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Monday, April 3, 2017 at 5:31pm.
We Come From the Future - Comparing Portland to Vancouver, BC.
Access Notes
Check in at the security desk to get access to the 27th floor. This usually isn't required for official events and meetups.
27th Floor
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Description
As Portland sits on the precipice of considerable growth, one wonders what the future will hold. Will the city embrace and sustain the coming changes, allowing for prosperity, access and affordability for all its residents? And what will be the engine of change and growth, providing high-quality employment as the local economy continues to shift away from resource industries?
While it is tempting to look to our Bay Area neighbors to the south as an indicator of Portland’s future, a better analogy may be found from our friends in the north. From the perspective of population size and geographical boundaries, Vancouver, British Columbia bears a strong resemblance to PDX. With an economy that has been trying to transition from forestry and mining to high-tech and knowledge jobs, Vancouver has bore the brunt of the influence of extreme, external wealth. In many ways, it may show a crystal ball 10 to 15 years in the future.
Keith Lay is a recent transplant to Portland from Vancouver, BC, where he ran a design and software development agency. In the last decade and a half, he has seen the effects rapid change and wealth on his city. On April 20th at New Relic, he will give a presentation that compares such issues of housing cost and affordability, the impact on neigborhoods, small businesses and schools, and the effects this has had on a nascent high-tech scene. He will then be joined by a high-octane panel of Portland’s cognoscenti to discuss what Portland’s future may hold:
Kevin Cavenaugh is the principal of Guerrilla Development Co., which designs and builds many of the spaces Portland’s up and coming businesses choose to take root.
Sarah Iannarone is the Associate Director at First Stop Portland (at PSU), and is an urban best practices expert advising leaders around the globe on how to build better cities and regions.
Stephen Green is the Portland city manager for Townsquared, and a long time champion of local high-tech and small businesses from a development and financing perspective
Malia Spencer is a journalist and tech reporter for the Portland Business Journal, as well having her finger on the pulse of the local business world.
Rick Turoczy is the founder of Silicon Florist and Portland Incubator Experiment, and is engaged in numerous projects around the Portland start-up scene.
We will discuss the impacts of rapid growth and the influx of external capital on communities, people and business, look at potential solutions to the negative impacts, and find ways to frame the conversation that works for all stakeholders.
Date: Thursday April 20th Time: 5:30 - 7:30 pm Place: New Relic, 27th Floor, 111 SW 5th Ave.
New Relic is a software development company that is helping thousands of customers consistently improve their software performance, every day, all day.