Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

The city and the region

Portland is often cited as an example of a well-planned city. The credit for this starts with Oregon's proactive land use policies, particularly the establishment of an urban growth boundary in 1974. The boundary preserved agricultural land in the mold of 19th Century farming techniques. This was atypical in an era when automobile use led many areas to neglect their core cities in favor of development along interstate highways, in suburbs, and satellite cities.

Related Topics:
Well-planned city - Urban growth boundary - 1974 - Agricultural - Interstate highway - Suburbs - Satellite cities

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Unfortunately, along with the benefits of the growth boundary have come numerous costs, most notably, some argue, in the form of high housing costs. Still, housing costs are lower than most urban areas in California and Washington, and residents enjoy many benefits of a more compact urban area, including efficient public transportation and less traffic than similarly sized cities. The Portland Development Commission also plays a role in keeping the city livable; it was created by city voters in 1958 to serve as the city?s urban renewal agency. It provides housing and economic development programs within the city.

Related Topics:
Portland Development Commission - Urban renewal

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The more densely populated parts of the city proper are somewhat asymmetrical, with the west side hemmed in by the West Hills, while the flatter east side stretches on for about 170 blocks, until it meets Gresham. They extend from the beginning of East Portland, at the Willamette River, to the outer fringes of the suburbs of Gresham. Further east lies rural Multnomah County.

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Downtown Portland and many other parts of inner Portland have compact city blocks and narrow streets. Each block is 200 ft (60 m) square; by comparison, Seattle's city blocks are 240 by 320 feet (70 by 100 m), and Manhattan's east-west streets are divided into blocks that are from 600 to 800 feet (180 to 240 m) long. In addition, most streets are 64 feet (20 m) wide, so the combination of compact blocks and narrow streets make the downtown more pedestrian-friendly. The 264 foot (80 m) long combined blocks divide one mile (1.6 km) of road into exactly 20 separate blocks.

Related Topics:
Downtown Portland - Seattle - Manhattan

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:See also: Portland metropolitan area

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Portland's five "quadrants" (sic)

As a result of a "great renumbering" on September 2, 1931, Portland is divided into five sections: Southwest, Southeast, Northwest, North and Northeast. Burnside Street is the boundary between north and south, and the Willamette River divides the eastern and western sections. North of Burnside Street, the river curves west and in place of it Williams Avenue is used as a divider. Between Williams and the river is the fifth, North, quadrant.

Related Topics:
September 2 - 1931

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Portland also has an unnamed "sixth" quadrant, between the "edge" of Southwest and the river, which has a east bend south of downtown. Instead of having its own name, "negative" numbers preceded by a zero are used, increasing until the river is reached.

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Northwest

Northwest includes the Pearl District, a fairly recent name for what originally was an old warehouse area. Since the late 1980s, many of the existing warehouses, some on brownfield sites, have been converted into lofts, and new multi-story condominiums have also been developed. The increasing density has attracted a mix of restaurants, brewpubs, shops, and art galleries, though in some cases pioneering tenants have been priced out of the area (see Gentrification). Its galleries sponsor artists' receptions on the first Thursday of every month, spawning similar events on other days elsewhere.

Related Topics:
Pearl District - Warehouse - 1980s - Brownfield - Loft - Condominium - Brewpub - Gentrification

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Between the Pearl District and the Willamette is Portland's old Chinatown neighborhood. Its entrance is marked by a pair of lions at the corner of NW 4th and Burnside, and includes the district along the Willamette River between Burnside and Union Station. Before World War II, this area also had a Japan Town.

Related Topics:
Chinatown neighborhood - Willamette River - Union Station - World War II

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Further west is the tiny NW 21st and 23rd Avenue neighborhood and shopping area. When Portland natives say Northwest, they often mean this area, which is also called Uptown, Nob Hill and the Alphabet District. This area has a mix of Victorian era houses, apartment buildings from throughout the 20th century, and various businesses centered around Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center. The Portland Streetcar connects this area to downtown.

Related Topics:
Victorian era - 20th century - Portland Streetcar

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Even further northwest lies part of what is known as Portland's West Hills, including the majority of massive Forest Park.

