Wheeler and team envision Maine neighborhood as green tourism hotspot
A team of university researchers from California wrapped up a weeklong intensive study and report on Portland’s India Street neighborhood Monday, telling area residents it could be revitalized as an internationally known “ecodistrict.”
Professor Stephen Wheeler of University of California, Davis, and three of his students told a small audience of neighborhood stakeholders their section of the city should be home to a landmark complex run almost exclusively by on-site renewable energy, as well as frequent pocket parks and rooftop gardens that could make the spot a green tourism destination.
“Sustainable neighborhoods,” Wheeler said. “To see the total package is rare, and we’d love to see India Street pioneer that for Maine, the East Coast.”
The India Street neighborhood has become a focus for Portland planners over the past year as development interest in the area picked up. Residents have partnered with city officials to work on a vision for the neighborhood that will be used as guidelines during what many see as a looming wave of new projects.