On my way back to Seoul I made a 26-hour pit stop in Portland. This was my first time visiting the Pacific Northwest and I was thrilled to see the much-hyped Portland in person.

 

 

1. View from my plane seat

 

2. View from my friend's place in downtown Portland where I crashed for the night.

 

3. Chinatown is marked by these red street lights.

 

4.

 

5. The famed Portland street trucks!

 

6. Downtown

 

7. Newly completed light rail through downtown.

 

8. Pearl District off in the distance.

 

9. On-street bicycle parking is standard throughout Portland.

 

10. Modern streetcar running along 10th Street.

 

11.

 

12.

 

13.

 

14.

 

15. The streetcar "money shot"

 

16.

 

17. Pearl District

 

18.

 

19.

 

20. Mixed use infill along the streetcar line.

 

21. New residential highrise along the streetcar line.

 

22. Jamison Square

 

23.

 

24. Urban Office Max along the streetcar line.

 

25. Urban grocery store on the streetcar line.

 

26. Northwest District

 

27.

 

28.

 

29. New midrises along the streetcar line.

 

30.

 

31.

 

32.

 

33. New residential and commercial infill along the streetcar line.

 

34.

 

35.

 

36. New wine bar along the streetcar line.

 

37.

 

38. More new infill....along the streetcar line.

 

39. MAX light rail lurks in the distance.

 

40.

 

41. New residential high rise, along the streetcar line, complete with wind power.

 

42.

 

43. New light rail vehicle rolling through the Northwest District near Jeld Wen Field.

 

44.

 

45.

 

46. Yawn...more new infill along rail transit (this time MAX light rail).

 

47. Jeld Wen Field...home of the Portland Timbers MLS team.

 

48. Go Sounders!

 

49. MAX light rail station at Pioneer Courthouse Square.

 

50. The famed Pioneer Courthouse Square...I found it to be a bit overrated.

 

51.

 

52.

 

53. Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall

 

54. Statue in South Park Blocks.

 

55. South Park Blocks

 

56. Hmm, another urban grocery store along the streetcar line.

 

57.

 

58. Inside Living Room Theater at 10th Street and Stark Street.

 

59. More rooftop wind power action.

 

60. South Waterfront District

 

61. The South Waterfront is basically being rebuilt into residential and office from its previous ship building yards. It is not easily accessible by car, but it is by pedestrians, bicycle, streetcar or aerial tram.

 

62. The aerial tram connects the South Waterfront with Portland's medical district at the top of the hill. Medical professionals bike to the tram station and take that the rest of the way to work.

 

63.

 

64. High rise residential towers are popping up all over the South Waterfront...it's really a remarkable sight to see.

 

65. So long from Portland!

Great stuff.

Great shots, please send all the streetcar and light rail photos to WLW, The Enquirer and all the other nay sayers.  My friend from work lives in the building with the Safeway in #25 BTW.

 

Wow, that was great. 

Yes, but where are the spaghetti-junction highway interchanges, the seas of surface parking lots, the sources of oil dependency and the air pollution? Where all the things that make a God-given sprawl-burbia worth dying for?

Looks pretty nice and peaceful , your typical Northwest city.

 

I can see why the cyclist crashed. He is missing his front wheel!

The problem with Portland's streetcar is the lack of diversity represented along its route and in general, the core areas of the city.  I hope minorities won't be displaced in Cincinnati the way they were in Portland when their transit boom was in full gear.

I don't see why there's anything wrong with displacing/relocating the poor in Cincinnati in an effort to improve our core neighborhoods.  The shootings and robberies that make people so afraid of downtown and OTR are a direct result of an over population of poor who turn to drugs and gangs when they are confined to one neighborhood like they are now.  If we spread them out equally throughout the city and county the problem will be drastically reduced, IMO.  Maybe I'm wrong, but I think we need to decrease our population of non-tax paying, non-working poor and increase our population of educated, working, tax-paying citizens.  The suburbs selectively keep the "undesirables" out of their neighborhoods, why can't we do the same?

