Free Downloads Portlandness: A Cultural Atlas
The new cartography is about much more than just land! In 150 infographic maps of Portland, Oregon, two leading geographers explore unexpected topics like city chickens, wild coyote encounters, food-truck trends, and coffee culture. Modern cartography tells the hidden stories of Portland in these fascinating and colorful infographic maps. When mapmaking takes on nontraditional topics like patterns of graffiti, locations of strip clubs, or even which neighborhoods favor which house colors, finding your way around the city takes on a whole new meaning. Each map starts with the gathering of at least one data set about a given topic, then translating that to a visual format that blends traditional cartographic skills with modern graphic design.
Hardcover: 192 pages
Publisher: Sasquatch Books (October 27, 2015)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1632170000
ISBN-13: 978-1632170002
Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 0.9 x 10.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #28,892 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #1 in Books > Travel > United States > Oregon > Portland #3 in Books > Science & Math > Earth Sciences > Cartography #4 in Books > History > Historical Study & Educational Resources > Historical Maps
To be honest, I almost didn't order this. I mean, I live here, what would I use this book for? However we get a lot of young new hires fresh out of college where I work and I regularly find myself introducing them to the city, so I thought I’d end up loaning this out a lot. However when I sat down to peruse it I found it was a really entertaining read. It’s not just a bland compendium of data, rather a cultural tour of Portland that uses city data as a framework. It’s educational and funny in turns, and overall an enjoyable read. While most useful to newer residents, I think anyone intrigued with this odd little city would enjoy it. It’s also an interesting dissection of a city. Most of us live in them but we don’t always think about what that means. While Portland is perhaps a bit different, it’s in most ways a typical mid-sized American city and this book is a fun introspection on that animal. So don’t let the title put you off (if it does), this book is a nice bit of quasi-educational fun.
***Full Disclosure: I worked on the book. :) ***Whether you live in, or even know Portland, this book is worth the modest price (between $18 and $25--for a hardback!).I was lucky enough to be involved in this project, so I have seen it evolve along much of its trajectory. The energy and love that's been invested into each subject still takes my breath away every time I open the book.This is NOT meant to be a travel atlas (although, if you want ideas for exploring Portland, Oregon, this might be EXACTLY what you are looking for).Every few pages is a new take on either the entire city, or on some region or neighborhood. The perspectives offered are some engaging and thought-provoking combination of research, analysis, and cartographic/artistic representation.Also, if you are a map-lover, this book is a MUST for your collection.
This book is PACKED full of interesting maps, facts, history, images, and impressions of Portland past and present. Every page has multiple maps and/or images to pour over. The book is beautifully bound and sturdy, the colors and cover are very attractive.
What a delightfully quirky but exceptionally informative book! I've never lived in Portland, but I've visited there many times, usually on business (I once worked for a company with a major presence in Aloha and Hillsboro, just west of Portland), so I'm somewhat familiar with the city and surrounding area.This is truly a "cultural atlas," each page revealing maps showing everything from the distribution of strip clubs to the proximity of urban chicken coops to reported sightings of coyotes. The book is full of historical anecdotes to put the present circumstances in context. Want to see the representation of ethnic cuisines in the food carts Portland is famous for? Check out the "cart-o-grams" on page 144-145. Want to know how to get from one side of Portland to the other while under the least amount of surveillance? Pages 120-121 will show you. How about "scariness level"? The map on pages 74-75 will pinpoint sites of murders, fatal crashes, and "creepy old buildings," with a scariness level of "eyebrow raising" to "hair raising."Really a fun read, very informative, put together by two geography professors at Portland State University. I loved it!
This is fun! How "Portland" is your neighborhood? It also has a lot of real information about the city including maps of things you'd never think of mapping, like food cart density. I think Portlandia fans will like it, as well as real Portlanders.
I suspect nearly anyone who's ever lived in Portland and has a curious mind will delight in this book. It documents the most absurd things, from house color by neighborhood to noise level in Providence Park by minute in a Timbers game. It is utterly and completely Portland, except that it lacks a sense of humor. (We actually had a debate about whether this was appropriately called a 'Cultural Atlas', or if it should have been a 'Cultural Encyclopedia'. Either way, it'll help you find the neighborhood with the highest density of brewpubs.)Would it appeal to someone with no connection to Portland? Probably not. Even infographic addicts might be disappointed, as the infographics, though plentiful, play second fiddle to a great deal of explanatory text.
An excellent book - full of interesting information about Portland, it acts as a history of the area. It offers a lot of different information presented both in pictures and text. Really a unique item.
I've lived in Oregon my whole life, and am pretty familiar with Portland. Even so, this book is great! It's full of fun facts, the maps are gorgeous, and everyone who visits me just can't help but take a look. It's not necessary to read cover to cover, it's enjoyable to just pick up and randomly open to any section. In my opinion, if you are new to Portland, or if you just love the city, this is a great addition for your bookcase or coffee table.
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