we made a deal

I applied to graduate school because I have a romantic relationship with industrially desolate places.  They're just the environment to rust the edges of your own humanity and enable you to gather up the muster to do things that are really difficult.  Like attempt to learn from them in an effort to preserve and revitalize despite their failings.

I took the above photo of the gold medal flour mill on the bank of the Mississippi river from the Guthrie theater's citizen overlook in Minneapolis, Minn.   I'm sad to report, that despite everything I loved about this place, in particular the incredible architecture that proliferates throughout the city, the intersection of working-class culture and industry, the city's successful endeavor to preserve its history through the adaptive re-use of industrial space, and their successful reinvigoration of a challenging environment, Minneapolis' gross failure in keeping its city vibrant and alive makes it practically impossible for me to join the University of Minnesota's urban planning program with good conscience.  

With so many of their graduates working with the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, I have a hard time understanding how they can argue that street-level commercial space is unnecessary, that infrastructure investment for wider sidewalks is inappropriate, or that suburban separation of businesses districts is acceptable.  I mean, if the goal is a world class city isn't the first step getting people to actually want to spend time in the city?!  It was enraging.  People don't walk in Minneapolis.  They drive.  Every where.  And more disappointing is that not one neighborhood managed to capture my imagination.  With the exception of the recently revitalized wearhouse district, there was absolutely nothing visually interesting about the urban environment and that was more depressing than the allegedly depressing and desolate industrial surroundings.

After a brief return to Seattle, I spent two days in Portland.  Immediately after stepping into the central business district I witnessed people using public transit and walking.  God forbid!!  

Portland is not as visually interesting as even Seattle, and has much to be desired in the way of architecture, but they have green space, public space, public transit, navigable neighborhoods and a planning department that is obviously focused on putting the public in space.  For these reasons Portland is the kind of city I want to live in, and the place where I want to learn.

Portland State's planning program offers specializations in sustainability, community and economic development, and transportation.  I will spend 50% of my time practically applying the theories of urban planning in the field.  I will work directly with the community in bettering the urban environment. 

Sure, leaving Seattle is a hard decision, but I'm already well suited for things of this nature, I've got that rusty grit of industry under my nails, and I've made changes like this before.  Sometimes parting is for the best, it allows a girl to test her mettle.  I mean, Seattle is the type of city that spoils a person.  I spend so much time here that when I'm away for a little while I truly come to realize how wonderful it is here.  Sure, it has it's faults (transportation among the most significant), but it is also cleaner, brighter, easier to navigate, visually interesting, and more beautiful than most places.  Living in Portland and learning in a city that succeeds where Seattle fails will only enhance the fervor with which I will return.  

At that point I'll re-assess my love affair and romanticism with industrial cities, and maybe Seattle will have finished it's light rail.  

"i got memory-burned by a doughnut"

aaron and i spent last weekend in portland, oregon. in six years living in seattle, i've never made the short commute south. how pathetic, i've been missing out. portland is great. it is filled with ever unfolding mysteries, more than should be possible in a gridded city of its size. but my, it is a treasure!

i think portland is the type of city where you could potentially be very disappointed if you don't get around. the downtown is beautiful architecturally and the buildings lend the city a lot of visual interest. the surfaces and materials are varied, the facades different, the colors pronounced, and the architectural details--moldings, windows, bays, build-outs--keep your eye darting and dashing to see everything possible. but, if you stay close to downtown you may face the unfortunate fate of never really having a chance to see what I believe is particularly special about portland--its neighborhoods.

I love neighborhoods and the variety they offer and portland has plenty of them. people in this city must be busy all of the time. i had the pleasure of seeing two different business districts in the hawthorne district. i sampled biscuits at pine state biscuits and then took a long tour of the Powell's Books dedicated to my favorite of the published medium--cookbooks! On our way over to the original Powell's Books, aaron stopped at the impressive burnside skate park built by some renegade skaters underneath the burnside bridge. the spot was the perfect place to observe an awesome creative community that has sprouted from their common love for skateboarding. afterward, i had the pleasure of wandering and winding through powell's books, which really is a city of books, and finding absolutely nothing to buy except an ice tea. for some reason, powell's just really overwhelmed me. A hop, skip, and a jump from their door was a venture through the Pearl District.

The pearl district was one of my favorite neighborhoods. The neighborhoods is under vast redevelopment. And when I say redevelopment I feel like adaptive re-use is a better description. their are so many industrial buildings that are being transformed into awesome commercial and residential spaces. And their are tons of really awesome parks interspersed that really lend a sense of intimacy to a neighborhood that could be very intimidating for pedestrians or residents. the sidewalks and street-scapes made me want to continue walking rather than run the other way. plus this entire space is connected with lightrail. it was mighty impressive. i hope that seattle's south lake union does borrow this model and bring its better points to the area.

i ate a lot of really delicious food including the very infamous bacon maple bar at voodoo donuts and mind-blowing chicken wings at pok pok. who knew chicken wings marinated in fish sauce, tamarind and palm sugar would result in the most deliciously caramelized poultry i've ever consumed in my life. After a long day of walking and an extended evening of drinking our hosts dan and vanessa brought us to a neighborhood a short walk away from their apartment. what they produced was a street that made my entire trip.

When I got to Mississippi Street the first thing I saw was a trailer selling waffle sandwiches. This neighborhood also boasts portland's only free porch. if anyone knows me they understand that porches and sandwiches are two of my reasons for being, so i knew that around the corner lie a treat. Mississippi Street is half houses and half commercial store front. Everything we walked past was charming, interesting, and a true part of the neighborhood's fabric. Sidewalk restaurants and coffee shops, a brewery, and adorable boutiques. I could have spent an entire day there photographing the contrasts between each building's store front. But i couldn't, because we were on a short schedule. Vanessa brought me to her favorite store, Flutter, and after a brief look through the beautiful compendium of vintagey estate sale-esque goods, and the purchase of a bird cage music box, we ran back across the street to join the boys for breakfast at Gravy. After a stroll through the Japanese Garden, aaron and i said good bye to our generous hosts and headed home.

I wish i would have had more time. But something about wandering through this city and seeing so many new things I got very sad about the state of my passport and the absent checks on my list of american cities visited. i realized just how much i love observing my surroundings, i want to see more. not just of portland, but elsewhere, too! ideas?