Portland, Oregon
Portland is the largest city in Oregon, about sixty miles from the west coast of the United States. It is situated just south of where the Willamette River flows into the Columbia River. In July 2003, the city's population was estimated to be 545,140, a growth of 3% over the April 2000 census figure of 529,121.
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| Downtown Portland, Feb 2003, looking northwest across the Willamette River |
Portland is in Multnomah County. The metropolitan area, consisting of five counties in Oregon (Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, Columbia, and Yamhill) and Clark County in Washington had a population of 2,016,357 as of July 2003. This is 5.2% more than the 2000 census figure for the area. The area includes the neighboring cities of Beaverton, Gresham, Hillsboro, Milwaukie, Lake Oswego, Oregon City, and Tigard (all in Oregon), as well as Vancouver (in Washington).
Portland has a well-deserved reputation for its vibrant and livable downtown. Many credit this to Oregon's proactive land use policies, which introduced an urban growth boundary in 1974. The boundary preserved agricultural land and reduced sprawl. 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.
Another factor contributing to downtown's ambiance is its compact city blocks and narrow streets. Each block is 200 ft. square; by comparison, Seattle's city blocks are 240 by 320 feet, and Manhattan's east-west streets are broken up into blocks every 600-to-800 feet. In addition, most streets are 60-feet wide, so the combination of compact blocks and narrow streets make the downtown more pedestrian-friendly.
Also unlike many other U.S. cities, it spreads its share of federal tax dollars into multiple modes of transportation, boasting both an extensive light rail system and an urban streetcar, in addition to its extensive bus system and highways.
In addition, Portland (and its satellite cities) are under management of Metro, one of the few successful regional planning organizations in the US. Metro is in charge of ensuring there is enough developable land in the urban growth boundary for 20 years, concerting together vision plans for the Portland-area cities, expanding/shrinking the urban growth boundary if needed, and some rudimentary comprehensive plan zoning issues, among other responsibilities.
City nicknames
The city is nicknamed The City of Roses; it has an annual Rose Festival each spring, and is the home of the International Rose Test Garden, and a downtown arena called the Rose Garden.
Other nicknames include:
- City of Bridges, or Bridgetown, due to its numerous bridges;
- PDX, from the airport code of its airport;
- Puddletown, because of its weather;
- Rip City, a nickname stemming from a chance remark from a long-time announcer for the Trail Blazers;
- River City, because of its location;
- Little Beirut, for the hostile demonstrations in response to the visits of presidents George H. W. Bush and his son George W. Bush;
- Deportland, from the alleged rough treatment of passengers at the Federal Inspection Service facility back when Delta Air Lines operated flights to Asia from PDX.
History
Portland started as a spot known as "The Clearing" which was on the Willamette about half-way between Oregon City and Fort Vancouver. In 1843, William Overton saw great commercial potential for this land; his only problem was that he lacked the quarter needed to file a land claim. So, he struck a bargain with his partner Asa Lovejoy: for 25¢, Overton would share his claim to the 640-acre site.
Bored with clearing trees and building roads, Overton sold his half of the claim to Francis W. Pettygrove. When it came time to name their new town, Pettygrove and Lovejoy each wanted to name it after his home town. They settled the argument with a coin toss. Pettygrove won, and named it after Portland, Maine; had Lovejoy won, he intended to name it after Boston, Massachusetts.
In its early years, Portland existed in the shadow of Oregon City, the territorial capital twelve miles upstream on the falls of the Willamette. However, Portland was located at the Willamette's head of navigation, the furthest point inland one could reliably reach by ship. This gave it a key advantage over its older peer. It also triumphed over early rivals like Milwaukie. By 1850 Portland had approximately 800 inhabitants, a steam sawmill, a log cabin hotel, and a newspaper, called the Weekly Oregonian.
Portland was the major port in the Pacific Northwest for much of the 19th century, until the 1890s when direct railroad access between the deep water harbor in Seattle and points east by way of Stampede Pass were built. Goods could then be transported from the northwest coast to inland cities without needing to navigate the dangerous bar at the mouth of the Columbia.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 376.5 km² (145.4 mi²). 347.9 km² (134.3 mi²) of it is land and 28.6 km² (11.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 7.6% water.
As a result of a "great renumbering" in the 1930s, Portland is divided into five sections. Burnside Street bisects it into northern and southern halves. Below Burnside are the Southwest and Southeast sections, divided by the Willamette River. Above it, are Northwest, North, and Northeast sections; a separate North section is due to a bend in the Willamette which splits what would otherwise be a northwest quadrant into North Portland and Northwest sections of town. Locals refer to these areas by their section names (such as "Northwest"), with the exception of "North Portland", for which the full name is always used. 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 more than 150 blocks, until it meets Gresham.
