Delivering a State of the Region address at the City Club of Portland's Friday Forum, Hughes focused on the economy in his 28-minute speech, talking about bringing jobs to the Portland region and having employees ready to fill them.

Community Investment Initiative Leadership Council co-chair Tom Imeson, presenting on behalf of the Initiative's Leadership Council, offered a PowerPoint slide showing a proposed governance model with Metro, the Port, the state, Greater Portland Inc. and "other" appointing directors to a board overseeing the Regional Infrastructure Enterprise.

Oregon City will take the lead on planning the future of Willamette Falls, marking a new phase in the efforts to develop the former Blue Heron site.

With today's growing preference for walkable communities and locally owned and operated businesses, historic streets and districts are re-emerging as the heart of the community that draw people together and help rebuild local economies. Learn how Metro's Development Center acts as a public partner in two programs for revitalizing downtowns and main streets that offer strategies from small – such as lighting and window display techniques – to grand, such as a comprehensive revitalization curriculum for a commercial district.

One block south, the largest convention facility in the Pacific Northwest. A block to the north, a 30-acre sports and entertainment district. With neighbors like these, Milano, the latest work force housing project of Metro's Transit-oriented Development program, was designed to make a bold statement – both in its urban Eastside neighborhood and with the bike-commuting professionals it was designed to attract.

If regional policy is an episode of "Iron Chef," 2012 was the year of the kitchen prep.

There's a lot coming down the road, but most of the work at Metro in the past year was setting the stage for the future, chopping the carrots and peeling the onions before a meal is served.

Here's a look back at what made news at Metro in 2012.

A presentation at that MPAC meeting said the region has more than 6,000 acres of brownfields, an area a little larger than Oregon City. Those range from the small commercial lots to operating factories to former industrial operations now used for offices and stores.

Every year, an estimated three million visitors from around the world head to Portland's Washington Park to enjoy one of six signature attractions or to walk any of the 15 miles of forested trails. A majority of those visitors – 76 percent – arrive by car. Portland Parks & Recreation, owner of the park, presented one solution to the Portland City Council on Nov. 15 and heard public testimony from residents whose neighborhoods surround the park.

With local agencies clamoring for transportation funding, regional leaders approved an expedited process for selecting projects eligible for $34 million in federal funds on Thursday. Instead of following a local staff recommendation for projects to be nominated, evaluated and selected through September, members of the Joint Policy Advisory Committee on Transportation decided to try to pick projects by January.

Dancing dragons at OCOM opening.

Three projects in three corners of the Portland region – Northeast, Northwest and Southwest – opened in October with investment from Metro's Transit-oriented Development Program. Metro's TOD program provides incentives, primarily in the form of modest funding grants, to private developers to build mixed-use, higher density housing and retail projects near transit.