area, using an integrated approach to revitalization that includes commercial, retail/institutional, residential/mixed use, streets, mass transit and parks development...
Urban renewal continues to evolve to meet the wisdom, goals and community needs of the times.
The fantasy starts here.
| Posted at 11:45 AM | Permalink |
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Comments (13)
I laugh in their faces; I pity you poor folks in their clutches.
Posted by Sam T. | December 27, 2012 12:05 PM
It's peculiar (and alarming) that the Portland Development Commission, Metro, Portland City Council, and increasingly Multnomah County all spin similar feel-good P/R about themselves. I suppose the monster wants to keep being fed.
Posted by Mr. Grumpy | December 27, 2012 12:07 PM
Wisdom and urban renewal, in the same sentence!
Huge and epic fail!
Posted by Portland Native | December 27, 2012 1:08 PM
They got "vibrant" in there. How does one "evolve" to meet wisdom? "Urban renewal continues to evolve to meet the wisdom, goals and community needs of the times."
Seriously. How do you meet wisdom? Do you shake its hand? Do you go for coffee? Who writes that dreck? Do they think it makes sense? I don't.
I also think that person doesn't know what to do with a comma -- or when.
People write dreck because they think dreck. So my nitpicking isn't, really.
Posted by sally | December 27, 2012 1:45 PM
I believe this is true:
"The Portland Development Commission plays a major role in making Portland one of America’s most livable cities"
By their meddling, reduced tax rates, and special favors they have indeed played a major role - Portland is now more unlivable than ever. To verify this, all you need to do is count the number of people standing on various street corners seeking a crumb of livability.
Posted by Tim | December 27, 2012 1:53 PM
Basic city services continually go under funded so PDC can play Monopoly with fat cats like Homer and company
Posted by TR | December 27, 2012 1:59 PM
So "Wisdom" met "Urban R" on the web, and they went out for coffee. They got along really really well, so coffee turned into cocktails, at Imbibe, and then dinner at Blue Hour, and then after dinner drinks at Doug Fir, and they ended up closing down the place, so they went to Urban R's loft in the Pearl, on the trolley of course, and one thing led to another....but then...Wisdom left suddenly and Urban R is left wondering; what exactly happened?
Posted by Portland Native | December 27, 2012 3:03 PM
love it!
Posted by sally | December 27, 2012 6:37 PM
I met some decent do-gooders working for the PDC. The overall system seems flawed. Flawed beyond saving? Probably.
Posted by Jo | December 27, 2012 7:24 PM
I must be a real oldy moldy liberal because I thought that "central planning" a la Soviet style was bad and disproved? So it's bad if the commies do it but fine when the PDC does it? Their copy seems to be word salad the robber barons' lapdogs churn out hoping it will distract the feeble minded. "Oooh, bright shiny-shiny!"
Posted by Old Zeb | December 27, 2012 8:30 PM
I guess one can't have vibrancy without debt. Oops - urban renewal.
Posted by Nolo | December 28, 2012 7:16 AM
So, COP starves basic services, leading to physical deterioration and unsafe areas. Then, to cover a few services, they start nickle and diming residents (think leaf fee, parking meters, permit fees, ad nausem), leaving everyone poorer who stays, and many moving out, and thus we have economic stagnation. The poor planning speaks for itself, ergo, everytime COP holds a charette to plan the death of another part of town. Bingo! Now PDC can jump in to save the day!
Posted by umpire | December 28, 2012 3:50 PM
Remember when there was no PDC and no Metro? I think we did just fine. And we certainly spent a lot less money. Sherman, let's fire up the way-back machine.
And while we're at it, maybe we can bring back the Rose City bus service.
Posted by NW Portlander | December 29, 2012 6:19 PM