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PART 2: Mitchell Rasor spoke to Bruce Hyman, City of Portland Bicycle-Pedestrian Coordinator

MR: Is Portland going to see a noticeable increase in the number bike / ped accommodations or is there a “transportation glass ceiling” due to any of number of reasons – such as standards, policy or demographics?

Bruce Hyman: Related to bicycling, there is no per se ‘ceiling’ related to the vision, but some lag time will occur related to implementation due to funding and staffing capacity. We have essentially implemented about one fourth of the bikeway network on the city’s arterial and collector streets where bike lanes, shared lanes and paved shoulders would typically be the bike facility provided. These cater to a smaller segment of the existing and potential biking market; most cyclists (or people most likely to become more frequent cyclists for transportation purposes) prefer streets with lower volumes of traffic and lower traffic speeds than arterial streets such as Forest Avenue or Brighton Avenue.

To address this potentially larger cycling ’market’ we are piloting a new type of bikeway called (in other locales) a Bicycle Boulevard – a network of primarily local, residential streets that is prioritized for bicycle travel while still providing for motorist use. We are branding them as Neighborhood Byways here to encompass the much broader intended livability benefits to the neighborhood and pedestrians. These projects can incorporate traffic speed/volume management techniques, streetscaping, and pedestrian safety projects. A 4-mile pilot Neighborhood Byway/Bicycle Boulevard project is being implemented now in the Deering Center neighborhood. We have emerging plans for a city-wide implementation of a Neighborhood Byway/bicycle boulevard network as part of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Element of the Comprehensive Plan we’re writing now.

On the pedestrian front, we are trying to more systematically address accessibility issues related to implementing the Americans with Disability Act (including new and rehabilitated curb ramps), safe street crossings of arterials (called for in the ’93 Transportation Plan), adding new/enhancing existing crosswalks, expanding the shared use pathway network, improving the quality of streetscapes, working with schools/parents on Safe Routes to Schools projects, filling gaps in the sidewalk network/rehabilitating existing sidewalks in poor condition, and enhancing pedestrian access to the bus transit system (a big turnoff to attracting more riders is the safety in accessing bus stops/routes).

We are also working to adopt a Complete Streets Policy this spring which will make it city policy to formally incorporate the considerations of all users of the streets of all ages, abilities and modes of travel (motorists, cyclists, pedestrians, transit users and operators, freight providers, and the young and old) into the planning, design, construction, maintenance and operation of the city’s streets and street network.

Mitchell spoke to Roger Conover, Executive Editor of The MIT Press

MR: As the publisher of some of the most important books on  art, architecture and urbanism published in the last 30 some years, and as a resident of Maine, you must have a unique and maybe even privileged view of many aspects of Portland, especially its arts and design culture. I know you are also a writer, and wrote  architectural criticism for the Portland Press Herald for a period of time.  How was that experience? Do you think a full-time architecture / design critic – not just a blogger – could have a positive impact on Portland?

Roger Conover: There is no architecture without criticism, and no criticism without architecture. Architecture is a language, and to read it requires a literacy that goes beyond an immediate, subjective, personalized response to buildings. Buildings exist within social, political, economic, temporal, and cultural contexts. It is the function of criticism not just to look at how buildings are made, but to make their meanings and values visible. My experiment with the Portland Press Herald did not continue beyond a certain point because I was not in the praise business, and it became apparent after a while that what was desired, both by the paper and its readers, was someone saying what a great city Portland is, and how wonderful its buildings are. My last column was going to be a polemic about the threat that historic preservation poses to the future of architecture in Portland. It probably won’t surprise you that it wasn’t printed, and that I didn’t submit any columns after that.

Whatever the game, there is no doubt that rigorous observation and constructive criticism raises the level of play. Portland wouldn’t have so many good restaurants if it didn’t have demanding diners. But those diners’ tastes are not just enabled by chefs. They have been fed by one of the country’s most discerning food-discourse providers, aka as the bookstore Rabelais. This combination of access–to food and food criticism–has contributed enormously to the culinary literacy of Portland. Portland is not lacking buildings, but would the buildings be different–dare I say better– if there was more critical exchange around them? I think so.

Mitchell spoke to Charles Colgan, Chair/Professor, Community Planning & Development Program / Public Policy Policy and Management – Muskie School of Government

MR: Your research is in the areas of regional growth and development, economic forecasting and transportation policy.  While there is an apparent trend to mass urbanization on a global level – last year in China the number of people in cities surpassed the rural population as people migrated to seek employment – there are also numerous “shrinking cities” such as Detroit, Flint and St. Louis. What are the general socio / economic demographic trends for Portland? Is there a critical mass Portland needs to achieve to become more sustainable from an economic and transportation perspective?

Charles Colgan: Portland and all of Maine’s other major cities saw population growth from 2000-2010, which is a reversal of trends away from the cities that have been going on since 1970. The shift reflects an increase in residential real estate development in Portland, particularly on the Peninsula, the growing international migrant population, and a trend among older people to re-locate nearer to urban services. Whether these trends will continue in this decade is an open question given the disruptions in the real estate markets and the economy, but in general Portland is well position to emerge with both a growing economy and a growing population. Most of the jobs that Maine will add over the next decade are jobs that tend to be centered in our urban areas, and Portland still has room for denser housing development in many parts of the city. Portland is a city that is well-sized for sustainability- neither too small to lack key urban assets nor too large to suffer the worst of urban disamenities like traffic congestion.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.

Mitchell Rasor is a musician, writer, and artist. He is also the Principal and founder of MRLD Landscape Architecture + Urbanism, an interdisciplinary design studio. Mitchell holds degrees from Oberlin College and the Harvard University Graduate School of Design.

