Portland Mayor: Questions from an Architect

As Portland moves closer to the "Portland Mayoral Choose-Fest" I'm putting on my professional hat and thinking about questions that need answering.

• Do you believe that increased regional planning can benefit the business climate or health and wellbeing for the businesses and residents of Portland? Why or why not?
• As mayor, how much power will you have to increase efficiencies in the many permitting processes that new and existing businesses face in Portland? How will you use your given powers for the maximum effect?
• Portland is a city that depends heavily on its image to attract a complex group of tourists from art critics to foodies to leaf peepers. How does the built environment contribute to this image? Does the city benefit from contemporary architecture?
• What can architects and contractors do to help you and your goals for Portland?
• Are there creative solutions for filling all the empty commercial lease spaces in Portland?
• What is one way that the city and the creative economy can work together TODAY to help promote Portland to the world at large?
• Portland is a mixed use city. Where is this working well and where is it NOT working well?
• How does Portland continue on a path of economic development without making the city too expensive for its residents?
• What is your vision for how the streets of Portland might look different in 20 years? In 50 years?

Do you have any questions for our future mayor? Post them here!

MAST, the ZOOM Bus, and LD 673

I've been working with other members of MAST to promote LD 673, submitted by Representative Bradley Moulton of the York, Maine area. This bill would offer a significant improvement to the regional transportation infrastructure of Southern Maine.

In a nutshell, this bill would: (click here to read the bill)

• Expand the existing ZOOM Bus route to go from York, to Augusta.
• Require the MTA to turn over 3% of  its operating revenue for use on non-turnpike Maine roads.
• Fund the installation of wifi on all ZOOM buses to encourage transit use as a more productive way to travel.

I made this poster to be used to promote the bill:

You can download the poster here.







Some thoughts from others on LD 673:

• Tux Terkel of the Portland Press Herald wrote this on the proposal.
• Christian Milneil wrote this great op.ed. on the subject
• The Conservation Law Foundation has posted this blog on the proposal.

Please consider telling your Maine legislator to support this bill!

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Flowers. . . in review.

I recently was talking to a friend about flower pictures, and thought I would show some!

Maine Music and Humor

There are two sites that I'm pretty psyched about:

Maine.fm is excellent! 
This site is all Music from Maine recording artists all the time! I was skeptical at first, but there really IS enough music to do this! I've heard some great new artists and recognized plenty of my local favorites.
I have high hopes for this site as a place that organizes the Maine music scene, and ultimately results in the first Portland Music festival! Yes all roads lead to the Portland Music Festival!

Hyperbole and a Half is a riot!
That's what I think. . . go see for yourself.

Maine Licensed Architect

I just received a letter with this crest on it.

It also contained this table.

The end result. . . I am licensed to practice architecture in Maine!

The ten years of hazing are over, and I'm now in the fraternity.

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A Mayor for Portland!

Next year, Portland will have an elected mayor for the first time in eighty years. The Mayor will be granted limited political powers allowing him or her to lead and organize the City Council,  hire the City Manager, veto the municipal budget, and represent the city to the world beyond.

While the new Mayor will certainly face the serious logistical challenges of educating our children, maintaining services, and balancing the budget, the Mayor must also be expected to be kind of person who can bring Portland forward.

The “first” Mayor of Portland should be a person with the optimism to inspire pride and motivation within the city, the charisma to sell Portland’s image to vacationers and prospective businesses, and the dexterity to negotiate stronger regional agreements between the municipalities of Greater Portland.

The way in which the new Mayor performs his or her duties will set a precedent for how a mayor in Portland should act and what a mayor’s responsibilities will be for decades to come. The “first” elected mayor of Portland should look beyond written policy to provide an atmosphere of collaboration and consider these suggestions:

- Thank local organizations. Portland is a diverse city and will benefit from the continued diversity of services. The new Mayor should be prepared to work with, promote, and support local non-profits already providing civic services that the city does not have to supply.

- Enable local businesses. The movement to keep business local is strong, but survival for a small business in Portland is always precarious. The new Mayor must review city procedures to ensure that permitting and licensing processes are prompt and predictable for all business ventures.

- Support local farmers. The farmers’ markets in Portland have been very successful. The new Mayor will need to be part of a regional dialogue about land use to ensure that local food and natural resources are both available for years to come.

- Praise local artists. Portland will continue to be a vacation destination, and the presence of street art vendors, galleries, and an artistic culture create the kind of excitement that tourists expect. A strong relationship between the city and all artists will help Portland continue to be a tourist destination.

- Encourage local music venues and musicians. Portland is a hotbed for original music and musical performance, but has the venue infrastructure of a much larger city. The new Mayor should consider ways to create events or festivals that would bring new attention to Portland as a musical destination.

- Recognize Portland’s residents. Portland rests on the shoulders of its residents who choose to live here. A mayor for Portland must be a community organizer who will encourage neighborhood, community and city-wide events such as clean-up days, crime watch meetings, and neighborhood meet-and-greets.

