Embracing the trike

We arrived in Portland, Oregon on a wet and cold evening on the 31st of October. There was an immediate emphasis on public transport right from the moment we arrived in Portland, as we travelled to the accommodation from the airport.

As Portland is renowned throughout the world as being a city with an extensive public transit system, it was great to experience it over the time we were there. The system of light rail, streetcar, aerial tram and bus takes commuters anywhere they would need to go within the Urban Growth boundary in a quick, comfortable and convenient manner.

The Urban Growth Boundary within which encompasses the city of Portland was an interesting topic of research whilst there. There are many positive factors associated with it such as the ongoing development around transit lines and infrastructure enabling easy accessibility. Their Urban Growth Boundary also acts as a barrier of protection of farming land and creative spaces. Despite the many positive aspects of the UGB, its presence also creates a number of negative effects such as making housing unaffordable and therefore leading to an increase in homelessness rates throughout the city, which appeared to be a big issue there. Meeting with Franklin Jones and learning about the B-Line initiative was particularly interesting also. 

The concept of the trike and the way, in which it works to sustainably deliver products to the ‘urban core of Portland,’ is just remarkable. Through the use of the trike, the company has been able to replace over 100,000 vans and trucks over the past 7 years and kept 18 tons of CO2 emissions out of the atmosphere. The primary aim of this company was to reduce food miles and create a more livable city through using the urban consolidation to reduce the number of trucks on the road and increase the number of trikes.

Katherine Petrentsis

A twenty first century city

Prior to the trip I had read a lot of articles that praised the planning efforts in Portland, it was easy to see how people could quickly judge the city based on its layout and transport infrastructure. There were however a few issues which clouded the sparkling reputation of Portland. The rates of homelessness were astounding, especially in a city that was so cold and rainy. There was an interesting support network for the homeless community created through things like the ‘Street Roots’ magazine which gave the community a platform for their voices to be heard. There was also an obvious effort made by not for profit organisations like the Salvation Army and other smaller organisations. Despite their efforts there are still people sleeping rough on the streets. Through a discussion with our host Nancy Hales I found that there had been a considerable amount of funding devoted to the issue by the Mayor’s office. Nancy described the homeless community as having three main categories the have not’s, the can not’s and the will not’s. This was an interesting perspective which seemed to adequately  simplify the very complex issue. In terms of public transport, I was quite surprised by the unreliability of the network which came to a standstill due to heavy rain on Halloween eve. I was however pleased by the infrastructure itself. The city has a logical pattern of street car and MAX lines which allow citizens to travel to almost all corners of the city. The system was also easily navigable, and the colour system simplified the whole operation for visitors. The best part of Portland was it’s huger for innovation and determination to be different. Portland has delivered so many vitally important social, political and environmental innovations that the world is lucky to have developed, it truly is a prime example of the twenty first century city.

Harriet Noall

Presenting Portlandia?

My expectations of Portland, mainly based on the TV show Portlandia, were that it would be Melbourne 2.0 with more hipsters, better coffee and better public transport. There have been mixed results in meeting these expectations, with the first being debatable, the second false and the last true.

Portland enjoys legendary status in the planning world and has been held up by planners everywhere as a model city for public transport. This legacy may even be a source of economic development through planning tourism, like this trip! As such I was under the impression that there would be either street cars, light rail or buses available as soon as you walk out of your front door. While this wasn’t quite the case, I was impressed with the reach of the routes, the simplicity of the colour code system and the integration and connecting of modes.

Not long into our visit it became apparent that homelessness is ubiquitous in Portland. The scale and nakedness of the problem was the biggest culture shock for me. While it is widely acknowledged that the inadequate provision of mental health services is a major contributor to homelessness, it is unclear whether it has inadvertently exacerbated by the gentrification that has swept through the city. Gentrification of the inner city has led to low income earners having to move further out of Portland in areas where there is less public transport available causing them to become more reliant on cars. This problem is playing out at Portland State University, where cycling has decreased and more students are driving.

Despite this, the culture of cycling is enviable in Portland, as it has transcended fringe hipster culture into the mainstream. How it managed to do this or whether it has always been this way will be the subject of my research project.

By far my favourite thing about Portland is the abundance of awesome local craft beer. At the Sunday market I tried the Rogue Good Chit Pilsner made with floor malted barley. This old-school technique of malting is still very uncommon in the Australian craft beer scene. Though I didn’t get a chance to investigate, I have no doubt that the beer industry in Portland contributes substantially to the local economy. Australia’s craft beer industry is still in its infancy so it was cool to see such a thriving beer scene.

Angela Plazzer

'Portland: The City That Works’

...is the slogan of Portland. The irony was not lost on us after a heavy night of rain had flooded the downtown area, leaving us stranded on their highly-famed rail system. All my pre-tour research had portrayed a city planned to near perfection – particularly around their transport - and I had heard many rave reviews on Portland... had I gotten it wrong?

Before arriving, I envisioned Portland to consist of never-ending streets lined with shop-top housing and serviced by the light rail, with cyclists filling the roads. While I experienced some of what I imagined, other experiences were completely different to what I anticipated.

