Coastal Weekend . . .
In the interim between now and when Coastopolis actually experiences its full fledged "launch" I think what I'm going to try and do is jot down certain notes, ideas, impressions and musings about coastal planning and management, coastal living etc. etc. Coastal stuff in general, which I'll probably continue once the site is up, but for now, will hopefully keep people ( i think i have about three readers ) coming back and checking in. If you do have any comments I would love for you to share them, I'm discovering that the more collaboration and feed back that I receive from individuals the easier the process of getting this thing off the ground is going to be . . .
. . . last weekend I found myself in Seaside, OR. After the conference wrapped up I spent one day exploring Portland by bicycle, and Saturday traveling to the coast and getting my first taste (in ages) of the Pacific Ocean. The water was a brisk 60-something degrees and the waves off of the main beach were probably in the 3-4 foot range with the occasional 5-6 foot set to keep things interesting. I had rented a 10'2" surfboard from Seaside SurfShop and while it was a total beast to ride around, it was a lot of fun to be out in the water paddling again. The only unfortunate side-effect of spending roughly three hours surfing is that in my urgency to get into the ocean, I forgot to put on any sunscreen and now my face and head are red and crispy.
Sunday morning I woke up to seek out donuts which would have been an excellent way to start the day. It was cool and misty and I donned my borrowed sweatshirt to head out and seek my prey. I walked down the Promenade and made it to Broadway, turned onto Columbia and walked back and forth. I found the place that claimed to sell donuts, but they were a far cry from what I wanted, resembling little circular funnel cakes . . .
Anyway, the point is that I was walking around looking at all the stuff down on Broadway and wondering how it got that way, and how will it all end up. For those of you that are unfamiliar with the town or area, Broadway is full of cheap souvenir shops, junk-food eateries and arcades. Not exactly the most eloquent statement of urban design or American mercantilism. And yet, this pattern is repeated over and over in beach towns on both coasts. Far be it from me to decry the look and feel of what seems to be a fairly popular tourist destination, but what I couldn't help but wonder is what are the forces that shape the look and feel of certain coastal communities
and where do these places fit into the overall scheme of "sustainable" development along coasts?
To be sure, the coast of Oregon has plenty to worry about beyond whether or not they need one more or less purveyor of plastic sand castle buckets and vinyl pirate flags . . . Dead zones, fisheries management issues, not to mention politicians that could care less are all things that the state (as well as most other coastal states) have to contend with (and that's just what i could drum up on a quick google search for this week) . . . I don't have the answers to anything, I guess that's the whole point of this particular project. I attended a conference once where the goal wasn't necessarily in "developing solutions", but rather in getting to a point through discussion and exchange where you might be able to ask the right questions.
I arrived in Baltimore this morning having left Portland Oregon last night. Before boarding the plane I had a real urge to buy a book and ended up choosing Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men. I read it in one night. Now, a blog on coastal issues might seem a strange place to bring up a novel about a crime spree in Texas, but I'm going to recommend it anyway. Its a page turner and a great read, but its also about change and reflection and how people look at what mattters and what drives us to do the things we do. Which for me, is what the coast has always been about anyway.
. . . last weekend I found myself in Seaside, OR. After the conference wrapped up I spent one day exploring Portland by bicycle, and Saturday traveling to the coast and getting my first taste (in ages) of the Pacific Ocean. The water was a brisk 60-something degrees and the waves off of the main beach were probably in the 3-4 foot range with the occasional 5-6 foot set to keep things interesting. I had rented a 10'2" surfboard from Seaside SurfShop and while it was a total beast to ride around, it was a lot of fun to be out in the water paddling again. The only unfortunate side-effect of spending roughly three hours surfing is that in my urgency to get into the ocean, I forgot to put on any sunscreen and now my face and head are red and crispy.
Sunday morning I woke up to seek out donuts which would have been an excellent way to start the day. It was cool and misty and I donned my borrowed sweatshirt to head out and seek my prey. I walked down the Promenade and made it to Broadway, turned onto Columbia and walked back and forth. I found the place that claimed to sell donuts, but they were a far cry from what I wanted, resembling little circular funnel cakes . . .
Anyway, the point is that I was walking around looking at all the stuff down on Broadway and wondering how it got that way, and how will it all end up. For those of you that are unfamiliar with the town or area, Broadway is full of cheap souvenir shops, junk-food eateries and arcades. Not exactly the most eloquent statement of urban design or American mercantilism. And yet, this pattern is repeated over and over in beach towns on both coasts. Far be it from me to decry the look and feel of what seems to be a fairly popular tourist destination, but what I couldn't help but wonder is what are the forces that shape the look and feel of certain coastal communities
and where do these places fit into the overall scheme of "sustainable" development along coasts?
To be sure, the coast of Oregon has plenty to worry about beyond whether or not they need one more or less purveyor of plastic sand castle buckets and vinyl pirate flags . . . Dead zones, fisheries management issues, not to mention politicians that could care less are all things that the state (as well as most other coastal states) have to contend with (and that's just what i could drum up on a quick google search for this week) . . . I don't have the answers to anything, I guess that's the whole point of this particular project. I attended a conference once where the goal wasn't necessarily in "developing solutions", but rather in getting to a point through discussion and exchange where you might be able to ask the right questions.
I arrived in Baltimore this morning having left Portland Oregon last night. Before boarding the plane I had a real urge to buy a book and ended up choosing Cormac McCarthy's No Country for Old Men. I read it in one night. Now, a blog on coastal issues might seem a strange place to bring up a novel about a crime spree in Texas, but I'm going to recommend it anyway. Its a page turner and a great read, but its also about change and reflection and how people look at what mattters and what drives us to do the things we do. Which for me, is what the coast has always been about anyway.
posted by Javier at
11:31 AM
1 Comments:
the blog is great but your readership might need to be expanded a bit! How is it that I'm the first one to leave a comment? Where's Aaron/King of Blogs?
It's off to a good start! I also really liked the intro to the website and the logo!
Thanks for providing a distraction to my diaper changing duties. I hope you are better at blogging than I was!
a
By
Andrea, At
August 8, 2007 3:27 PM
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