This signage for the brand new McDonalds, on the corner of Boylan and Peace Street in Raleigh, pretty much sums up my own mental turmoil upon going there. MMMM…fries…no, it’s bad for me….mmmmmm…no I should support local businesses…french fries mmmmm…no!…mmmmm.

Just spent a few days in Portland, Oregon, and had a great time, but “coveting” is not a pleasant experience, I have to say. Anyway, Portland in July is so beautiful it’s kinda sick. The sun is bright, the air is clean, the breeze is perfect and everything is in full bloom. It’s like walking through a very convincing sales brochure designed to keep you there forever (with no hint of the less than perfect weather of fall/winter/spring).

CITY OF NEIGHBORHOODS: Portland is fairly condensed with it’s famous and smart urban planning. Outside of the downtown area is a whole host of connected neighborhoods, and each of these has a specific feeling and it’s own little commercial district. It’s actually easier to walk or bike than to drive, which makes the streets very active on a human level.

Portlander’s love their gardens in the summer!

LOCAL FRESH FOOD (and coffee!!) CULTURE: You wanna see some people freak out over food? Talk to a Portlander about coffee, or watch them all glaze over when talking about berries in the summer. Chef-owned unique restaurants are everywhere throughout downtown and mixed through the neighborhoods. Almost all of them pride themselves on using local fresh ingredients and tailoring the menu to what’s in season. And the Saturday Farmer’s Market is packed with people! You can even get authentic southern Chicken and Biscuits from fellow Raleighite, Walter Alexander at his Pine State Biscuits stand.

Saturday Farmer’s Market in Portland

TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS: Wow. I’m not a big city girl and figuring out a bus system or mass transit can be a little intimidating to me. Not so in Portland. The city grid itself is very easy to understand and on top of that, there is a great (and free) streetcar system downtown, a light rail system, and a bus system which are all used by the whole population. Cycling is hugely encouraged and supported through bike lanes and paths. There is even a skateboarding/skate route noted throughout downtown. AND they have Zipcar, cars that sit around in convenient places for you to reserve for an hour or longer and then just walk the block or two to where it is, hop in, and get where you wanna go.

Portland Skate Route

Portland Bike Crew watching an anti-Foie Gras protest

PARKS and RECREATION: There are big and small parks all over the city, some celebrate nature and big scenic views, some are restful, or for dogs, or fun for children, or for roses. Whether in the heart of downtown or in larger natural areas within cycling distance of the core, they are all well used. There are also street festivals and markets everywhere all summer long.

Enjoying the rock fountain at Jameson Park

Tanner Springs: quiet urban park with natural grasses and sustainable water features

EMPHASIS ON QUALITY OF LIFE: It’s a different vibe that as an east-coaster, I just find shocking. At least through my rose-colored glasses of a visitor, it seems like in Portland, yer not about “what you do” as much as yer about “what you did last weekend.” The emphasis is different. The competitive feeling is more about what kind of outdoor “gear” you own than your work status.

Green roof in Alberta Arts district

I’ll have a “things to do on your visit” post tomorrow, and then I’ll leave it alone

The City of Raleigh currently is updating its Comprehensive Plan for the first time since 1989. Over the next 20 years, the city is expected to grow by 70 percent and reach a population of 700,000. Kids City is one element of the City’s strategy to educate people on the issues and engage them in envisioning Raleigh’s future.

Emma Farquhar sees the future clearly, complete with flying cars, the river all Raleighites long for, and her house in the trees.

Kids have eco-visions too! Check out “The Solar Hotel!”

The Mudcats stadium moves downtown, and all the important people of Raleigh are there enjoying the game.

Industry moves downtown too. Shown here is a Gatorade factory…and right beside it, there’s a chocolate factory. Chocolate and Gatorade…new energy for the downtown core!

You can always count on kids for the big ideas, the creative avenues we all wish for but are afraid to develop. Kids Day 2030 brought a little fun into the idea of planning – and maybe to the future reality of Raleigh.

but then I spotted my old favorite from kindergarten – the Fire Chief!

with an air of prehistory I stumbled upon a relic of a three wheeler with up-and down pogo action

but a highly innovative lean-steer three wheeler was waiting around the corner.