The “first” elected Mayor of Portland must have the discipline to handle the daily challenges of running the city, but must also recognize that Portland is a city of willpower that continues to thrive because it is something to believe in.

The "Transportation Issue"

My friend and fellow MAST memeber Christian Milneil wrote a great Op-Ed for the Press Herald about MAST's new Zoom Proposal. The Press Herald wrote short editorial in support of the idea. Christian did a great job outlining a path to improved public transportation.

I think that building a stronger public transportation system must be a top priority in the future, and while strong proposals are important, so is a strong rational. I would like to share my own rational for promoting public transportation.

The reason we need public transportation is simply that not everyone can get around by car. For the last 70 years we (as Americans) have primarily been promoting car-centric development, but these development patterns leave out those too young to drive, those who can't afford to drive, and those who have disabilities that prevent them from driving.

Our communities invested in public transportation in that past but as cars grew in popularity, support for public transportation wained. In the 50s my mom and her brothers would take a bus from Main Street Cumberland into Portland to go to the movies. Now, my grandmother still lives in the same family house but cannot drive or take a bus anywhere. We need to get the old transportation systems back.

We all know the regular reasons to improve public transportation: reduced car emissions, reduced congestion in cities, improved health (if people walk or bike) and even reduced sprawl as development centralizes around transportation systems, but I see personal independence as the reason at the heart of the need for better public transportation. People need to feel self sufficient and able to meet their basic needs on their own, but it is hard to feel that way if there is no alternative to driving.

As the baby-boomers age more and more people will be prevented from driving because of age related disabilities. As my parents get older (and believe me, they are not there yet) they will at some point have to decide not to drive. The prospect of losing such an integral mode of independence can be paralyzing to even think about. We need to start thinking about how they will be getting around now.

In the Portland area we currently have a system to address this issue called RTP. This is a by-request-only pick-up service and people must apply to receive the service. While the RTP clearly helps many people, it does not not offer it's services to teens who are too young to drive, and it does not provide the personal independence that a frequent and dependable public transit system could provide.

It is time again to make public transportation improvements as an investment in our communities, just as the interstate system was made an investment in the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 and the railway system was made an investment in the Pacific Railway Act of 1862.

The car has played out its course as the "only way" to travel, and it is time for us to reintroduce the kinds of public transportation that used to be essential to our cities. Our current road infrastructure will be sufficient for a long time if we just focus on not having SO many cars.

The needs of our diverse populations are many, and we need a diverse transportation infrastructure to allow all of us personal independence in our modern world.

Carroll Family

This is a great picture of my father's family when they lived in Cape Elizabeth.

Sasha's Modeling Shoot

Sasha and I went out to her secret spot for taking portraits, and we did a photo shoot of her. Taking modeling pictures was an eye opening experience for me, but I love the results. She's so beautiful!

Some of my favorites are right here, but at the bottom you can also see a slideshow with all of them.

From Photo Shoot of Sasha

From Photo Shoot of Sasha

From Photo Shoot of Sasha

From Photo Shoot of Sasha

HOBY Maine Program Book and Videos

We just had the 2009 HOBY Maine Seminar a few weeks ago, and it was another great one. This year I did not have my own group of students, but instead was more of a coordinator for the whole seminar. (At least from the kids' perspectives.) Beth did the seminar planning again this year and did a great job!

This year I was the Director of Publicity for the Board, and among my responsibilities was the website and the Seminar Program Book. You can look at the Program book PDF here.

HOBY Maine 2009 Seminar Program Book

For the website I made two simple videos to better explain what HOBY is to the parents and students. This first one talks generally about what HOBY is, and why a person should donate.

This second video tells prospective seminar students a bit more about what to expect at the HOBY Seminar.

Please check out our HOBY Maine Website and consider donating.

Unbuilt Architecture Awards

Here in Portland, Maine we have a Portland Society of Architects, just like Boston has the BSA. Now of course we're not as big scale here, but it's a great organization from my experience. This Spring I entered my thesis from 2006 in the PSA's Unbuilt Architecture Awards Competition in the "Intern" category. . . and I won!

I didn't make the award ceremony because I was volunteering for HOBY, but the board I submitted will be on display this coming Friday, June 5th at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies which is now at 561 Congress Street.

I haven't seen any of the competition entries, but I'm sure there will be lots of good ones on display. Here's the board of mine that you will see if you're there. (Click here for the full PDF.)

I am excited to have my thesis on display. It will be during the First Friday Art Walk so there are sure to be tons of people walking around. The Salt Institute is also a fantastic institution, so it will be great to be able to hang out there for an evening. It will hopefully be a warm summer evening full of art and conversation.

I am looking forward rubbing elbows with friends, family and colleagues all night, and I will have something of my own to talk about for a change. I invite anyone interested to come!

6pm, Friday, June 5th, 2009 at Salt (561 Congress Street)

Urban Contra Dancing

This is not my video, but a friend made it for her film class. It was fun to be part of, and the Empire Contra Dance really is awesome!

House and Bride

I'm getting married! This was the image on the save-the-date postcard:

It is my future bride running to her parents house, where the ceremony will be held. Her and I had a great time coming up with the idea and making it happen.

