Early Blueprints for the Intertwine Alliance:
A History of Regional Park Planning
Visionary historic and current leaders in our community laid the foundation of The Intertwine system.
The Intertwine Alliance champions the vision of a unified park and trail system that integrates nature into our cities. The Intertwine is also the name of this network. It is the continuation of an idea first born in 1903 with Frederick Law Olmstead's plan for the 40-Mile Loop around Portland. Intelligent stewardship and planning of our neighborhoods and cities allows us to more fully protect nature and to connect to the outdoors in our daily lives.
Our region’s commitment to protect our natural resources and to integrate nature into our community is rooted in history. The Intertwine Alliance is only the most recent expression of the vision to make our region a great place to live, work and play, shared by our government agencies, organizations, businesses and citizens. Activists and government leaders have been working towards this goal for over one hundred years, and The Intertwine Alliance and our partners stand on the shoulders of giants in our efforts to be proper stewards of nature in our communities. The effort to build parks started in 1852, when the city of Portland acquired what is now the South Park Blocks.
At the turn of the century the city's newly formed Park Commission hired John Charles Olmsted, a famous landscape architect, to draw up plans for a regional network of parks. Olmsted presented a plan in 1904 which outlined a vision for an integrated park system complete with greenways and major regional parks, as well as details on the importance of prudent park governance and intelligent land acquisition. The Parks Commission, which evolved into today’s Portland Parks and Recreation Department, has used Olmsted’s plan as a guiding document for their work through the past decades to the present.
"It is becoming more clearly realized that every inhabitant owes to his or her city certain duties...among them is that of making the city more beautiful to live and work in. And while there are many great things which may contribute to the beauty of a great city, one of the greatest is a comprehensive system of parks and greenways."
— John Charles Olmsted, 1903 speech to the Portland Parks Board
It took forty years before the city of Portland formally made headway towards Olmsted’s proposed “forest reservation”. A coalition of citizens organized by leaders from the Audubon Society of Portland led the initiative to encourage the Portland City Council to purchase the 8,000 acres of what would eventually become Portland’s signature Forest Park. The middle of the century saw the founding of many park providers in suburban jurisdictions, many of which, such as Tualatin Hills Parks and Recreation District and Vancouver-Clark Parks and Recreation District, are now members of The Intertwine Alliance and fully engaged in the initiative to build a comprehensive regional system.
Our region underwent a resurgence of environmental activism in the 1970s. A renewed environmental consciousness sought to more fully balance the needs of the region's burgeoning population growth with the importance of stewardship and protection of the area's rivers, lakes, and natural areas. The results were the removal of Harbor Drive for the creation of Waterfront Park in downtown Portland, the implementation of Oregon’s first dedicated funding stream for bicycles and the establishment of the Urban Growth Boundary (managed by Metro).
Activists continued to work for the preservation of nature in our communities throughout the 1980's. As outlined in our story on regional land acquisition, engaged citizens and organizations such as the Portland Audubon Society have encouraged Metro and other jurisdictions to begin purchasing regionally significant lands for conservation, wildlife protection and recreation. The individuals and institutions who formed The Intertwine Alliance owe much to the earlier generations of urban conservationists. A hundred years later, John Charles Olmsted would recognize his blueprint in the Alliance's ongoing efforts to make the Portland area a more verdant and livable place for all of the region’s citizens, human and critters alike.
Read on about The Intertwine's ecosystem services