Attending CSCW 2017

CSCW 2017 will take place at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in Portland, Oregon.

A growing metropolitan center of the Pacific Northwest at the meeting of the Columbia and Willamette rivers, Portland is known for its human-scale livability and sustainability, its proximity to nature, and its youthful DIY culture. For a small city the restaurant scene is nationally famous, with its myriad brewpubs, iconic cafes, and gourmet food carts. A vibrant urban mix of arts, music, and design intermingles with gardens, parks, and -- further afield -- a wilderness of forests, mountains, and waterfalls.

Portland Map Ever-quirky Portland organizes itself into five (!) quadrants. Burnside St. divides north from south and the Willamette River east from west. (North Portland, the fifth quadrant, would be part of the NE quadrant if not for a bend in the Willamette.) The densely developed Downtown, Pearl, and Northwest neighborhoods straddle Burnside on the river’s west bank, a short ride by light rail, streetcar, or bus from the conference venue in the Lloyd EcoDistrict of the inner Northeast. Each quadrant offers distinct shopping and entertainment districts to explore, from the rapidly gentrifying North Mississippi, NE Alberta, and SE Division on the east, to gritty Old Town/Chinatown, upscale Pearl and Northwest 23rd, and highrise South Waterfront on the west -- to name just a few.

Linking east and west are 10 (mostly) beloved bridges over the Willamette, from elaborate 100 year old drawbridges like the Steel and the Hawthorne, to Tilikum Crossing, the proudly transit-, bike-, and pedestrian-only showpiece that opened in 2015. (Still, the most beautiful is the 1931 St Johns suspension bridge above Cathedral Park in North Portland.) Lovely views of the central bridges and Downtown can be had from the Vera Katz Eastbank Esplanade. Also lovely are Portland’s parks and gardens: don’t miss sprawling Forest Park and Hoyt Arboretum or the elegantly-crafted Japanese, Chinese, and Rose Gardens.

Portland, the Rose City, has famously rainy winters, though usually free of snow and ice. Expect high temperatures in the mid 50s, Fahrenheit (low 10s, Celsius), with lows in the upper 30s, Fahrenheit (low single digits, Celsius).

Outside of Portland there is much to see and do. Within an hour or two’s drive are the dormant Mount St. Helens and Mount Hood volcanos, with visitor centers about the massive 1980 eruption, and year-round skiing, respectively; the waterfalls and basalt cliffs of the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area; the Yamhill Valley wine country; the Lewis and Clark National and State Historical Parks at the mouth of the Columbia; and the towns and beaches of Oregon’s Pacific coast. Dress for wet weather and have a great visit to Portlandia! For more information about visiting Portland, please see the Travel Portland website.

Local Arrangements Chair

Scott Mainwaring