BEECN Sites: Difference between revisions

# BEECNs will be evenly distributed throughout the city and are generally sited with the goal of placing approximately two BEECNs within each of the Portland Plan’s neighborhood hub boundaries.<ref name="Note 1">[https://www.portland.gov/bps/planning/about-bps/portland-plan The Portland Plan] (published in 2012) rested on a concept of "complete neighborhoods", and Portland was divided into 24 different hub areas. You can download and read that part of the Plan [[Media:20 Minute Neighborhoods.Portland Plan.2012.pdf|HERE]].</ref>

# Though moving a BEECN site should be avoided, PBEM will consider moving a site if a more appropriate one is found in the immediate neighborhood of the BEECN. However, planning to move a BEECN site must consider whether doing so will change a BEECN's Primary and Backup relays (i.e. which fire station the BEECN calls in to) and if the new site keeps the BEECN in a "20 Minute Walkable Neighborhood".<ref name="Note 1"/>

Bottom line, BEECN sites are intended to leverage the comfort and familiarity of known and existing community gathering points. An [https://www.pps.org/article/where-we-go-when-everything-breaks-placemaking-lessons-from-ashevilles-recovery article] examining what places became post-disaster community gathering points after Hurricane Helene hit Asheville, North Carolina illustrates this succinctly:

Walkable areas with human-scaled design and natural gathering points adapted quickly. Residents moved instinctively toward familiar places—churches, public markets, corner coffee shops, community centers—and those places transformed overnight into aid stations, supply depots, and hubs for checking in on neighbors. There was natural rhythm and flow as people knew where to go, who to seek, and how to help.

 

In contrast, where sprawl stretched across highways and disconnected lots, the story was different. With no clear civic heart or public square, people gathered wherever they could—behind warehouses, in the corners of big box parking lots. These makeshift aid sites worked for the most part, but they lacked comfort, coherence, and continuity. With no seating, shade, or sense of place, people came and went quickly, unsure of where to linger or who to follow.

 

 

Adding new BEECN sites can be done, but is not advised. Aside from the challenges of placing a new equipment cache, PBEM needs to consider radio traffic load capacity at fire stations and at the EOC. Emergency radio traffic from (prospectively) 48 to 50 different sites push the limits of what the system can handle. Adding more is probably untenable.