With several awesome helpers, I’ll be leading a bike tour, scavenger hunt and photo-inventory of “Missing Middle” housing types as part of Pedalpalooza 2015. Here’s a link to this particular ride, with details below.
Meeting spot: Colonel Summers Park (Basketball court)
Date & Time: Sunday, June 14th 3:00pm, ’til ~5pm; chance for food/hang-out afterwards
Short Description: Large single family homes and 4+ story apartments are sprouting up all over town, but how about anything in-between? Portland has a rich history of affordable and beautiful small plexes, courtyard apts, internally converted large homes, townhomes… that are rarely ever built today. Join us to tour, scavenger-hunt, and photo-document these Missing Middle housing types – and learn what it’ll take to re-introduce them. Bring a photo-taking device, pen & paper. We’ll end up at an inner-SE spot where those interested can share a bite to eat.
Context
Some of Portland’s most beloved and affordable housing types include courtyard clusters, duplexes, triplexes, quads, bungalow courts, townhomes, and internally divided large homes. In scale, these traditional housing types fall between single-family homes and 4-story apartments. They were reasonably common in close-in neighborhoods until WWII, and are exactly what we need with today’s smaller households, escalating home prices, and strong demand for walkable and vibrant neighborhoods. But they are rarely if ever built today.
To expand our housing pallet beyond large single family homes and 4+ story apartment buildings, we need to create a more friendly regulatory environment (ie. zoning code changes) for ‘Missing Middle’ housing types and remind ourselves of their potential to meet the needs of moderate income Portland households. We’ve already made significant headway at re-introducing accessory dwelling units – through a combination of tours, consumer education, and regulatory changes. This ride will (re)introduce participants to ‘Missing Middle’ housing types as an initial step to making them more available here in Portland.
Ride Logistics
We’ll meet at Colonel Summers Park, then bike as a group to visit some prime examples of Missing Middle housing. Then we’ll split into smaller groups for a scavenger hunt to find and photo-document additional examples . Finally, we’ll reconvene to share images, compare notes, and have a bite to eat for those interested.
Background
Check out Daniel Parolek’s article on Missing Middle housing and the website he set up to share more information at www.missingmiddlehousing.com.