Shaping Portland ― Anatomy of a Healthy City

Portland is a young city founded on a river bank in a virgin forest less than 200 years ago. Shaping Portland: Anatomy of a Healthy City is about the values engendered by the place, and how those values have influenced the growing city. It examines how and why the public realm supports or obstructs the health-forward lifestyles of those who choose to live there.

This book explores the values and dynamics that shaped a healthy city to enable those things. It is a case study of a recognized success – looking more closely at a recent urban infill: the Pearl District. The future roles of the planners and other design professionals in continuing to build healthy and responsive environments are suggested.

The cities of the future will be those that we already inhabit, but infilled and adapted to tomorrow’s needs and values. Understanding the dynamics involved is essential for those in whose hands we entrust the design of cities and urban places.

Paddy Tillett is an architect, urban designer, and city planner with 40 years of international professional experience, having worked for consulting firms and public agencies in many parts of the world before settling in the Pacific Northwest. He grew up in rural Scotland, completing his formal education in Oxford and at Liverpool University, where he gained a master’s degree in Civic Design. He is a principal with ZGF Architects LLP focusing on planning and urban design, and is an adjunct professor at Portland State University. Paddy is an Accredited LEED Professional, a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects, a Fellow of the Royal Town Planning Institute, a Fellow of the American Institute of Certified Planners, and a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects.