Portland State University Alumni News Spring 1984 On the inside Milwaukie Storefront Project / 3 City, county and university ;o;n to save downlown Milwaukie Remembering Tennessee Williams / 5 Awess Barbara Baxley brings 36 years of chealer to PSU slUden!> and slage Dave Opoien ('83) / 6 Fresh out of school, marketing grad se/ls safety for a living Carolyn Davidson ('71) / 7 The Nike "swoosh" was her big break Biological brothers / 8·9 Alums Peter and Paul Paquet use the" biology degrees 10 save fish and wolves Foundation News / 10 Alumni News / 11 Campus New. /13, 14 Calendar / 15 On the cover: Downtown Portland Viewed through bubble Windows on the Professional Schools Building. Portland: Carl Abbott, Urban Studies Urban historian keeps finding things to write about this 'lively city' by Clarence Hein "Writing a book about a city is a great way to learn about it." Carl Abbott, professor of urban studies, is in his Francis Manor office at PSU's School of Urban and Public Affairs, explaining how a historian - born, raised and educated in the major cities of the midwest - landed at PSU teaching urban affairs courses and writing books about Portland. "My training is in American history and I've always been interested in the classic study of American pioneers, covered wagons, and all of that," Abbott says. "But, at the same time, I've been fascinated by the role the cities have played in the development of the west." Portland was not the first western city to capture Abbott's interest. His first stop after earning degrees at Swarthmore and the University of Chicago was on the slopes of the Rocky Mountains. "When my first teaching assignment at the University of Denver incl uded a course on the history of Colorado, I had to do a lot of reading really fast. Once I had all that material pulled together, I ended up writing a book." The book, Colorado: A History of the Centennial State, was not cast from the mold of traditional state histories. "I wrote the book because I saw a vacuum, a lack of the kind of history book I felt was needed ." What kind was that? "First, readable," Abbott says with a laugh, hastening to add, "That is, something written for a general audience which also could be used as a text. Second, I felt there needed to be a book giving the emphasis to the role of Denver in the history of Colorado which it deserved." Arriving at Portland State in 1978, Abbott found himself living and working in the middle of what he considers one of the best and most exciting case studies in urban planning and development in the country. His interest was spurred by the fact that Portland "has remained a lively city at the same time that it has grown into a successful metropolis." Abbott began an intensive study of the evolution of the city, which resfJlted in Portland: Planning, Politics, and Growth in a Twentieth Century City, a book about the development of Portland from the turn of the century to today. Portland provides an excellent object lesson in the importance of political leadership and public support in comprehensive urban planning, Abbott says. "We did not have (such) planning in Portland until the last 15 to 20 years." In the book, published last year, Abbott says, "I use the development of planning, the planning commission, and planning activities as a framework. I wanted to see how these decisions impacted the kind of city that we live in; how they shaped our everyday lives." Continued on p. 2
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