Blurring the urban-rural line in Damascus (Oregon)

…The region’s growth regulators seeded the new city of Damascus on Thompson’s 77-acre farm. In Thompson’s vision, the city can be a place where urban development and agriculture entwine like his graceful marionberry canes.

Part of the farm could be developed for housing, he suggests, while he continues to farm the better soil. The farm’s crops could supply an “eco-restaurant” at the top slope of the property. Along the road below could be a fruit and produce stand. Next to it could be a community kitchen and education center where customers could preserve the berries they just bought or learn how to improve their home gardens.

Thompson acknowledges the idea “steps way out of bounds.”

Because if it’s done nothing else, Oregon has drawn a bright line between urban and rural. Development occurs within tight growth boundaries; farming and forestry happen out in the country. Period.

Thompson says it’s time to blur those lines.

“Instead of saying, ‘Here’s the boundary for growth,’ maybe we should start with the farm first and create the community around farms,” he says. “That’s my intent.”

The Oregonian