Karen (purple)
Age: 79
Neighborhood: Downtown/Arts District
Occupation: Artist, Retired teacher, Volunteer
Portland Resident: since 2013 – Karen moved to Portland after having a stroke and needing to change her living situation to a more accessible community
What do you like about Portland?
“Until I fell, really liked using the buses. I’m a member of the Portland Museum of Art (PMA), I like the shops – I just like the city. I used to come to the city even when lived in Falmouth, I always belonged to the PMA. Here I definitely feel part of the community - everywhere I go have a sense of community (which I miss right now with the pandemic). People are kind to open doors for me.”
How much walking each day? Walk every day but feet hurt when walking; Her friend Carol makes her walk
Typical Destinations: City Hall (meetings), Farmers Market, doctor appointments, library, being a sightseer in own city, Sail Maine
Challenges: Using a walker . . . Doors are heavy, access for disabled people not great; city means it’s harder to access; things are more accommodating to wheelchair users
Car-free: At least 10 years – Karen was living in Scarborough, Maine when she had a stroke and had to give up her car and move to Portland be able get around and access daily services and amenities without a car
Do you enjoy being car-free? Love walking; Stroke made it impossible to drive; Save so much money
How does being a pedestrian influence your experience of Portland?
“It’s a walkable city except for hills – either way you go there are hills.”
“ I love the architecture – wonderful, great for taking photos, I take a lot of photos and take the ipad with me when I go walking. Buildings lend to taking pictures. My grandfather was an artist/sculptor and worked on buildings in NYC, he worked on the FDR memorial in New Jersey – that influenced how I look at things. Look up at the buildings, at the sky – I tend to look up. That’s the problem with walking – have to look down so I don’t trip. I will stop and rest my eyes on the architecture. Every time I go out I find something else to explore.”
