Urban "Planners" and environmentalists will insist that "controlling sprawl" and otherwise limiting growth, development and progress through government restrictions does not interfere with the free market.
While it is hard to predict the future the saying is that "hindsight is 20/20." So let's take a look at a report from a while back that exalts Portland (and Metro) as the greatest human invention since tenure for traitorous professors.
regional goverance: portland
Formed in 1979, Metro was the country's first regional government and a key reason why Portland has become one of the most attractive, livable cities in the nation.
Yes, except for the constant violence, burglaries, horrible traffic, and the chronic homeless problem everything is great!!
Portland has shown that planned growth is not anti-growth. Quite the contrary. By clearly defining where future growth is permissible, and in what forms, the city has avoided divisive political fights over new development projects.
*Cough* Measure 37 *Cough*
While "planning" is often cast as an enemy of the "free market," Portland has shown that intelligent planning can maximize growth over the long term. Precisely because Portland has preserved its quality of life and not succumbed to sprawl, it has attracted such major corporations as Hewlett-Packard, Nike, Intel and Hyundai.
Hmm, Hyundai left, Intel demands huge tax breaks to stay, Nike is involved in a bitter dispute with Beaverton over annexation, and Hewlett-Packard cut jobs.
Yep, looks like the folks over at Sprawlwatch.com got it right!
2 comments:
For the City of Portland: Columbia Sportswear, the recent relocation of offices of the Portland Tribune to Clackamas county. Louisiana Pacific. The list of corporates fleeing the area increases almost daily.
Metro's urban planners have created many negative consequences. The bad traffic and unaffordable housing problems are just the tip of the iceberg.
The sad part is that all of this nonsense is shoved down the throats of every city in the region.
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