The composition was oddly familiar. . . 

. . . ah yes. . . 

No idea is totally original I guess.

Updated HOBY Website

I have been on the HOBY Maine Executive Board for over a year and a half now. My latest project for HOBY has been to update our website. (Most of the pictures on the site were taken by Sasha.) Check it out!

HOBY is a great organization. Please consider donating while you look at the site.

New Camera

There's a few more pics here: (on my main blog)
http://evancarroll.blogspot.com/2007/06/share-art.html

Share Art

I have a new camera.

It is much more versatile than my old one, and I've been learning its workings all week.

Photography is a special art form for me as I am able to enjoy it intuitively. Intuitiveness is my goal for any art form but I have only been able to achieve it in photography. To me, a photographer should be able to walk about, see things, frame them and capture them without consciously analyzing them. With each additional moment spent taking pictures the goal is to become more and more relaxed and focused. It should be almost meditative.

Sasha and I have gone on frequent "photo-walks" this week and have been able to strive for this experience together. Sometimes one or both of us is "in the zone" and other times we talk a lot and discuss shots. Sasha has a very good knowledge of photography and will always give me pointers if I need them. I think helping me helps her get excited about challenging herself to find more shots to capture. While we are both trying to find shots for ourselves we're also helping each other be inspired.

And that is what is so great about art: it is both intuitive and intellectual, both internally and externally influenced. Every artist wants to create in their own way, but an artist can learn new techniques, perspectives and styles by looking to others. The artist creates something that will be enjoyed a second time through when they share it with others.

Art is a cycle of learning, executing, and sharing. Learning to prepare for an new challenge, executing for self fulfillment and sharing to present a finished work or receive feedback.

I feel that photography is (at least for now) really coming back to me because Sasha and I are going through this cycle together. I hope we keep it up, but even if we move on to other obsessions/interests it's great to be here right now.

If you've got some art that needs sharing, please do. It's great to have this feeling back. I don't think I've had it much since school.

See more pics here:
http://evancarrollphography.blogspot.com/2007/06/new-camera.html

New Apartment!

I have now spent one night in my new place on Munjoy hill! I just walked to work. . . and I am now just a little TEN MINUTE walk from work! I am floored! I was figuring at lease fifteen. And there were lots of other people walking down from the hill to work too! Awesome. . . that's fantastic! On the down-side. . . Sasha and I slept awfully on our inflatable mattresses. We have no actual furniture yet, as we won't be moving 'till Saturday.

On another note. . . this: http://www.portlandmaine.tv/index.php
I haven't really had a chance to look at it yet, but I'm sure it's cool!
(thanks toni)

Westbrook Metro

I've got another thing to be excited about. (I use "excited" in a way only I could use it.) I went to a meeting today about making changes to the schedule of the bus (#4) that I ride every day. I got to talk to some cool bus-supporting, bus-riding people, and of course give some input. And I came out of it with a job that needs doing: I need to convince Westbrook city councilors to spend just a little more money on the Metro than they do already. I hear that convincing people to spend is not always easy. . . perfect! Sounds like fun.

Metro Website

Planning Board Ward 3, Westbrook, Maine

Hello everyone. I put this page here to allow people in Westbrook to post comments about Planning Board matters.
-Please realize that there is a good chance that I will have to disclose any comments made here to the Planning Board at the next meeting.

At this time I am not sure what to use this for, but I figured it would be a good idea to have this here for later use. It would allow people to leave comments that others could read publicly.

Holiday Aftermath

As all of my frequent readers must know, it has been a long time since I have posted anything at all. For this I apologize and will make up for it with an onslaught of information. Let's see. . . all kinds of stuff. . .

I got new shoes! I had always wanted golf shoes. . . but the spikes are not very "indoorish." When I saw these I fell in love, except they were too much. (money that is) I shortly discovered the magic of a really big sale. . . they're mine now




















Updates to thesis stuff
I have been meaning to try to put my Sketchup thesis model on Google Warehouse for awhile. . . well it's done now! I also got a video of a walk-through of the model on to YouTube.
If you're interested in my thesis in general go HERE.

I'm on the Westbrook Planning Board!
This isn't an elected position, but one appointed by the Mayor. I am the representative for Ward Three. So far I have been to three meetings and I still have a lot to learn. I am never sure which issues are going to cause controversy, and which will take no time at all. as a result I often feel that I have prepared for the wrong things. Anyway, I have made a blog page for people to leave comments about the planning board, but I don't have any intention of using is yet. I'm also on the Westbrook website. . . a true celebrity.

This year we did Luminaries on Christmas Eve. I was very happy with how they came out. . . here are some pictures.











Some other Picture from this Fall:

Woods near Sasha's

Portland Shots

Again, I just want to apologize for how this entry is all business. I like to ramble too sometimes, but not this time I guess. Just two more things:

This girl's video of a Smiths song is really cool, and all the backdrops are in portland.

Lastly, I finally put a simple sort of resume on here. . . so I can refer people to it at some point in the future.

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