By: Tom Henderson//June 19, 2013//
Tom Henderson//June 19, 2013//
Keep Portland “wired.”
That is the message Herman D’Hooge, a senior engineer with Intel, wants to express when he explains how to plan for the future at Portland City Council’s meeting on June 26.
D’Hooge will unveil a proposal, titled “The ‘Smarter’ Portland Plan,” based on the work he did with students at the University of Oregon’s School of Architecture and Allied Arts in Portland while on sabbatical from Intel.
The plan includes such things as sidewalks that tell pedestrians how to get from Point A to Point B as well as traffic lights that can determine when it is truly safe for cars to proceed without hitting errant bicyclists or pedestrians.
While at the architecture school, D’Hooge taught a special interdisciplinary seminar on “smarter cities.” His students researched and proposed new ways to use technology to create safer, healthier and environmentally sustainable urban areas.
The seminar included a detailed study of the Portland Plan. The document outlines a 25-year strategy by Portland officials to promote a livable and sustainable city.
D’Hooge and his students took the study and put their own spin on it, exploring how technology could add to the existing goals. They will present their conclusions at the City Council meeting, beginning at 9:30 a.m.
More information is available from Sabina Samiee at the architecture school at 503-412-3729.