I know I'm going to get yelled at for this post...

^One...Ouch....Two....are there that many shootings and robberies in downtown Cincinnati?

The problem with Portland's streetcar is the lack of diversity represented along its route and in general, the core areas of the city.  I hope minorities won't be displaced in Cincinnati the way they were in Portland when their transit boom was in full gear.

 

Portland's demographics are completely different from Cincinnati's. So poor residents are not neccessarily separated by race as much as they are on the East Coast, Southeast or Midwest. Asians represent the largest group of racial minorities in Portland. I haven't looked lately, but Portland's black population may even be lower than its Latino.

 

So the lack of diversity you lambast along Portland's streetcar line, is really a larger issue of the upper Midwest and Pacific Northwest having fewer racial minorities than the rest of the nation.

And as some have hypothesized, the lack of diversity really changes the dynamics of local politics.  What is one of the main factors that drives sprawl in the older cities in the Midwest and Northeast?  What happens when it is removed?  Answer: Portland. (The judges would also have accepted Minneapolis or Seattle.)

I guess I need to go out and visit my sister who lives in Eugene. What a great looking city, and from what I hear, it's a great place to live.

Beautiful photos, Randy.

 

I'm always surprised by how racially homogenous (white) Portland is for an urban area.

 

 

EDIT: I see that 'diversity' has already been mentioned in this thread.

 

There's a lot to talk about when it comes to Portland and 'diversity' but most of it is historic. Oregon banned blacks from moving there for something like 80 years and then the black neighborhoods of the WWII era were destroyed by floods and never really came back. Now, young whites move there in droves and there's some international immigration along with sizable Asian and Hispanic populations.  I am almost positive Hispanics are the most represented minority in Portland and whites still represent over 80% of the population.

 

Compared to Ohio, these demographics challenge many peoples' perceptions of "urban" culture.

 

EDIT II: And, as has been noted in the Cincinnati Enquirer, Over-the-Rhine's crime statistics drop dramatically when you remove black-on-black crime (especially young black males with criminal records involved in the drug trade). IIRC, every homicide victim in OTR in 2009 or 2010 was a young black male. This is the most tragic fact of urban American life today IMO and, surely, one of the most challenging situations regarding race since the Civil Rights movement.

Wonderful city, great photos! As a transit geek, I appreciate your emphasis on the street-rail infrastructure and the synergy between biking and mass transit.

 

In many respects Portland is what many American cities would aspire to be, if their policymakers only knew.

Great photos Randy! #4 looks like it could be Main Street in OTR.

Wonderful city, great photos! As a transit geek, I appreciate your emphasis on the street-rail infrastructure and the synergy between biking and mass transit.

 

In many respects Portland is what many American cities would aspire to be, if their policymakers only knew.

 

No disrespect, but again, I think it's very misguided to point to a place like Portland as a model city.

Wonderful city, great photos! As a transit geek, I appreciate your emphasis on the street-rail infrastructure and the synergy between biking and mass transit.

 

In many respects Portland is what many American cities would aspire to be, if their policymakers only knew.

 

No disrespect, but again, I think it's very misguided to point to a place like Portland as a model city.

 

And to me, that sounds like an excuse. Greater racial diversity should be a strength of the Midwest, not a weakness. For some reason the Midwest can't aspire to have the strong ethinic enclaves of the Northeast, and many then also say the Midwest shouldn't compare itself to the Northwest due to its relative lack of racial diversity.

 

I just think the Midwest needs to quit making excuses and put up, or shut up. It's got better than average historical building stock, nice racial and cultural diversity, strong cultural assets, and tremendous health and education sectors. Plus the Midwest is blessed with tremendous water assets. What in the world in the Midwest doing wrong?!

Wonderful city, great photos! As a transit geek, I appreciate your emphasis on the street-rail infrastructure and the synergy between biking and mass transit.

 

In many respects Portland is what many American cities would aspire to be, if their policymakers only knew.

 

No disrespect, but again, I think it's very misguided to point to a place like Portland as a model city.