Submission guidelines:

Each artist may bring one piece to SPACE during the dropoff period as follows:
Thursday, January 12, 3-7 PM
Friday, January 13, 3-7 PM
Saturday, January 14, 12-6 PM

Guidelines:

• 2D work dimensions (1width + 1height) not to exceed 100 inches
• 3D work footprint dimensions not to exceed 36 inch diameter
• One piece per artist
• All works must be dropped off ready to hang / display
• All work must be accompanied by a submission form
• All work must be dropped off and picked up during stated times. No exceptions!
• Artist is responsible for the transport of work to and from SPACE
  
• Artist grants SPACE permission to use images of work to promote Free for All and SPACE.
• SPACE will retain a commission of 40% of the retail price of each work sold.  All artwork sold will remain on display through the end of the exhibition.  SPACE will pay all proceeds due to Artist within 30 days of the end of the exhibit.
• SPACE will provide insurance of artwork for the duration of the loan stated above.  In the event of loss or damage that cannot be restored, Artist will be reimbursed 60% of the retail price listed above.
• By submitting work, Artist understands the spontaneous, experimental nature of Free for All and understands that SPACE will make all decisions regarding placement/hanging of work in the show.
• SPACE is very excited by the range and volume of work expected for Free for All and plans to exhibit each and every piece of work submitted…however, we reserve the right to make final curatorial decisions.

In a recent article for Business Week, Liz Ryan commends Joey for making a bold decision about what was right for him, leaving behind a position that didn’t utilize his talents. She writes, “Instead of getting his musical friends organized to stage a mini quitting concert, Joey might have been using his creative energies to come up with good ideas for the hotel and its patrons. One of my chief complaints about work in most big companies is that they make tasks and assignments so compartmentalized that bright people get squeezed into tiny boxes that waste their brainpower.”

Isn’t this the heart of what the creative economy is about? We need creative and innovative problem solvers at work, and it’s the best companies or organizations that skip the tiny boxes in favor of letting their workers reach their potential.

Unfortunately Ryan misses an opportunity to highlight the real purpose of the video, which was to bring attention to the injustices Joey experienced in his workplace. She should have noted that the Joey Quits “brand” extends to a new website which “serves to expose the abuses against workers that happen everyday in the hotel industry.”

We applaud Joey and company for being opportunistic with the attention they’ve received. Only a truly creative mind would think to turn a crappy hotel job into a workers’ rights movement.

Christopher Cambell's award-winning house, photo by Raymond Koch

1. Andy Graham sold Portland Color to New York City firm Designtex. You can read a MaineBiz article about it here. We particularly liked hearing Andy talk about the impetus of the sale: “The reason they chose to buy Portland Color was because of the quality of our work force.” Portland Color employs a number of artists that have worked with SPACE over the years. We wish them luck!

2. Winky Lewis and a small gang of artists worked with Joe Malone (also a SPACE Board member) to open a pop-up art gallery for the month of December. They’re having an opening on Wednesday evening.

3. Betsy Evans Hunt is the representative of American photographer Todd Webb’s estate, and she’s been working with the Bowdoin College Museum of Art on a Webb exhibit called “After Atget: Todd Webb Photographs New York and Paris.” There’s an opening on December 9.

4. Our longest-standing Board member (and super landlord) Christopher Campbell designed a house on North Haven that was included in Dwell Magazine’s list of their Top 10 Homes in America. You can read a Huffngton Post story about it here. He’s up there with with some greats, including Walter Gropius and Eero Saarinen.

The release show features performances from each of the Treble Treble compilations including Aleric Nez, Dead Man’s Clothe’s, Drab Pony and Jakob Battick. Complete with a record listening station, band artwork and special guest appearances, this show would be a perfect introduction into the dynamic underground music scene us Mainers can be proud of. The vinyl LP is also available for pre-order. All pre-orders will ship on November 17th. Eternal Otter Records is a Portland-based music label responsible for releasing records by Cerberus Shoal, Lady Lamb the Beekeeper, and many more, specializing in limited-edition vinyl recordings.

For more information, contact Will Ethridge at wethridgeATgmailDOTcom

If you’re looking for a full day of art-making, head over to the Portland Museum of Art from 11AM-1PM where South Portland based contemporary artist Karen Gelardi will transform the exhibition space into a workspace and bring the art of Gathering Up the Fragments for families and children of all ages. Karen Gelardi

What do we have in common? We tend to be grassroots, resourceful, innovative, responsive to our community, and focused on artistic excellence. But we certainly weren’t all the same, which was the exciting part. And we all came from a wide variety of kinds of communities.

We caught up with Sarah Wagner, who runs a residency program called DFLUX in Detroit along with her husband Jon Brumit, who you may remember from his project Vendetta Retreat at SPACE back in 2005. We hung out with Stephanie Sherman from Elsewhere in Greensboro, North Carolina, and learned more about the residency programs they offer in their thrift-store-museum. We met Eleanor and Oliver Wise of The Present Group, a subscription art project that has channeled over $20,000 toward funding artist projects, stipends, and development of critical essays. We talked into the wee hours with Courtney Fink and Jeanne Gerrity from Southern Exposure in San Francisco about object oriented art and social practice. We learned about workshop structures from Mark Allen of Machine Project in L.A. and heard about their recent lockpicking class. We witnessed Works Progress host a Chicago version of Salon Saloon, which featured a fascinating segment on the history of phone directories in the Windy City.

Why phone directories? Because the conference doubled as the occasion to release threewalls’ newest project, Phonebook 3, a directory of independent art spaces, programming, and projects throughout the United States. We’re glad to be included in this book, which you can purchase on their site (do it!).

We are excited to continue conversations with our peers about these grassroots creative activities and innovative organizing models across the country, and would love to hear about your thoughts and experiences, too.