- 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 have been converted into lofts, and new multi-story condominiums have also been developed. The increasing density has attracted an urban mix of restaurants, brewpubs, shops, and art galleries, though in some cases pioneering tenants have been priced out of the area. The galleries sponsor receptions for their artists on the first Thursday of every month. Further west is the toney NW 23rd neighborhood and shopping area. Portland's Old Chinatown neighborhood 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.
- Southwest includes Pioneer Courthouse Square (downtown's "living room"), various suburban neighborhoods including the expensive West Hills (mentioned in a 1997 Everclear song), the campuses of Portland State University, OHSU, and Lewis and Clark College, and the south riverfront along Macadam Boulevard and the Willamette.
- Northeast contains a diverse collection of neighborhoods, both sociologically and ethnically. While Irvington and the Alameda Ridge boast some of the most expensive homes in Portland, nearby Albina (for example) is a more working-class neighborhood. Northeast is more diverse racially than Portland as a whole. Inner Northeast includes several shopping districts such as the Lloyd and Hollywood Districts. The Rose Garden sports arena is located here, home of the Portland Trail Blazers basketball team.
- North Portland, another working-class area, contains the St. John's neighborhood which has an old-fashioned and slightly run-down feeling, adjacent to the beautiful St. John's Bridge. 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, and grew to be the second largest city in Oregon; Vanport was wiped out by a disastrous flood in 1948. The area includes a new light-rail line, along Interstate Avenue, due to be completed in Spring of 2004. It is also home to the University of Portland.
- Southeast stretches from the warehouses by the river, through the expensive Ladd's Addition, to hippie/Generation X Hawthorne and Belmont districts, to poorer neighborhoods beyond 82nd Avenue. Farther south, the Sellwood neighborhood and wealthy areas near Reed College are close to the Willamette, with Clackamas Town Center acting as a hub for business further east, where I-205 splits the region.
In addition, instead of having a singular downtown with high density (which most US cities follow and Portland already defies with its TOD plans and its other urban plans such as the South Waterfront plan), Metro's master plan is centered on creating other several urban town centers, much like downtowns, but in smaller scale and oriented throughout the metropolitan area.
TOD is part of the national trend sometimes referred to as new urbanism, a trend that Portland developers and city planners are helping to pioneer.
A study in the Journal of the American Planning Association (from April 14, 2004) tried to analyze quantitatively the effects of Metro's plans on Portland's urban form. While the report cautioned against finding a direct link between any single one policy and any improvements in Portland's urban form, it nevertheless showed strong correlation between Metro's initiation of the 2040 Growth Concept and various improvements in at least the west part of Portland (which the study focused on), including areas such as density, pedestrian/non-automobile accessibility, mixed-use prevalence, among other criteria.
The metropolitan area includes twelve road bridges which span the Willamette River, and two others spanning the Columbia:
A bus mall (known as the Portland Transit Mall) dominates 5th and 6th Avenues downtown. Almost all TriMet buses route through the mall, with bus stops grouped geographically by destination. This approach gives riders who miss a bus to have additional options for reaching their destination. Since the mall acts as a metro-area-wide hub, it also means riders can often get downtown without changing buses and reach most other destinations with only one change.
Most of the downtown area is a "Fareless Square" where mass transit systems are free within the square. The original Fareless Square was bounded by the Willamette to the east, Irving Street to the north, and I-405 to the west and south; a spur into the Lloyd District was later included, rendering the fareless area a square in name only.
Portlanders waiting for MAX in downtown Portland
Urban Design
Portland is often cited as an example of a well-planned city, which has curbed suburban sprawl, maintained sustainability and open spaces, established a relatively well-used mass transit system, and increased quality of life. Portland is also undertaking several, somewhat risky urban plans:
In addition to these specific plans, Metro's master plan for the Portland region involves Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) around all light rail lines. This involves high-density development based on the premise that people will be more willing to take mass transit to work based on its proximity.Transportation
Highways and bridges
The metropolitan area is served by the following highways:
along with several state highways.Mass Transit
Portland is well-known for its comprehensive public transportation system. The major bus and rail system is named TriMet, reflecting the three metropolitan counties it serves (Multnomah, Clackamas, and Washington).
In addition, the Portland Streetcar began operation in 2001, with a five-mile loop from downtown's Portland State University (PSU), past Powell's City of Books, through the Pearl District, to the NW 23rd neighborhood. For 2004, a 0.6-mile extension to the streetcar line is being constructed; this connects PSU with RiverPlace, and is a step towards continuing into the South Waterfront/North Macadam area and utilizing the right-of-way preserved by the Willamette Shore Trolley to reach Lake Oswego.
