Last month, I was one of dozens of Mainers who hosted a Jane’s Walk of my neighborhood. My walk, titled “My Queer Portland,” was a reminiscence of the 1980s and 1990s, reflecting on the places and events locally that impacted me as a young gay person. Researching my walk was a wonderful experience.
Part of my research included revisiting the work of Jane Jacobs, the community activist who inspired this international initiative. While I had read excerpts of Jacobs’ 1961 book “The Death and Life of Great American Cities,” I decided to read it in its entirety – and I am so glad I did. Despite its age, it is shockingly relevant for Portland today.
I live in Bayside, where there is a housing project in process on the block between Parris and Hanover streets. Based on artistic renderings, a high wall is to be built along the east side of Parris Street that will enclose the enormous residential structure and its private outdoor pool area. That wall looks to be one story high at its lowest point and two stories at its highest. It will have no windows, as it is not an exterior building wall, but a privacy wall, i.e., it makes the building, with its private outdoor space, an island within the neighborhood.
The wall will be hung with greenery, and the greenery – rather than the sidewalk itself – is what appears will be lit. I suppose that would be to mitigate the look of the wall. This wall concerns me for a couple of reasons: first, it separates this new residential building from the neighborhood in which it exists; the building is, in effect, a walled community on the Parris side. Second, it makes the neighborhood street more isolated and less safe.
The wall closes off Parris Street on the east side. Parris is, otherwise, a very open street. There are businesses and residences that face the street on the ground floor. On nice days, Port City Bikes (on the west side) opens its door and puts out its bikes and people stop to try out the bikes or just to chat.
Batson River Brewing (on the east side) and Wilson County Barbecue’s outdoor seating on the corner of Parris and Lancaster have people coming and going well into the evening hours. A fitness studio (F45) is at the bottom of Parris Street with a steady stream of people in the early morning hours, after work and into the evening. Outside of the building where I live, people hang out at various hours throughout the day. That, according to Jane Jacobs, is how a neighborhood street creates safety. She calls it “the intricate ballet of the sidewalk.”
The new building, 52 Hanover Street, rather than contributing to the Parris Street ballet, risks creating an alley-like area along its east side. Although there is foot traffic in the renderings, it is theoretical; there is no reason for foot traffic there. The entrances (for both vehicles and pedestrians) are on Hanover Street. The first-floor commercial spaces will be on Lancaster Street, which is already a busy, well-lit and safe area. On Parris, there will be a building back door and a garage back door, and it remains to be seen how much use those get.
I love to walk and jog and bike in my neighborhood, sometimes in the early morning hours. Based on my understanding of 52 Hanover Street from the renderings and descriptions, I am deeply concerned about its impact on my neighborhood. I hope that in the future when projects are presented to the decision makers in City Hall, that they consider the impact on the neighborhood’s sidewalk ballet.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
