[This is an EXCERPT: read the whole article here. -Ed.]

"Creating what urban planners call '20-minute neighborhoods' was a recurring theme among residents and city officials Friday afternoon during the launch of the Portland Plan... Participants focused on the idea of 20-minute neighborhoods, where residents can reach most of their day-to-day needs within a 20-minute walking distance."

"The sessions were broken into categories such as urban design and land use, transportation and infrastructure, economic development and prosperity, housing, the environment and social and cultural issues."

"As the city launches into the Portland Plan, [Eden Dabbs, communications specialist with the city’s Bureau of Planning] said city planners can look at ways to create and encourage 20-minute neighborhoods by allowing developments clustered around public transportation corridors, for example."

"'What people want are neighborhoods where kids can walk to school safely and people do not have to get in their car to go shopping,' she said."

Photo credit: Thomas Hawk