{"id":935,"date":"2014-10-26T12:56:57","date_gmt":"2014-10-26T17:56:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/digital-computational-studies-2430-fall-2014\/?p=935"},"modified":"2014-10-30T22:18:05","modified_gmt":"2014-10-31T03:18:05","slug":"reconsidering-smart-city-suggestions-portland-wants-parking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/courses.bowdoin.edu\/digital-computational-studies-2430-fall-2014\/uncategorized\/reconsidering-smart-city-suggestions-portland-wants-parking\/","title":{"rendered":"Reconsidering Smart City Suggestions: Portland Wants Parking"},"content":{"rendered":"

After speaking to Portland residents and commuters, one thing that became very clear to me is the popular demand for better parking in Portland. Of the four people I spoke to, three had cars. All three of them cited the parking as an undesirable aspect of Portland. However, none of the people I spoke to seemed to be aware of any place to park except by the waterfront.<\/p>\n

One of my earlier ideas was to increase signage in the city. Originally this was intended to educate the public on smart changes that occurred around them, especially in relation to public space. I still feel that signage is important\u2014 that there is power in simply pointing out in words what you want people to know. If parking is a problem, it is possible to acknowledge and address that in part with signs. There might be a physical need for more parking space, but there may also be a distribution problem that could be helped by the distribution of information. The city is so small that there might be a trove of parking within a ten-minute walk, which would be useful if people knew where to find it. Easy to read maps and signage would help tourists and locals alike to locate parking nearby.<\/p>\n

Ideally, the small degree of satellite parking would also help Portland to transition to a walking city. In turn, the increase of walking could benefit the numerous sidewalk businesses, and help public spaces to thrive more as places to rest or eat lunch before returning to one\u2019s car.<\/p>\n

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\"Mark<\/a>
Mark is a 56-year-old resident of Portland. He was a social worker, and now lives on disability payments. He is from Massachusetts, and has lived in Portland for 7 years. When asked what he likes about Portland, he cited the people in Maine, his good experience at Preble Street Resource Center, and his “great” experience with the Portland Housing Authority. He said he dislikes the weather.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Josh<\/a>
Josh is a 26-year-old resident of Portland. He is originally from Woolwich, Maine, and has lived in Portland for one year. He works as a shop clerk in the business district of Portland. When asked what he likes about Portland, he called it \u201cthe perfect amount of city,\u201d not too big or too small. He said he loves Portland\u2019s culinary scene, and likes the people. He had trouble coming up with a clear source of dissatisfaction, except the \u201cawful\u201d parking around Old Port.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Brittney<\/a>
Brittney is a 23-year-old resident of Hollis, Maine, about 25 minutes south of Portland. She works at Beal\u2019s ice cream parlor, where she has worked for eight years. She is now a student in Boston, but commutes to Maine for the weekend and continues to work at Beal\u2019s. She has never lived in Portland, but said that she likes the small town feel, and the fact that \u201cpeople know you.\u201d She said that parking is a real difficulty, especially for people who work in Old Port as she does. She also said that the parking officials make parking especially difficult.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Marina<\/a>
Marina is a 22-year-old resident of Portland. She is originally from Florida, and moved to Dixfield, Maine, about 10 years ago. She has lived in Portland for about a year, and works as a house cleaner in the greater Portland area. When asked what she likes about Portland, she said she loves the people, the food, and the energy of the city\u2014especially that it feels \u201cthriving\u201d but things slow down by around 10 pm. In the downtown area, she says, people want to have fun but not make trouble. She cited the parking as a source of dissatisfaction, and said that, being from a rural area, she is still getting used to the city noise, especially the ambulances. She also said that the city is definitely geared toward tourists, not residents.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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10:45<\/p>\n