Ideas:
1. gigabit internet
2. free public wifi
3. cat walks/tunnels to allow people to stay inside and still move around the city (see Duluth)
4. street cars
5. improved bus signage
One of the things i thought was most interesting from the city council meeting discussions were the refrences to joint public and private partnerships. In many cases, the payments for road improvements etc. were actually made by those who would benefit from teh construction and the government both. I feel like we see this in many cities also in public transport. Hong Kong’s subway system for example is privately owned entirely.
I feel like most of the ideas I listed above would have demonstrable impacts on the businesses in the area. For example, most of down town Portland is really nice to walk around during the summer. During the winter however, no one wants to walk outside to walk around the streets and move from building to building. Having a part of the city where each building fed into one another would make it much more popular when it is bitterly cold.
Portland City Council, September 15 meeting, 127.
Your idea of creating catwalks and underground tunnels between buildings is an interesting one. There actually is at least one catwalk already in Portland; I noticed one near the intersection of Preble Street and Congress Street yesterday! I wonder how feasible it would be to create a city-wide catwalk or tunnel network from a financial standpoint, considering how many buildings there are in Portland. Maybe catwalks or tunnels could be built between connecting garages to adjacent buildings. That way, people could drive to the appropriate garage and walk from their cars to their destinations without having to go outside.
I agree that Portland in the winter is not a particularly attractive place and that there should ideally be a method to transport people between buildings. However, Portland’s small size, especially the low buildings, might make an extended network of catwalks too difficult. It would be interesting to find which buildings have the most number of people travelling between them and which of these would appeal the most to visitors. Kote mentioned the idea of collecting more data in Portland and I think this would be a useful application.
Perhaps what I admire most about your idea is that it’s just like Moses’ meat axe, but in the air. :) Fair enough on not liking cities but, as Vivian points out, this one is too small to meet this idea. The other outcome is the literal stratification of the haves and have nots. While some may say this is okay, the larger issue with the eradication of the middle class and losing what we have in common with extreme increases in wealth (by which I mean billionaires and not at all millionaires) is the increase in crime and decreased safety for all. Studies show that violence ensues without the balance. We must be careful not to build a Versailles all over again less that sort of terror return.
And now back to our smart city thinking! Ike, you love the meat ax! So imagine how you would do Moses to Portland. He made great things happen there, above ground highways aside. Follow your hero and make the city you dream of, although perhaps with many more people in close proximity than you like. :)