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By Katrina Johnston-Zimmerman

One day not long ago (by history’s standards), streets were populated by a friendlier form of transportation: the bicycle. Accompanied by horses, trolleys, and masses of pedestrians as well, the bicycle was the first form of personal transportation before automobiles were even prototypes. Bicycles helped women to become emancipated by providing them with independent mobility. Many don’t realize that in fact it was bicyclists who first demanded that roads should be smoothly asphalted in order to ease transportation as early as the late 1800’s. A few decades later, however, streets quickly became the realm of the car.

By Katrina Johnston-Zimmerman

I’ll sing it until I’m blue in the face, but public space is one of the most crucial components of an urban environment. Not only is it a huge percentage of any city, but more importantly it’s public. And that includes the sidewalks, parks, plazas, and streets – all (or most) technically belonging to the people. While it’s true that you can’t just camp out in the middle of the highway (not that you’d want to), it’s only manufactured policies that now dictate our streets are for automobiles instead of people.

But what if it was different?

One thing many people notice when they come to Portland is that unlike many other large cities, there is a distinct lack of large public murals downtown. Public art brings vitality to the city, and thanks to Forest for the Trees NW, there's a lot more of it in Portland. Over the course of six days, twelve artists from around the world created massive works of art all over the city. Participating businesses hosted collaborations between artists from Tokyo and Australia, along with local artists to add vibrancy to the streets.

Ralph Becker, Mayor of Salt Lake City was presented with the 2013 IMCL Joseph P. Riley Jr. Award at the 50th IMCL Conference in Portland, OR, June 25, 2013. The Award was made in recognition of his “exemplary Livability Initiative, a program to make Salt Lake City one of the greenest, most inclusive and economically viable municipalities in the country.” The initiative improves conditions for walking, cycling and public transit, in conjunction with a focus on creating “vibrant, walkable neighborhoods, community hubs, and housing for a full range of incomes.”