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| Portland's Willamette River & Glasgow's River Clyde |
Part of my Fulbright time at the Mackintosh School has been spent helping to teach a seminar class on the “Creative City.” Along with a half-dozen students, my Scottish colleague and I have closely examined the urban fabric of Portland and Glasgow – two cities widely famed for their creative identities. Stories about them in the popular press are ubiquitous: The New York Times and Guardian clearly have soft spot in their journalistic hearts for both sites. Both are river cities with the same size population and a certain energetic buzz, but they are certainly two different places. Glasgow is older by about a dozen centuries and far denser. Portland is growing, while the number of residents in Glasgow has been steadily declining. Both are working to (re)invent themselves as places for innovation, culture, and hipster coolness. On May 21 the class showcased its work at a symposium that compared Glasgow and Portland’s take on creativity along with public spaces, café culture, and street food, which help define the urban fabric, its culture, and a sense of quirkiness. The projects will be exhibited at the school’s end-of-year degree show in late June and a wee book documenting the work will be published at that time.
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| Willamette River Scale, Portland Built Form, Population Trajectories, Glasgow Built Form, River Clyde Scale |
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| Both cities are close to nature; the Columbia River Gorge and Loch Lomond are only 45 minutes from each city's center. |
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| Residents of both cities are passionate about their cities. |
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| Which is Portland and which is Glasgow? |
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