CEOs for Cities is a national network of urban leaders dedicated to building and sustaining the next generation of great American cities.

Entries tagged with Portland

For anyone who wonders why Portland is such a lure to young creative types, D.K. Row of the Oregonian attempts to explain.

"Portland's a paradise for creative types, who can live cheaply, surrounded by garlands of lush greenery, life-enhancing amenities such as light rail and too many artisanal indulgences…

Want to know how a city becomes committed to sustainability?  Scan this impressive timeline of Oregon's Ecotraditions compiled by Melissa Dalton and Randy Gragg for Portland Spaces.  Then compare the decisions Portland was making in 1972 with those your city was  making. All cities should be blessed with…

For people seeking greater insight into the “unique relationship between Portland’s culture, arts and economy”, a new book is slated for next year that examines the industries of Portland.

Charles Heying, the author of ‘Brew to Bikes: Portland’s Artisan Economy’, will offer new insights on the role of cultural industries…

Portland has become the epicenter of a new dining trend highlighted in Bon Appetit. 

 

Mobile street food carts have found a receptive audience in the city where the offerings “have been elevated from pedestrian fare to destination dining.…

The trend toward real estate that is accessible with alternative forms of transportation is evident in this entrepreneurial realtor’s approach: providing bike tours of ‘bike-able’ properties.

The innovative businesswoman who runs ‘Tour de Homes’ in Portland to show properties in neighborhoods that are bike and alternative transport-friendly…

The Portland vibe is so cool.  Via Twitter and texting, thousands of Portlanders managed to gather in Pioneer Square after 1 a.m. Wednesday morning to see an impromptu performance by comedian Dave Chappelle.  He, indeed, showed up, with a makeshift stage and a too-small amp, which the audience replaced with…

The local "Street of Dreams" real estate extravaganza in Portland, which is generally focused on a suburban development, will be in the Pearl District this year, along the Streetcar line.

The stated reason is that the suburban projects are not getting built due to lending conditions.

"Dream…

This message came this morning from Mr. Peter Ong, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Singapore, who is on a world tour of global cities.

"Carol

Seattle is interesting.  People come here first without a job because they
have first decided…

Sounds like another routine business release:  SAIF Corp., which runs Oregon’s workers’ compensation system, will move its Portland operations and 128 workers downtown.

Doesn't sound like a big deal.  But it represents the second major suburban tenant in Portland to choose a more urban location.

More significantly, the…

Joe Cortright wrote an important piece for today's Oregonian on why Oregon's economy has faltered and how Oregon should prepare to come back.

Joe warns against believing that when the economy comes back, it will look just like the economy we knew before the recession hit.  Clinging to the…

Portland won approval today for not just the 3.35-mile eastside streetcar extension, but to start a new streetcar industry here in the Portland region with an order for 6 streetcars to be built at United Streetcar.

The Loop Project is a 3.35-mile extension of the Portland Streetcar…

Good for Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood for his endorsement this morning of Portland's transit system as "a model for the nation."  LaHood also called Portland a model for reducing pollution, "getting people out of their cars" and creating "livable" communities.  How encouraging it is to see Secretary LaHood acknowledge…

Only in Portland?  Here's an ad from the Red Cross Chapter there for Singles CPR.  (Hat tip to Ethan Seltzer)

Alone on Valentine's Day? Find that special someone by attending our first-ever Singles CPR class!…

An email from Portland State U colleague Ethan Seltzer started an interesting conversation I thought I'd share...

First, Ethan pointed me to this excerpt from Willamette Week

"[Musician]Liz Harris is about to quit her job. It’s not a stretch by any means to say it’s a risky idea;…

PORTLAND CITY COUNCIL ANNOUNCES $503 MILLION-PLUS "PORTLAND JOB
CREATION AND ECONOMIC STIMULUS PACKAGE" TO FAST-TRACK AN ESTIMATED
4,985 PRIVATE SECTOR JOBS

Plan also boosts housing development, business assistance and worker
retraining programs

January 13, 2009

PORTLAND, ORE. — Portland City Council at City Hall today announced a

From new Portland Mayor Sam Adams inaugural remarks:

What a glorious and quirky city we have.  Where else can you buy a donut designed to look like “dirt?”   Or browse one of the world’s largest bookstores and then walk a couple of blocks to the world’s smallest park. There is…

Well, travelers favorite cities.  Ranking the 25 top U.S. cities in 45 categories, 155,000 travelers (or readers of Travel and Leisure) cast their votes and here's a sampling of what they said:

While Charleston and Austin have the friendliest people, Seattle and Minneapolis/St. Paul have the brainiest.  Unfortunately, LA…

Our colleague Joe Cortright sent us the photo below from an above the fold story in the Living section of the Oregonian about different kinds of bike accesories for hauling kids and cargo. 

Photo by

Read the…

A nice film on how bike sharing works in DC can be found here.  Portland, Oregon, is considering its own program, as is Chicago and a number of Southern California communities.  The biggest hurdles seem to be liability, resistence to more advertising on the streets (the way most communities…

Newly hired president of Portland State University Wim Wiewel will join the throngs of downtown bike commuters tomorrow when he reports for his first day on the job. Wiewel will join Commissioner (and Mayor-elect) Sam Adams on the ride and a small reception will follow in the South Park Blocks.

Monocle’s 2008 listing of the World’s Top 25 Most Liveable Cities features two new U.S. entries to the list.  Along with Honolulu, which was included in the first listing last year, Minneapolis and Portland have also ranked in this survey of the cities that offer the best quality of life. …

Joe Cortright, senior advisor to CEOs for Cities, took the day off yesterday to show me two extraordinary streets in his hometown of Portland -- Mississippi and Alberta.  They are both reflections of Portland's entrepreneurs at work, curating their small retail collections,  inventing new restaurant concepts, providing charming places to…

I've spent the past two days in Seattle and Portland. I arrived late Tuesday night in Seattle. Approaching downtown by taxi, I was struck by the growing size of the city skyline. My hotel, Inn at the Market (which gets a big gold star for service and staff), is situated…

With less time and money spent commuting, the greening of Portland is paying off in big ways that other cities can learn from, according to a cost analysis of the city's environmental, land use and urban development strategies titled "Portland's Green Dividend."