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Perspectives on Urban Development

Features and Events that have mainly Influenced how downtown Portland looks today

            Downtown Portland has a strong history that has influenced its architectural designs, organization of the city building designs. With the increasing effects of the construction industry to the environment, downtown Portland incorporates numerous construction materials like cement, steel and most recently, wood. The Portland Tower, is a high-rise building in the city built from wood, as the vast majority of buildings in the city ae constructed from cement. Foreign designers are also influencing the construction designs with the Japanese architectural designs being widely used in landscaping while the American and Spanish designs are used in construction of buildings. This is evident in the works of Japanese architect: Kengo Kuma. Technologies are currently being implemented to save on the costs of structures even in downtown Portland. However, the availability of natural resources like the lake and rive beds are influencing the preference for bridges and footpaths along or over these waterbodies.

Priorities that should guide urban and building designs in future

            In future, maximization of technologies should guide the design and development of cities towards maximizing the available resources. Through the Building information modelling and the Internet of Things, urban spaces can be organized towards integrating natural resources such as sunshine as a source of power and lighting (Pickett, Cadenasso & McGrath (Eds.), 2013). Furthermore, as cultural activities and historical concepts remain critical to urban centers, technologies should be used to preserve the old buildings and sculptures to retain their value within the urban centers. Green cities and self-sufficient buildings should also guide future designs towards ensuring that future designs are safe for the environment and societies at large.