The micro Vespa was precious – and pedal powered.

Now the prize of the room was told to be an Aston Martin buggy actually made by the car manufacturer. It was only $5000.

However my favorite was the Unicycle trainer. This is an invention that needs to come back. I envision a hundred of them in formation at the next Kirby Derby Day

What is the big deal? Looking at the companies product line, I find Tata a more interesting brand. Practical with style meets old money. Jaguar has been a tired line for years. Maybe Tata will bring some needed color.

Ford was certainly doing nothing interesting with these cars. East takes west! It is about time. I’m sure Indians have had enough of boring ol’ stiff upper lipped Range Rovers trashing their back country…

The specs were quite impressive, including 80 MPG. I remember turns that could be handled at more than 1 g of force.

The idea has had some kind of staying power, since BMW seemed to copy it directly with their low emissions CLEVER car:

The turning mechanism looks identical:

Then there is the lovely Sparrow by Myers Motors – an all-electric 3 wheeler that might be the non-performance runt of the family, but is the one that made it to production.

They eventually bankrupted, but I see that you can get one at Hammacher Schlemmer now for $25k.

Thanks to our good friend Susan who gave us this design heads-up, we now know that Aquaduct has won a pedal-powered machine contest called Innovate or Die. The contest was sponsored by Specialized and Google. Aquaduct is amazing in that it is a bike designed for third world countries (or maybe Raleigh if this drought persists) where a person must travel away from their home, sometimes 3 or 4 miles, to get water each day. The Aquaduct enables a person to ride to the water, fill up a 20 gallon tank on the back, and then pedal back, with the pedalling pulling water through a filtration system and into a clean 2 gallon tank on the front. See the YouTube video showing the whole process here.

Kelly’s post on the Tata made me think about the Smart Car. I first saw one in Europe in 1999 and have been wanting one ever since. The car is supposedly made in an eco-friendly way (at least in Europe). It’s super cute, and I love that there is at least some chance that I can parallel park (I’m a little challenged in that skill). We’ve got a Prius for longer trips and commutes, so our second car doesn’t need much space…again, a plus in selling me the Smart Car as our second vehicle.

I have watched the difficulties of getting this car approved for introduction into the US market and now, I can finally get one. But I’m not going to. Why? Because to me, in this era of hybrids, electric cars and a quest for overall fuel efficiency, the Smart Car has entirely missed the boat. How can they design a car that small to only get 40mpg? And why? It’s downright irresponsible. My Beetle gets 35mpg. It’s already got the cute-factor. It’s got incredible convenience with the hatchback and foldown seats. I can fit 4 people and my dog into it without a problem.

So what are they selling me that I don’t already have? The eco-friendly approach to building the car in the first place (yes, that’s cool). The supposedly easy approach to recycling the pieces of the car (nice words, but I have little faith that Daimler will have recycling processes in place). The novelty of a new car body shape…and the cool factor of driving around something unique. That kind of cache doesn’t usually last long, and at a price and mpg rate that’s average at best, it’s not enough for me.

The Tata Nano by Tata Motors recently flexed it’s 2-cylinder, 623 cc engine at the New Delhi auto expo. It is currently named the world’s cheapest new car at approximately $2500 (100,000 rupees). Touting low emissions and about 54 miles per gallon the new ‘People’s Car’ will go on the market later this year. (No, not in the US.) Will this little gem be an environmental savior or flood crowded highways?

Woke up this morning and went to our neighbor’s to buy some eggs from their chicken coup, but got distracted by an amazing sight – an incredible, straight out of 1978, mega custom van. It woke me up like no cup of coffee ever could. I wanted to “breaker 1-9″ on a CB radio share the moment, but this blog is the closest I could get.

Seein’ that beauty made me wonder what 2007 has to offer in custom vannage. I don’t know what’s happening here in the U.S., but Japan’s all over it. Check out Pink Tentacle to see some truly imaginative vehicles like the one below.