Infilling And Solar Power

The latest thing in land use planning is called infilling.  This is where property is re-plated so additional housing or business can be built. As the population increases, a provision to house them, and provide places for them to work becomes paramount.

In Portland Oregon, this translates to single-family houses on seven thousand square foot properties, with three or four story apartment buildings with shops underneath.  This makes sense to someone, I suppose, but the rational is a bit odd.  We are told to use less because resources are limited.  If resources are limited why allow for additional housing?  After if resources are actually limited than how can the city plan for more population?

We are told to purchase less, but as we do garbage collection rates increase.  We are forced into the privations of econaziism, which disallows democracy, while at the same time the economy takes a dive.  Purchasing in smaller quantities, as with purchasing less, increases cost.  As costs increase and people purchase less the economy becomes worse.

The most flagrant hypocritical statement is that Oregon is the leader in becoming green.  This is a flat out lie in the most heinous meaning of the word.  What we are is over regulated.  Infilling, in the method that Portland Oregon uses, casts shadows on the adjacent property

Shadows are not good for the purpose of solar heating.  It makes no difference if the use of solar is for making hot water or electricity.  Cast a shadow on the roof next door and the benefits of the sun are lost.  Infilling makes going green by using solar power, for anything, useless

The best town to use as an example of how provide each property with the most benefit of the sun, that I have found, is Redmond Oregon.  In the area of going solar that town really is a leader. While Portland Oregon is the leader of what not to do and how not to do it.

Sherman

One response to “Infilling And Solar Power”

  1. Yeah, there have been a lot of these 20-30 unit 3 highs going in around here. But city center is growing like mad too, with no less than 10 twenty plus story residential condominiums going in. I can see your point, but given how low the density is within the city limits compared to other cities, i don’t think this is the worst thing in the world. Unless your talking the row houses, most of these 3 highs are going in along the main streets, Hawthorne, Division, Alberta, Mississippi & others where buses are packed running every 7-15 minutes at normal commute times. I live 30 blocks from downtown and there are 30 blocks of nothing but residential homes from here to there. I don’t think it is the worst idea in the world, but regulations, etc., I can’t disagree with you too much as I have a huge beef with the CCB.

    Hopefully traffic will be mitigated some when the new 205 extension of the Max opens soon, although I doubt the Happy Valley folks will be using it as they love to jam up Foster/Powell & 99E at the bridge. And we’ll see if people start using the Wilsonville-Beaverton Train once that goes on-line.

    And using Redmond to compare to Portland with regards to solar, come on now, this is like comparing the light side of the moon to the dark. 300+ days of higher altitude sunlight versus 120ish days of sunlight at sea level. Not really a good comparison, given what sun we do receive tends to be blocked out by everyone’s 80ft trees and what blocks out Redmond’s sun, sagebrush? 🙂

    Anyways just my take on the matter

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