Portlandness

Portland 1

1.  Place can be defined as the combination of all of the geographic and human aspects that are found in a specific area.  These aspects are often intertwined and can be tied to other geographic places.  I am spending the summer on Otsego Lake in upstate New York.  This place is surrounded by protected forests and has a wide array of birds, fishes, and mammals.  The lake is also the source of the Susquehanna river, which feeds into the Chesapeake Bay.

2. My preconceived ideas of the city of Portland included that the people there were obsessed about environmentalism almost to the point where it places the environment over humanity.  In addition the people there are supposedly all hipsters  and distrustful of people outside of Portland.  The hipster vibe and the environmentally conscious traits both matched with my preconceived notions.  However, I was not aware of the large number of breweries or how tolerant the people there are of diversity.
3. The authors introduced Portland as a Cascadian city so as to examine Portland from many perspectives and not reinforce the traditional stereotypes about its location.  This also allows the authors to implement the many ties to the environment by stressing the importance of Cascadia as a bioregion.  To be a Cascadian city is to be a city that is closely intertwined with the numerous watersheds of the region and on a key location in terms of the tectonic plates and continental shelf.
4. The essence of Portlandness is that no place can be properly understood in the traditional sense of maps and descriptions.  It has to look at the many ties between the culture, environment, and the way that man-made structures impact all of this.  This book does that by attempting to show as many different points of view as possible.  Maps are useful in this effort because they provide a visual aid that can effectively link the man-made with the environment

Portland 2

Urban Landscapes:

1. The main idea in this section is that people have transformed the natural environment into a more urban one, so as to better fit their needs.  Portland is different than most cities in the sense that it has done a better job emphasizing the needs of the environment than most other cities.  These urban landscapes can also be analyzed from a variety of different perspectives that illustrate ways the culture is shaped by the new urban environment.
2. Bridgetown:  This perspective illustrates the concept that bridges play an instrumental role in the inner workings of a city, especially cities that are built around rivers.  The many different styles of bridges here shows that regardless of architecture, these bridges all have a distinct role, such as the pedestrians-only bridge or the ones that serve more industrial purposes.  From this perspective, Portland appears to be a city that’s planning has been central to its interactions, both commercial and environmental, with the river.
3. I would produce a map that shows each bridge across the James River, placing emphasis on railroad bridges because of how they fuel industry and have historically shaped the city of Richmond.  It would be titled:  “Overpassing or Passing Over?”.

Portland 3:

The Once and Future City:

1. The main concept illustrated by this section is that there always needs to be a focus on the past because by remembering what is lost, there is a better ability to plan for the future.  Cultural history helps to better understand the motivations of people in the present and how to create spaces that foster tolerance and diversity.  A constantly changing landscape forces a need for proper planning and analysis in order to properly minimize loss of historic or environmental spaces.
2. Swan Island: This perspective shows the numerous transformations that a place can undergo.  The many roles that Swan Island has played in industry, wartime efforts, and transportation can be paralleled with the history of Portland and changes that the entire city was undergoing.  Additionally, the ship building industry further illustrates Portland’s close ties between economic development and its location on a river.
3. I would create a map that showed each island along the James with each one individually color coded to its purpose, such as being a park, wildlife refuge, or industrial center.  It would be titled: “Surrounded by Water in Many Ways’.

Portland 4:

Wildness:

1. The main concept illustrated in this section is that even though Portland is a city, it still is impacted by wildlife in many ways.  Plants and animals have not been expelled from the city but rather have found ways to adapt and thrive in the new urban environment.  Many of the people have encouraged this, as “the line between city and wilderness is intentionally blurred in Portland”.
2. Lost Waters and Phantom Streams:  I chose this perspective because it shows that cities cannot just be built up viably disregarding the natural environment.  It talks about how pipes and culverts are used to reroute streams and infill is used in certain situations to try and eliminate water flow.  Streams such as Tanner Creek run underground across the entirety of the city without being seen.  This shows the drastic measures that are taken to avoid the influence of running water on valuable city infrastructure.
3. My map for Richmond would show any place where water would have taken over the land if there had been no human influence.  This would include flooding and any potential erosion of the riverbanks that would cause deleterious effects on the modern city of Richmond.

Aerial View of Portland Streets