Hello everyone. I would say “happy Monday,” but that would be a lie. My mind and body are full with thoughts of devastation. Devastation to people and the planet — and the devastating reality that the U.S. government is complicit in so much of it. What can BikePortland do? I will keep the fire burning here as always, so that we have a platform to help push important conversations forward. Please reach out to me if you have ideas on how we can best use this platform to bring attention to important global issues.
For now, here’s our weekly roundup of the most notable stories from around the web that I’ve come across and that folks have shared with me in the past seven days…
Homage to messengers: An amazing look into the past and present of cycle couriers in Washington D.C. that likely tracks the experience of many major U.S. cities over the past two decades and how deliveries by bike have dwindled. (Washingtonian)
Don’t drive, maybe? Today is the first day of a growing, national, “Week Without Driving” movement. The idea is just what it sounds like: Don’t drive for a week and see what happens. You in? (Week Without Driving)
Bike blogger in Portland: My Seattle compatriot Tom Fucoloro visited Portland recently via train and folding bike and shared thoughts on the quality (or lack thereof) of our network. (Seattle Bike Blog)
Little change on climate goals: In a city where public safety and homelessness dominate politics, it’s not surprising that our climate change “emergency” plan is languishing. Even so, the lack of progress is very concerning. (Portland Mercury)
Irresponsible advertising: Someone at the major ad agency Wieden and Kennedy thought it’d be a good idea to post signs along major streets encouraging people to text. The worst part is the campaign gives one lucky winner a free SUV. The City of Boise was like, “WTH?” (BoiseDev)
It’s complicated: The question of whether or not bike lanes cause gentrification was re-litigated by a national podcast this past week. It’s worth a listen, especially if you weren’t around Portland in 2010-2013 when we went through the N Williams Avenue project saga. (NPR Code Switch)
World Champs: Slovenian superstar cyclist Tadej Pogačar pulled off the very rare Triple Crown and has now won the Giro, the Tour, and the World Championships all in one year! Belgium’s Lotte Kopecky won Worlds on the women’s side. (Bicycling)
Thanks to everyone who sent in links this week. The Monday Roundup is a community effort, so please feel free to send us any great stories you come across.
Thanks for reading.
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Sheesh, everyone knows that it was Australian Shepherds, followed by Golden Retrievers, and then Corgi’s that were responsible for gentrification in Portland.
New wave displacement is all about Labradoodles.
Portland’s Climate action “plan” has always been greenwashing fantasy and the declaration of climate emergency was a complete farce from day one. Pretty legislative language with no concrete timeline, no funding, and no political mandate is not in any way acknowledgement of an “emergency”.
I know it’s wicked but I’m so angry at the “galaxy brain” cognitive dissonance from liberals/progressive over their window-dressing climate emergency declarations that I look forward to their ululations and gnashing of teeth over Portland’s farcical lack of progress.
What the ***k did you think was going to happen when you keep on electing corporate-fascist democrats who illegally make back-room deals with big oil, claim that burning toxic and ecocidal diesel or methane could possibly be “renewable”, use RECs (a mega-corp and wall street invention) as a fictitious surrogate for genuine renewable energy generation, coddle utilities owned by sociopathic billionaires or wall street investors instead of creating a public utility, refuse to meaningfully address the fracked gas that so many Portland residents and businesses burn like there is no 2040, limit increased density to ultra-low density ADUs and plexes, refuse to mandate electrification of affluent people’s homes (they can afford it, so mandate it), and who pretend that a city whose population is ever more affluent does not pump out toxic and ecocidal emissions via its pathological hyperconsumption.
Thanks for the comment.
One of many things I find interesting in political discourse these days is how the policies passed by government are then assigned with a broad brush to “liberals/progressives” (or any other general political label which has little meaning because labels lack the nuance required to solve big problems) as if regular, everyday voters are the ones who craft these plans and are enthusiastic fans of the plans!?
Who do you think you are speaking to with comments like this? The way I see it, the only people who are excited about “emergency” plans like this are city staff, elected officials, and the top folks at the many various advocacy group “partners” who were involved in and/or paid with city contracts in some way to help get the plans passed and/or who are more worried about losing access to power they become it.
The vast vast majority of people are just as mad about the lack of progress and performative politics as you are! But it feels like to me that instead of point your anger at government and the power class that is responsible for these plans and whether we make progress on them, you get mad at this false bogeyman of the people. Then you share a list of things you are bothered by that are things you need a massive groundswell of these same people to organize and rally with to help change.
Have you ever considered that one reason we’re in so much shit right now is that there is an unfortunate tendency of everyday, regular people and activists to blame each other when things go badly… instead of working together and organizing with allies in a big coalition to defeat/change what the government and those in power are doing?
Our voting system hardly gives people much choice. So this idea that there’s some huge group of people who, “keep on electing corporate-fascist democrats” and that somehow these folks are happy with what’s going on and/or are to blame for what’s going on feels like you’re creating an enemy that doesn’t exist just to push your personal narrative and scapegoat these complicated problems instead of looking in the mirror and acknowledging that many of us want the same things and there’s an immense amount of community and political organizing required to change onto a new course.
This is true at the presidential level, where the electoral college makes my vote utterly meaningless, but less so locally. Anyone with sufficient support can get elected.
The real limitation is that too many voters don’t spend the time to really think about who they’re voting for, so known names (such as incumbents) and endorsements can really sway the results. (This will be equally if not more true under the new system than the old.)
So the basic question I’m able to distill from your post and the parent are who is to blame for our lack of progress in tackling climate change — our leaders or those who elect them?
I am convinced that if the electorate really cares about an issue, that will be reflected in who we elect. Portlanders really care about cleaning up the streets at the moment, and that’s going to be the defining issue of the election (and is the cornerstone of the Gonzalez and Wilson campaigns among others). If voters cared just as passionately about, say, electrifying city vehicles, that’s what candidates would be talking about.
My conclusion is that responsibility essentially flows back to the voters, with the caveat that you can only vote for one of the people who actually steps forward (and may imperfectly match your views). It is also my belief (but have no evidence to back it up) that only a tiny minority of residents make the effort to communicate what they want to their leaders.
How many of us can honestly say we’re going to vote for people based on the strength of their climate change proposals above all else? (Or bike/traffic safety issues above all else?) I think most people are going to vote for someone based on their general vibe, and hope for the best.
I agree with a lot of your comment Watts. Thanks for sharing. My point is just that I feel blaming voters and “liberals/progressives” or any such label is just too simplistic and that I see a lot of folks expressing their anger/anxiety by attacking other voters instead of the power structure which I believe is where more of the blame lies. All this being said, I also do blame many voters for a similar reason I think you hint at — they don’t take enough time and/or do the requisite work of democracy by being informed and taking their votes very seriously.
About bike lanes and gentrification – it was a good listen. My view is that regardless of the specifics of bike lanes, spending money on the city in ways that improve the city is what causes gentrification. Or rather, the fact that housing is completely market based. You make the city a better place to live, and people with money will want to live there, pricing out whoever was already living there.