Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/112499
THE GRID h city travel highlights BY CHARLES MONTGOMERY PORTLAND NCOUVER and more vibrant places to live ��� as well as much more intriguing to explore. Pacific Northwesterners needn���t journey far for inspiration, either. The future of people-friendly, green urbanism is happening here. Vancouver, long known for its vertical downtown neighbourhoods, boasts one of the world���s most sustainable urban villages and is leading the continent in the diversification of its transportation grid, including joining Copenhagen, Amsterdam and New York City in pushing cyclist-only lanes through its urban heart (tellingly, the city���s greenhouse gas emissions have fallen by five per cent since 1990, while its population has grown by a third). Portland has become a hub of both green transport and do-it-yourself neighbourhood reinvention. Seattle, long a scion of sprawl, is reinventing itself in part by inspiring more residents to live and play in its inner-city neighbourhoods. And though they may not yet be matching the low-carbon rates of Copenhagen and Frieburg, each city is rising to the challenge in its own way. Which is why Sadhu Johnston gave up his job as Chicago���s green czar three years ago; he���s been charged with nothing less than transitioning Vancouver into the greenest city in the world. Our downtown cycle is part of my search for urban designs that find the sweet spot between good times and doing good. (Portland cyclist) Andrea Johnson, (Portland street painting) Charles Montgomery p28-31,36-37,44-45_Cities.indd 29 Where Social and EnergySystems Collide VANCOUVER We park our bikes in a little community garden just short of False Creek, the narrow waterway bounding the southern edge of Vancouver���s downtown. Johnston draws my attention beyond the rows of sprouting onion and kale to where five huge As the exodus to the suburbs reverses, Paci���c Northwest cities are regenerating through increased density and a diversity of transportation options. VANCOUVER���s Gastown lures travellers, and residents, by breathing new life into its heritage buildings. SEATTLE reconnects with its waterfront. PORTLAND takes back its neighbourhoods. WESTWORLD >> F A L L 2 0 1 2 29 12-08-17 3:40 PM