City limits

The type of TV I watch all depends on the company. With others or my old roommates, I gravitate to shows that spark conversation like reality TV (Biggest Loser, Top Chef, and Project Runway and Top Model for a while until I got bored of them ... and of course the big cheese Jon Stewart). But I've noticed that when I watch TV by myself I can really nerd out. The lowest moment was when I didn't have cable and during the presidential election I got into -- I mean, really got into -- CSPAN. These days my 100-plus channels mean my choices are broader (Jon and Kate anyone?) but I still have a soft spot in my heart for those oft-ignored channels I used to frequent, such as PBS. This is all to explain why I found myself watching an episode of American Experience on KLCS about the history of test tube babies. I was enthralled as soon as they started talking about the first test tube baby born in England in the not-so-distant year of 1978, when the procedure was highly controversial. So I stuck around to the end of the show, and thank god. Because the next show was even more interesting. It was about Portland, a city I'm not that familiar with but am intrigued by because of its green reputation. And since Facebook tells me it's where I should be living, I had to watch. Maybe it was the nerdy TV watcher in me, but it was fascinating.

If you know a lot about Portland, this probably won't be new to you. All I knew was that it's a bike-friendly city with progressive residents in a beautiful location (I marveled at the pine trees -- real trees, not palms or god forbid, giant billboards! -- that ran alongside a freeway on my last and only second visit there. It was for a rugby tournament so I didn't get to see much of the city. My only other visit was very brief a decade ago). But what I learned is that Portland's bike culture and it's embracing of public transportation is tied to a 30-year-old decision to limit growth (and good land-use policy). Wise Portlandians (is that what they're called?) stopped urban sprawl in its tracks (er, tires?) with its "urban growth boundary," which put a border around the city and restricted development on the other side. The boundary has grown by only 12 percent in the last 30 years. This means the city is surrounded by farms, wineries and nature. This has had all sorts of positive effects, including dense neighborhoods with good public transportation, a downtown resurgence, farms just 20 miles away and lots of farmers markets with local produce. They have a network of streetcars and lightrail, making it possible to travel from north Portland to downtown in 20 minutes. For someone living in sprawling, freeway-filled, car-congested LA, this was heaven. Those Portlandites (is that what they're called?) are a proud people. This quote was a dagger to my heart: "“We’re not driving 34 miles a day.” Try 60 a day, roundtrip.

The city boundary is not without its critics. Landowners say the city is taking away their rights to sell their land to developers and make money. Some also say it's hard to find the American dream of a suburban house with a yard. The most valid concern is the lack of affordable housing. The city works best for professional singles like yours truly, who want to be near a lively urban core.

It was surreal watching little girls filling up the same red Trader Joe’s bags I own with organic, freshly picked produce like summer squash from a farm 25 miles from their house. I carry my Trader Joe’s bags to the grocery store and fill them with pathetic, wilting produce, passing over the organic produce because it’s so expensive in the grocery store ($3 for a cucumber, really Ralph's?).

And if that wasn't making me salivate, then I learned they actually tore up a freeway that was built alongside the river in the 60s and replaced it with a downtown riverfront park.

I know that even though the show covered concerns over the boundary and a recent ballot measure that would have allowed more development outside it, this was a rosy view of the city. But it made me want to visit to see for myself what it's like and if it truly is a dream city for someone wanting to decrease their carbon footprint, eat fresh foods, use public transportation to get to work, walk to restaurants and shops, and live in a place that's exciting and easy. Long Beach has a lot of those attributes but it's part of a greater metropolis. I don't work in Long Beach so I do that 60-mile commute every day. And as much as I love my city, it's still trying to create a vibrant, culture-rich downtown, the kind that Portlanders (that's what they're called) can take advantage of every day.