[Editor’s note: Matthew Hampton of Portland Metro’s GIS team put me on to his beautiful fitness + pretty maps guide walks for Portland, Oregon at NACIS. It’s a collaboration with Kaiser HMO and was awarded best of show at ESRI’s 2009 User Conference. Check out the legend and download route maps. Or buy a copy from Powell’s Books.]
Republished from Powell’s and Oregonian.
About the Author
Walking costs nothing. It burns calories. And it gives you a new perspective on the Portland area. So says an evangelizing new guidebook, “Walk There!”
Metro, the regional government, makes its first foray into foot travel with 50 excursions. Each walk comes with a slick description, photos, map and difficulty rating — think Frommer’s, not government bylaws.
Treks are assigned to categories: For a power walk, hit the stairs in Alameda. Take a lunchtime stroll in downtown Gresham, enjoy the natural beauty of Fanno Creek or get your urban fix on North Mississippi Avenue.
Metro credits Kaiser Permanente with the idea and funds for the guidebooks, which are free. Governments, nonprofits and outdoor groups helped craft routes. And editing credits go to Laura O. Foster, author of “Portland Hill Walks” and the upcoming “Portland City Walks.”
The Oregonian talked walking with two forces behind the book: Foster and Metro president David Bragdon. Click below to read the edited interviews.
Read interview at the Oregonian . . .