Stemming from many hours of research on planning in Portland, one area that receives a lot of attention is their transport system. Despite a rough introduction, Portland’s light rail system has certainly met my expectations. It's accessible, safe, and easy to navigate. Every system has their problems – Melbourne is no exception – it was just a bad coincidence that our first meeting was during the heaviest rain Portland had had in four years. I am, however, surprised at the level of resistance the rail expansion had met.I had expected most residents to be highly receptive to the rail, and was surprised to hear from TriMet architect Bob Hastings that some communities pegged for future developments have campaigned against it. Furthermore, previous naysayers now support the system and regret denying their chance at developments. However, since community involvement is the first of the nineteen statewide development goals, every person is allowed to have their say!

One aspect I am surprised about is the lack of cyclists I have seen. Portland is touted as a haven for cyclists, with a lot of focus on cycling and the future for cycling, and yet I have not seen that many at all. I was honestly expecting to be dodging cyclists left and right. Perhaps this is linked to the housing affordability crisis, as explained by Rob Sadowsky of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance: as housing prices increase, the distance people need to travel increases, so cycling usage decreases. While being acutely aware of Portland’s housing crisis, I never considered the wider effects.

I could only find shop-top housing in certain districts of Portland, particularly in newer, redeveloped or  gentrified districts. One example was the Pearl District, which has undergone gentrification. Cafes, businesses and retail line the bottom of apartment blocks. Parks are central to blocks of apartments, and the light rail circles the area. However, this was the only instance of my vision I saw. This may change in the future, with Portland currently experiencing issues around growing populations and housing in-affordability, so that more shop-top housing is built. This may not necessarily solve the housing affordability issues.

On a side note: Homelessness and poverty is not something a city advertises or prides themselves on, so the prevalence of homeless people on the streets was quite unexpected and confronting. I am aware of homelessness, but I think I was a little naïve in thinking Portland wouldn't have as many homeless people as they do.

The thing about planning is that no city and its system is perfect, and planning is never finished. Every city has their high points and their low points, and every city is constantly needing to adapt to never-ending change. I must remind myself that maybe some of expectations were the victim of circumstance, such as the weather was too bad to cycle in parts I visited that day. Perhaps my vision is still under development, and will come to fruition soon. However, I have only scratched the surface - there is still so much of Portland to see – so maybe I'll keep my mind open for my next visit.   

Talei Lewis

   

Diversity and Density

Before arriving in Portland I had very high expectations of their public transportation system, as it is well known for it’s comprehensive planning system. Evidently so, it was immediately clear Portland has a link between land use and transportation to help manage growth and maintain liveability throughout the city. As observed during my time here, the development around the TriMet MAX light rail contains a mixture of residential, retail and other commercial uses that has created dense and diverse neighbourhoods. As a result, this has created walkable and compact transit –oriented development. For example, the new orange line implemented that extends out to Milwaukie, has encouraged new stores to open around the light rail station and thus the land value has risen within this area.

From personal experience of using the MAX lines to travel around Portland city, I can conclude that they are fast and easy to use, which makes the downtown area highly walkable. The diversity in terms of zoning and transit access has a positive impact on the walkability aspect of their city design. Additionally, the small 60m blocks as well as the skinny streets with only 2 lanes, reflect the well-planned density of the downtown area that creates a safe walk.

Additionally, I wasn’t expecting to have much of a culture shock when coming to Portland, however it was quite shocking to see the large amount of poverty and homeless people all over the city. I understand this is an issue within most modern day cities, although in Portland I observed that nearly every street I walked through there was at least one homeless person and in many areas there were groups that designated as their own sheltered area. It made it clear to me that there is serious lack of focus on policies towards helping the homeless. In one way it’s positive that there is so much focus on Public Transport and other important planning principles, however it seems there are some social problems that are being left behind which does not represent inclusive planning.  

In relation to this problem area, it was encouraging to hear the Mayor Charlie Hales speaking about the ways the city is attempting to combat homelessness. Whereby, taking the large issue at hand and dissecting it into smaller workable areas, such as starting off with housing for veterans and future plans for a women’s shelter. This is a reflection of how involved his job role is, playing a much more active part in community affairs compared to the Mayor's role in Australian cities.  


Felicity Sokolic

Urban planning utopia

Portland is often described in a utopian sense within the planning world however, it is not until visually seeing and experiencing the city someone can completely understand why it is highly regarded for its sustainability and liveability qualities.  The pre-tour research I undertook established significantly high expectations of Portland visions in which appear to have been relatively accurate including the numerous tree lined streets, shared public recreational spaces, extensive bike infrastructure, accessible and diverse transit options and numerous shops and eateries available with the ‘Downtown’ area.

Whilst there was literature which described how the gentrification of many areas of Portland had displaced many lower socioeconomic citizens, I didn’t realise until observing the streets of Portland over the past couple of days the extent of homelessness particularly, around the eastern industrial zone of the city. Whilst learning about the proposed gentrification of The Salmon Factory to become a niche market manufacturing and bike delivery service hub it does question if it will further displace members of the community in the future.

Another aspect that was not extensively documented is the resistance to many of Portland’s economical transit system. Many residents including those from particular surrounding counties did not support the introduction of light rail or the recent orange line extension to Milwaukie. Whilst sustainability is the way of the future some people within the region are not accepting to change and would rather drive cars and contribute to global warming.

Lastly the food culture and sustainability culture of the general community is impressive and much more innovative and extensive than I imagined. Now a firm structure plan has been secured and is being achieved more emphasis is being placed on creating healthy, affordable and accessible local produce through farming connections, wholesalers and farmers markets. The example of Ecotrust really displays what can be achieved through stakeholders and government funding and good contemporary architecture can achieve in order to reinvent a historic building and create a new use.

Leah Morris