Streetfilms: Portland’s Pioneer Courthouse Square

According to the Project for Public Spaces (PPS), Portland, Oregon’s Pioneer Courthouse Square
is one of the Top 10 greatest public spaces in the U.S. & Canada. I
couldn’t agree more. Affectionately referred to as the city’s "living
room" the charming and versatile block was once slated to be a parking garage in the 1960s. Thankfully the residents didn’t let that happen.

Recently while grabbing lunch in Portland, I wandered into the
"Festival of Flowers" – a beautiful urban meadow installation that was
so pleasant and comforting, I just had to shoot some video. Ethan Kent
from PPS has often said to me that the key to the success of Pioneer
Courthouse Square (and many public spaces) is its amazingly diverse
programming. He’s right, I’ve been to Portland a dozen times and there
always seems to be something wonderful going on there.

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Streetfilms: Turning Streets Into Community Spaces

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Intersection RepairRunning time: 10:42 Have you ever dreamed of making the streets outside your home more livable, pedestrian-friendly, and community-oriented? City Repair in Portland, Oregon hosts an annual Village Building Convergence where hundreds of people come together to build diverse projects for the benefit of their communites and to take back their streets via a […]

Streetfilms: On-Street Bicycle Parking, Portland

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Following the news about the new sidewalk extensions and bike racks being installed in place of car parking space in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, Clarence Eckerson of Streetfilms sends along this short video looking at on-street bicycle parking in Portland, Oregon, that cyclists’ Shangri-La. As Greg Raisman from Portland DOT says, "After we put it in, it […]

Times Square Then and Now: A Streetfilms Retrospective

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Mayor Bloomberg is expected to announce his verdict on Times Square’s new pedestrian spaces very soon. Will the changes be permanent? This morning Bloomberg told radio host John Gambling that we’ll find out sometime next week. In the meantime, it seems like the media has decided to fixate on rumors that Midtown traffic speeds may […]