Portland State Magazine Fall 2022

and staff together in a way that is elevated beyond a residential college system,” Zapata says. “PSU can’t take a stand in those conversations if we’re not also willing to say what we’re willing to contribute and do. What we do right now around the housing crisis and around homelessness is going to set up how we’re going to be leaders in that conversation.” THE NEXT 50 YEARS These discussions around land use, transportation, and environmental impact aren’t new.They’re the same conversations Adler and other urban planners have had since the 1970s when the Downtown Plan was being conceived. Adler, for one, believes the upcoming generation of planners, advocates, and environmentalists are more than prepared for the task. “We are equipping them—and inspiring them—to keep on addressing these issues,” Adler says. Many of them have grown up in the face of the unintended consequences of many ideas that the original plan embraced—unintended consequences that will need to be addressed if PSU intends to embody its role envisioned by urban planners decades ago. “There’s been an enormous amount of gentrification and replacement of individuals of color from their communities,” Coll says. “As we continue to think about our city and the changes and growth pains that our city has, it’s important for us to simultaneously include those voices and hear and understand the impact that any urban plan could have on multiple communities.” “Cities are never done, right? They’re not like cakes where we take all the ingredients from the oven and it’s just—cake,” Seltzer says. “Cities are constantly in a state of change. What’s that next generation of change?” Once a parking garage (top left), Pioneer Courthouse Square now hosts events and functions as a vital gathering space for the community. RICHARD ENGEMAN, OREG. HIST. SOC. RESEARCH LIBR. , BA015681 CITY OF PORTLAND ARCHIVES FALL 2022 // 27 ,y \ nvironment L. Create a major public square in the c enter of the district to provide a needed focal point and gathering place. The Pioneer Courthouse and the adjacent b lock to the west present the best location for this pu rpose, X

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