I have high hopes that the next three days are going to lead to a new national movement that is analogous to the kind of movement that has taken place in Portland over the past 20-25 years, that says transportation has to be about people and place. The progressive movement in transit planning says transit is about communities. This holistic view of transportation characterizes the new metropolitan perspective. Transit is no longer viewed in isolation, but as a vital link to solving a range of social and environmental problems, from the access of inner city communities to jobs, to constraining urban sprawl. Without the vision of prosperous and socially just communities driving our commitment to light rail, our commitment will fail.
Rail is a powerful tool to rebuild American communities.
People understand there are better ways to build communities than sprawl. If we build the vision, they will come. In sharp contrast to the despair and avoidance that characterize so much of the national approach to urban problems, metropolitan coalition organizers insist the problems have traceable causes and clear solutions. Every element of urban decay and deterioration is the result of deliberate policy decisions. Three in particular are often cited.