The Oregon Encyclopedia
I am an advisory board member for the Oregon Encyclopedia of History and Culture, a project that aims to place several thousand peer-reviewed entries in a searchable on-line website hosted by Portland State University. We have 700 entries up so far, with another 500 or so in the pipeline. Access the project at www.oregonencyclopedia.org to check out the range of topics. Authors include both academics and community members, and one of the project’s innovative efforts has been to hold dozens of community meetings in every corner of the around the state to solicit ideas for entries and authors. Each entry is read by four or five members of the editorial board, by the editors in chief, and by an experienced copy editor before it is posted.
As an introduction, I list here a selection from the entries I’ve prepared.
One is a quick introduction to the first comprehensive world’s fair on the West Coast.
http://oregonencyclopedia.org/entry/view/lewis_clark_exposition/
There are several entries dealing with aspects of regional planning and land use planning in Oregon.
http://oregonencyclopedia.org/entry/view/senate_bill_100/
http://oregonencyclopedia.org/entry/view/land_use_planning/
http://oregonencyclopedia.org/entry/view/metro/
http://oregonencyclopedia.org/entry/view/port_of_portland/
http://oregonencyclopedia.org/entry/view/columbia_gorge_national_scenic_act/
Two entries deal with the very distinct and possibly “utopian” communities of Vanport, a World War II housing project, and Rajneeshpuram, a 1980s religious and lifestyle commune.
http://oregonencyclopedia.org/entry/view/rajneeshees/
http://oregonencyclopedia.org/entry/view/vanport/
