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!

Killer Joe and Architalx

Last Thursday Sasha and I went to two great events, and YOU all still have a chance to experience them!

First, we went to Architalx. If you've never been, it happens on Thursdays all April, and it's likely to be our only chance (in Portland) to hear "famous" architects talk about their work each year.

On Thursday we heard from Alan Organschi, who does fantastically fluid work with wood. I loved the Firehouse. It was a tough program with a wonderful solution that transcends the word "solution."

Our second event of the evening was Killer Joe, a play that is showing at Space during April. If I see no other theater this year, I will be happy that I saw Killer Joe. Space is an intimate venue that has led me to feel quite spoiled about seeing live theater. No audience member is more than 20 feet from the stage.

The script is a black comedy that takes no mercy. Watch what a "desperate" family will do for extra cash and how wrong it can all go.

The cast did an excellent job, with a return to Portland acting by Christopher Reiling, who was last seen on the Space stage for Speech and Debate. Chris's brings another character to life with a caricature that is too human to be dismissed as JUST a caricature. I was also excited to see a performance by Brian Chamberlain again. I last saw him on the screen in A Very Careful Man done by my friends David Miller and Charlie Simmons. Brian, the villain, is riveting. It's hard to hate him, and yet, he is evil.

I would encourage anyone who thinks they have perspective on humanity to see this play!

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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PSA Featured Member

I have been enjoying my involvement on the Portland Society of Architects Advocacy Committee. Recently as part of being on that committee I was able to be the facilitator for an informal chat on contracts and project delivery methods used in the construction industry. It was a great experience and I learned quite a bit.

Even more recently than that, I was chosen to be the PSA featured member. Here's the write-up:

Evan Carroll grew up in Westbrook, Maine and attended Roger Williams University, receiving a BArch in 2006. At RWU Evan was a radio DJ, ultimate (Frizbee) player and a capella singer. Evan minored in music, studied abroad in Florence, and worked with professors as a tutor and on a statewide wind energy study.

While attending RWU Evan summered at home in Westbrook and took the bus into Portland for jobs with Pizzagalli Construction, the Portland Museum of Art, and Port City Architecture. The positive experiences with summer jobs and desire to be near family brought Evan back to Maine after graduation.

Evan is now married to Sasha Salzberg, and they live with their two cats and a dog in a house they own in East Bayside. To entertain themselves Evan and Sasha write, make art, do photography, dance, enjoy the outdoors, are music scenesters, and interfere with local politics.

Recently, Evan has been on the Westbrook Planning Board, the Executive Board for Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Maine (HOBY Maine), the Steering Committee for the Maine Alliance for Sustainable Transportation (MAST), the Pecha Kucha Board, and the PSA Advocacy Committee. Evan has just completed his AREs and is now officially a Maine Licensed Architect.

Evan and Sasha have high hopes for their involvement in the future of Portland. They love the creative, collaborative atmosphere fostered in Portland and see many opportunities for the city as a creative Mecca in the future.

Evan hopes to help Portland become a more livable city by continuing to advocate for thoughtful transportation planning on all scales as an integral part of the built environment. Evan believes that his role as an architect is to look inward at how spaces shape peoples’ lives and outward at how the built environment shapes society.

You can see the write-up on the PSA website here.

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Pecha Kucha

Sasha and I have now been on the Pecha Kucha Portland Board for a few months, and I have to say that Pecha Kucha is one of the best creative forums that there IS right now. If you're not in the Portland area, look Pecha Kucha up, as there is probably one near you.

The goal of Pecha Kucha is to get a lot of creative people together to share their ideas and images. Its set up in a super condensed format where there are TEN presenters in an evening, and each only gets 6 minutes and 40 seconds (20 slides for 20s each).

The event is truly a blast and its been an honor for us to help with the curating process. Below are the images that Sasha and I presented when we were emcees for the Portland Pecha Kucha this past Fall. There is no audio for this one, so it might not make a lot of sense.



Sasha and I also presented at PK last winter about Food Art! (This one has audio!)

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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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Seeing Italy. . . . finally

Seeing Italy from Evan Carroll on Vimeo.

I made this narrated slideshow in the winter of 2005 after spending a semester in Florence Italy during the fall of 2004.

All photography is mine except for a small number of images of the Iraq war.

The music is not mine but is credited at the end.

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.