Portland State University (PSU) students are once again transforming ideas into action through Better Block PSU, a program that brings community-driven transportation and placemaking projects to life. Three Better Block PSU projects made forward strides this year, thanks to teams of students in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Capstone program and the Master of Urban and Regional Planning (MURP) program.

Last year, we reported on two of the projects:

Four new projects took their first steps down the Better Block PSU Project Pathway, this Spring term at Portland State. Submitted by community members, the projects got underway with students beginning to investigate their potential in the Spring 2025 Pedestrian and Bicycle Planning course taught by Drusilla Van Hengel and Ryan Hashagen.

The Better Block PSU program at Portland State University (PSU) has opened our annual call for community organizations to reimagine their streets and underused public spaces in a way to bring people together and reclaim it for their community’s future. 

As plans move forward for an earthquake-ready replacement of Portland's Burnside Bridge, several Portland neighborhood associations and the Better Block PSU program are taking the opportunity to reimagine a segment of West Burnside street. 

Not far from Portland State University, down a little road tucked under three highway overpasses, sits the International School of Portland (ISP)—a leafy four-acre campus serving nearly 400 students from preschool to fifth grade. Despite its proximity to popular pedestrian areas, including the Downtown Waterfront, the International School of Portland is nestled amongst a few private blocks and can be difficult to access by foot or by bike. Naturally, most students arrive by car, which creates the familiar traffic jam at pickup and dropoff times.

Portland's Old Town neighborhood is getting a new skatepark, and a team of PSU transportation students were instrumental in bringing the project from idea to reality. 

The Better Block PSU program at Portland State University (PSU) has opened the annual call for community organizations to reimagine their streets and underused public spaces in a way to bring people together and reclaim it for their community’s future. 

Each year, Portland State University (PSU)'s graduating seniors work on capstone projects: community-based learning experiences throughout the Portland metropolitan region and beyond. This past spring, two student groups in the Maseeh College of Engineering & Computer Science focused their capstone projects on sustainable transportation, and we'd like to take a moment to highlight their outstanding work.

In the 1970's, Portland had a dream: to create a "pleasurable human environment" by giving space to people rather than cars. Several car-free areas were identified in the city's ambitious 1972 Downtown Plan, approved by city council at the time.

Students at Hood River Middle School in Hood River, Oregon, will get some hands-on transportation experience next spring as they participate in the redesign of bike and pedestrian infrastructure around their school. Members of the (tentatively named) "Better Blocks Club," a new after-school extracurricular club, will get the chance to observe infrastructure, go on field trips by bike, learn urban planning best practices, and be involved in implementing a pilot safety project.