Internationally known town planner Andres Duany, co-founder of the Congress for the New Urbanism, will speak as part of an upcoming discussion series in Portland, "Growing the greatest places: New strategies and tools to regenerate the centers and corridors." The Portland metropolitan area is expected to experience significant population growth in the next 30 years.
In his talks, Duany will discuss tools and strategies to implement infill and retrofitting and redevelopment of suburban districts, centers and corridors to accommodate this growth while maintaining the region's connections with nature, preserving existing neighborhoods and strengthening employment. Metro's 2040 Growth Concept, adopted in 1995, guides the region's continuing commitment to create compact, vibrant communities and protect farm and forestland.
Duany is a founding principal at Duany Plater-Zyberk and Company, a leader of the New Urbanism, a movement that seeks to end suburban sprawl and urban disinvestment. Over the past three decades, Duany's firm has received numerous awards and exerted significant influence on the practice and direction of urban planning and development in the United States and abroad.
Events in the discussion series will take place:
- 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday, May 12, Metro council chambers, 600 NE Grand Ave.
- 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 12, University of Oregon White Stag Building, 70 NW Couch St.
- 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 13, Damascus City Hall, 19920 SE Highway 212
- 7:30 to 9 a.m. Friday, May 14, 2010 Planning Conference of the Oregon Chapter, American Planning Association at the Oregon Convention Center, 777 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Metro's partners in the discussion series are the University of Oregon, the Oregon Chapter of the American Planning Association, the City of Damascus, Sustasis Foundation and Cascadia Congress for the New Urbanism.
The series supports Metro's work to achieve more robust development in the region's centers and corridors. In 2009, Metro received a set of recommendations from a panel of independent experts on new tools and approaches for developing centers and corridors to help encourage vibrant communities that produce and support jobs.