A more unusual form of public transportation, the Portland Aerial Tram, is an aerial tramway planned to connect the South Waterfront with Oregon Health and Science University and the surrounding Marquam Hill area. This plan encountered significant opposition from the citizens living underneath its planned route, though resulting changes in design have addressed their most serious concerns.
The Bicycle Transportation Alliance (web site) is a local bicycle advocacy group.
Forest Park (web site) is one of the world's largest parks contained within a city (and definitely the United State's largest park contained within a city), at about 20 km2 (7.7 mi2), or 5000 acres. Portland is also home to Mill Ends Park (web site), the world's smallest park (being a two-foot diameter circle, its "acreage" is only about 0.3 square metres). Washington Park (web site) is west of downtown Portland, home to the deepest subway station in the US, the Oregon Zoo, a Japanese Garden, and the International Rose Test Garden.
Perhaps the most famous park is Gov. Tom McCall Waterfront Park, which runs along west bank of the Willamette for the length of downtown. The 37-acre park was built in 1974 after a freeway was removed. Today it plays host to large events throughout the year, including several beer festivals, a series of blues concerts, and the Rose Festival carnival.
In addition, within Portland's downtown, several groups of contiguous city blocks are dedicated for park space. For this, they are called "Park Blocks," and come in the North and South variety. The South Park Blocks are especially significant and the surrounding vicinity (which includes Portland State University) is referred to as "South Park Blocks."
Portland is also home to one of the most accurate representations of a Classical Chinese Garden in the US; local Portland designers worked with East Asian associates to turn a city block into an accurate Ming Garden, complete with Tea House and bits of Chinese poetry engraved around.
The only state park in the area is Tryon Creek State Park; its creek still has a run of steelhead.
Today, the city has more craft brewers than any other city in North America, at least on a per-capita basis if not in number. The McMenamin brothers alone have over thirty brewpubs scattered throughout the metropolitan area, many in renovated theaters and other old buildings otherwise destined for demolition. In 1999, Michael Jackson (the beer hunter, not the musician) called it a candidate for the beer capital of the world because the city had more breweries than Cologne, Germany.
Portland hosts a number of festivals throughout the year in celebration of beer. One of them, the Oregon Brewers Festival, is the largest gathering of independent craft brewers in North America.
There are 223,737 households out of which 24.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.1% are married couples living together, 10.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 47.1% are non-families. 34.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.3 and the average family size is 3.
In the city the population is spread out with 21.1% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 34.7% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 97.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 95.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $40,146, and the median income for a family is $50,271. Males have a median income of $35,279 versus $29,344 for females. The per capita income for the city is $22,643. 13.1% of the population and 8.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 15.7% are under the age of 18 and 10.4% are 65 or older.
Alternatives
Portland has earned more than one "most bicycle friendly city" award. An important hallmark for bicycle-friendly infrastructure was the expansion of the sidewalks of Hawthorne Bridge in 1997. While there were many other bicycle-friendly projects (such as the blue bike lanes project, and the Esplanade Riverfront Park), this one alone seemed to immediately help increase the number of daily bicycle commuters. A current project will bring bike "oasis" to the popular southeast Hawthorne Boulevard shopping district--architecturally distinctive, covered bicycle parking.Parks
Portland is proud of its parks and its legacy of preserving open spaces. In fact, it has one of the highest parks per capita ratio among cities in the United States.Beer
Portland, like other Oregon cities, Hood River and Bend, is well-known for its good beer. Some illustrate its interest in the beverage by an offer made in 1888, when local brewer Henry Weinhard volunteered to pump beer from his brewery into the pipes of the newly dedicated Skidmore Fountain. But the renown for quality beer better dates to the 1980s, when microbreweries and brewpubs began to pop up all over the city. Their growth was supported by the abundance of local ingredients, including two-row barley, over a dozen varieties of hops, and the water from Bull Run and other watersheds of nearby Mount Hood.Professional sports
Tourist attractions
Colleges and universities
Notable Portlanders
See: list of notable PortlandersDemographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 529,121 people residing in the city, organized into 223,737 households and 118,356 families. The population density is 1,521/km² (3,939.2/mi²). There are 237,307 housing units at an average density of 682.1/km² (1,766.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 77.91% White, 6.64% African American, 1.06% Native American, 6.33% Asian, 0.38% Pacific Islander, 3.55% from other races, and 4.15% from two or more races. 6.81% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.Portland in film
Portland has been the setting or background for a number of films, including the following:
Sister cities
See also
List of radio stations in Oregon, the Oregonian newspaper, Portland General Electric, Raleigh Hills, Oregon, West Slope, Oregon, Personal Telco, PDX Wireless, Riverdale High School, and the Portland Surrealist GroupExternal links
References