the old Portland Building
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President Trump
has changed our political landscape... not to mention our understanding of what is possible. While the country discusses dissolution, we contemplate a metaphorical zipper:
useful together, and useful apart,
the smallTower is a place where democrats and republicans get together and do things well. People from over the west hills and Southeast, can share good things here, and then go their separate ways.
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A Wake-Up Call
because not all tall buildings are the same. After the 2001 Twin Tower catastrophe in New York, Animate knew the best response is creativity. The idea of a "vertical public street" was born. Create the world's tallest building as a public street, where a globally respectful government, would not become a target. Sell the floors and maintain transportation: the elevators. Alas, the idea was never drawn up, sensing such a political idea at that time, was too far forward.
Homelessness
it's not just in Portland. It's across the country. Using Portland's creativity, let's find solutions to this problem. Our nearest competitor is Salt Lake City... (did you hear what their Mayor did?) This is a little frightening to say, but instead of saving the planet, can we understand our neighbors? There is no reason to be wasteful. We can be wise with energy and people.
Moreso in the middle, the low ceiling height floors of the smallTower are envisioned as home-base to many new small scaled infrastructure projects. Run by a Jobs Guarantee program, these opportunities for participation would eliminate homelessness as people begin contributing to our communities again.
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Guaranteed Jobs
are one way to build a more stable society. An "Unconditional Base Income" is also been proposed, even in Switzerland. ​And yet in Portland, a Guaranteed Jobs Program would be a great way to reduce the mental illness which, is usually coupled with lack of income. Respecting people and acknowledging that when unfortunate events in life occur, people gain value from being valued, from being a participant in society.
Portland's Future
is growth. Sandwiched between Seattle and San Francisco, there are many opportunities. Native Portlanders speak about the massive congestion and unsafe traffic. And yet curiously and gently, traffic appears to be planned according to morality. Like a mirage in a small city: pedestrians have the right-of-way over any other vehicle, then bicycles then cars... and hydrocarbon consuming airplanes are almost wrong to use. Such a strategy has not been used in large cities. There might be reasons... It will be interesting to see how Portland adapts as population doubles again in the next 30 years.
More than any other American city now is the time for Portland to demonstrate successful lifestyle ideas. To build a city that implements ideas in a cost-effective and humanist manner. Portland is continuously evolving, neither too slow nor too fast, into a large city that thrives in the 21st century.
Portland's People
are great. We have met wonderful people in so many places: the check-out counter, the barbershop, we met bus drivers, nurses, chefs, software engineers, government workers, librarians, educators, bartenders, business owners, naturalists, and of course the cyclists and gun owners.
Animate thanks you, you Portlanders, for providing the time and space to propose forward ideas... we look forward to the hard work of building more great things..
