Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current, October 04, 2000, Page 30, Image 30

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October 4, 2000
National Minority Business We ek
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Michelle Albert o f One Stop ’
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Choosing Between
Project Planning or
Urban Husbandry
B y R o berta G ratz for the P urtlaab
Under Project Planning, a
project must be big to be mean­
ingful. Big projects require big,
experienced developers, big
contractors, big government
a g e n c ie s, big
public financial
su p p o rt, and
lots o f invest­
m ent banking
and legal fees.
U nder
this
P ro je c t-b a s e d
P la n n in g , the
new is added at
a large enough
scale to over­
whelm and alter
w hat
e x ists.
What exists may
be wiped out en­
tirely, as with ur­
ban ren ew al.
Something radi­
cally replaces it.
Few clues are
left as to what
has been lost
and what alter­
native strategy
has been used.
Project Plan­
ners dom inate
the citadels of
power. Planning
p ro fe ssio n a ls,
d e v e lo p e rs ,
Wall Street in­
vestors, and the
like co n sid er
Project Planning the only ap­
proach worth talking about, the
only one requiring complicated
financial packages. Only Project
Planning, of course, is depen­
dent on them. Project Planners
dismiss anything else as irrel­
evant, anything that places more
confidence in the judgment of
citizen users. Downtowns are
pockmarked with their accom­
plishments. Only Project Plan­
ners, their followers, and the pub­
stead o f replacing them. Plan­
ning is meant to be about prob­
lem solving, relying heavily on
the expertise of citizen users, the
accumulated experience and wis­
dom of the commu­
nity. Building on
resources to di­
m inish or o v er­
come problems is
the chosen route,
instead of projects
that o b lite ra te
those worthy re­
so u rces. U rban
Husbanders advo­
cate introducing
change incremen­
tally and monitor­
ing it carefully,
providing a great
o p p o rtu n ity to
learn from each
step.
Proponents of
Urban Husbandry
strengthen what
exists before add­
ing anything new.
They involve many
entrepreneurs of
various sizes, not
just one big devel­
oper. Urban Hus­
banders rely only
on modest doses
o f governm ent
support, if any. Ur­
ban H usbanders
are the most frequent opponents
of Project Planners. They work to
add a layer o f organic urban
growth, rather than replace what
has taken decades to grow. This
layer may look and feel in many
ways radically different from what
was there before but, fundamen­
tally, the connection between be-
lic persuaded by their rhetoric
define these downtowns as re­
born. R ebuilt, y e s; reborn,
hardly.
Urban H usbanders assum e
that assets are already in place to
be reinvigorated and built onto in
order to stimulate a place-based
The Housing Authority salutes minority
business and supports creating business
opportunities.
Watch for our advertisements for bids in
the Portland Observer and other
community newspapers.
As part of our business of housing, we
develop, redevelop and rehabilitate
throughout Portland, Gresham and
Multnomah County.
The Urban League
of Portland
Joins with
to celebmte
'Minwity Business Week
Z&? valuable contribution
car community bp the people
ran these businesses.
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SAFEWAY
FOOD & DRUG
Exciting Career
Opportunities
Safeway offers immediate career and job opportunities for those who are commmitted to providing superior
customer service. Learn about our excellent training programs, benefit packages & competitive wages.
For current employment information, cal, the Safeway Job Line at
eng then African Americans and all
ive toward economic self-relidifa
ial equality."
The Urban league of Portland
jssell Street
“M i
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(503) 657-6400
Equal Opportunity Employ«
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