FORECASTER • September 1, 2020
Could COVID-19 provide a civic corrective for Portland, a happening little city by the sea that is overrun with tourists, hipsters, retirees, in-migrants, foodies, condo dwellers and people from away? If nothing else, the pandemic should put a halt to the 100-plus cruise ships a year that pull into Portland discharging thousands of lost souls onto the streets of the Old Port. Whether it’s 800 climbers a year summiting Mt. Everest or 35,000 hikers a year filing up Mt. Katahdin, the land has a carrying capacity. The enforced self-quarantining and crowd control of the coronavirus pandemic gives us a chance to think about how best to keep from being overrun by folks from away, at least until the real estate market gets overrun with people fleeing the viral cities to the south. ~ Edgar Allen Beem