> Magnera, who works as the director of climate and energy policy at Verde, a Northeast Portland environmental justice nonprofit, stopped the conversation and pushed to add the words "rest and be welcome" to that guideline. She explained that public spaces around buildings often include "benches but not a lot of place to pitch a tent."
Is there a homeless problem in Portland, sure, in the sense that there are them. But it isn't a inconvenience to me. You see them but they aren't a swarm of bees trying to swallow your spare change.
I lived on 14th and Alder in Eugene when Jerry Garcia died. That was annoying. All the people that toured with the Dead decided to land in Eugene while they found Phish.
It is like when public transport is talked about here. It is garbage because it isn't the same or better than my car. No fucking shit. It isn't meant to be. But it gets me where I am going for 60 bucks a month.
Public transportation in Portland is great. The homeless problem is a problem if you are uncomfortable around homeless people. But I just keep on walking and loving Portland..
> There are a dozen such guidelines, but the discussion ground to a halt at No. 6, which said the exterior spaces of new buildings must "provide opportunities to pause, sit and interact."
The end result of this proposal may be a little similar to what this editorialized title says, but IMO everyone in downtown Portland would benefit from more spaces to pause, site and interact, not just homeless campers.