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Southwest

Part of the West Hills is in the Southwest quadrant which includes includes Washington Park, site of North America's deepest transit station, the Oregon Zoo, Hoyt Arboretum, the International Rose Test Garden, the Japanese Garden, beautiful hiking trails, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. The West Hills underwent rapid expansion during the 1960's and 1970's.

Related Topics:
Deepest transit station - Oregon Zoo - Hoyt Arboretum - International Rose Test Garden - Japanese Garden

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Southwest also includes:

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• The heart of the Portland's Downtown, centered on Pioneer Courthouse Square ("Portland's living room")
• The campuses of Portland State University, Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU), and Lewis & Clark College
• Various suburban neighborhoods, including Raleigh Hills, West Slope, Multnomah Village, and Garden Home
• Alpenrose Dairy, the grounds of which host track cycling and Little League sports
• The south Willamette riverfront along Macadam Avenue, over 100 acres (0.4 km²) of former industrial land. This area is undergoing redevelopment as a mixed-use, high-density neighborhood, with an anticipated 2700 residential units and 5,000 high-tech jobs after build-out.

North Portland

North Portland, known as NoPo to some, includes the neighborhoods of St. Johns, Cathedral Park, University Park (and the University of Portland), Overlook, Portsmouth, Kenton, Arbor Lodge, Bridgeton, Hayden Island, Piedmont, Humboldt, Eliot, and Boise.

Related Topics:
St. Johns - University of Portland - Kenton - Hayden Island

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During World War II, a planned development named Vanport was constructed to the north of this section between the city limits and the Columbia River. It grew to be the second largest city in Oregon, but was wiped out by a disastrous flood in 1948. Columbia Villa, another wartime housing project in the Portsmouth Neighborhood, is being rebuilt; the new, $150 million community will be known as New Columbia and will offer public housing, rental housing, and single family home ownership units. In 2004, a new light rail line opened along Interstate Avenue, which parallels I-5.

Related Topics:
World War II - Vanport - Columbia River - 1948

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Northeast

Northeast contains a diverse collection of neighborhoods. For example, while Irvington and the Alameda Ridge boast some of the oldest and most expensive homes in Portland, nearby Albina is a more working-class neighborhood. Because it is so large, Northeast Portland can essentially be divided ethnically, culturally, and geographically into inner and outer sections. The inner Northeast neighborhoods that surround Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. are predominately African American, resembling typical urban inner-city environments found in most major U.S. cities. Inner Northeast includes several shopping areas, such as the Lloyd District and Hollywood, and part of the affluent Laurelhurst neighborhood and its nearby developments. The city plan targets Lloyd District as another mixed-use area, with high-rise residential development; developers are waiting for the success of a seed project before intensive development occurs.

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At the base of Northeast is the Rose Quarter. It is named after the Rose Garden Arena, home of the Portland Trail Blazers, and also includes the Blazers' former home, the Memorial Coliseum. The coliseum is the home to Portland's hockey team, the Winterhawks, though they often play at the Rose Garden. The city still holds the lease to the land, but the buildings were owned by private business interests until they went into receivership. The area is quite active during the teams' home games and the city hopes to extend the activity by promoting a major increase in residential units in the quarter using zoning and tax incentives.

Related Topics:
Rose Garden Arena - Portland Trail Blazers - Winterhawks

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Southeast

Southeast stretches from the warehouses by the river, through the historic Ladd's Addition, to Hawthorne and Belmont districts. The Hawthorne district is known for its beyond the norm hipster crowd and funky shops. Farther south, the Brooklyn, Sellwood, Woodstock, and Brentwood-Darlington neighborhoods and Eastmoreland near Reed College are close to the Willamette River. The Clackamas Town Center and Mall 205 are the largest retail centers serving the area.

Related Topics:
Ladd's Addition - Hawthorne - Brooklyn - Sellwood - Woodstock - Eastmoreland - Reed College - Clackamas Town Center

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Between the 1920s and the 1960s, Southeast was home to Lambert Gardens. Southeast Portland also features Mt. Tabor, a park with one of the only extinct volcanos in a continental U.S. city.

Related Topics:
1920s - 1960s - Lambert Gardens - Mt. Tabor

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