 

And to me, that sounds like an excuse. Greater racial diversity should be a strength of the Midwest, not a weakness. For some reason the Midwest can't aspire to have the strong ethinic enclaves of the Northeast, and many then also say the Midwest shouldn't compare itself to the Northwest due to its relative lack of racial diversity.

 

I just think the Midwest needs to quit making excuses and put up, or shut up. It's got better than average historical building stock, nice racial and cultural diversity, strong cultural assets, and tremendous health and education sectors. Plus the Midwest is blessed with tremendous water assets. What in the world in the Midwest doing wrong?!

 

I think that's way too idealistic, and quite honestly, disingenuous, coming from an outsider who doesn't seem to understand or respect the problems that can come with "nice racial and cultural diversity."  No excuses here, just reality.

 

What the Midwest is doing wrong is up for debate, but I'll leave it at this: Portland's solutions are not the industrial Midwest's solutions.

Portland is doing a LOT more right than simply building modern streetcar and light rail lines. They're building high quality urban infill, they're focusing attention on the pedestrian and bicyclist, they're respecting historic building stock, and they're preserving their natural resources and capitalizing on them. By doing these things they are attracting young talent which is in turn attracting 21st century jobs and employers.

 

I am quite aware of the issues caused by racial diversity, and I talk about it regularly here in Seoul, but I am also quite aware of the opportunities it presents, which I also talk about regularly. The Midwest can continue to talk about all the bad things it's got going for it, or it can stand up and start realizing the great opportunities it has.

I'm well aware of our opportunities and we've seized on some of them, despite what the narrative pushed by the national media outlets would like you to believe.  But my point is that it makes little sense to compare Portland to the Midwest, because we're talking apples to oranges.  A lot of Portland's "successes" are not only (over even mainly) because of urban policy, but also because of coincidence of situation.  There is not a magic bullet there that cities like Detroit, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, etc. should be looking to adopt.

Also, I apologize for taking this thread so far off-track.  I will start another thread more specifically discussing this issue.

 

Here:

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,26051.new.html#new

Wonderful city, great photos! As a transit geek, I appreciate your emphasis on the street-rail infrastructure and the synergy between biking and mass transit.

 

In many respects Portland is what many American cities would aspire to be, if their policymakers only knew.

 

No disrespect, but again, I think it's very misguided to point to a place like Portland as a model city.

 

And to me, that sounds like an excuse. Greater racial diversity should be a strength of the Midwest, not a weakness. For some reason the Midwest can't aspire to have the strong ethinic enclaves of the Northeast, and many then also say the Midwest shouldn't compare itself to the Northwest due to its relative lack of racial diversity.

 

I just think the Midwest needs to quit making excuses and put up, or shut up. It's got better than average historical building stock, nice racial and cultural diversity, strong cultural assets, and tremendous health and education sectors. Plus the Midwest is blessed with tremendous water assets. What in the world in the Midwest doing wrong?!

 

The Midwestern cities of Detroit, Cincinnati, St. Louis and Chicago are some of the most architecturally significant cities in the country, and in some ways more significant than a few of the cities on the coast because of the variation in styles.  I don't quite understand the love affair with ethnic enclaves though.  Why would you want to force racial concentration, perpetuating the status quo?  It's a discriminatory practice and nearsighted in the landscape of any city.  As for Portland, as long as it's known for hate groups, it will never attract African-Americans.

great thread and you sure got around for not being there very long!

 

i'm not sure if you did or not although its easy to do but anyway dont confuse portland's duller pioneer courthouse square with seattle's somewhat more famous pioneer square.

 

not my cup of tea, but portland really is a great livable city that is doing modern urbanity right for the most part. it is certainly a model for the midwest in built-environment and transit-embracing respects. but lets not get too excited and forget that the midwest used to be this way too, it just lost its way and is slow to rebound in its urbanity for various reasons.

 

Great photos Randy! #4 looks like it could be Main Street in OTR.

 

 

OTR needs more street trees like those shown in the pic.

There are some small things that catch my eye, like the hills in the backround with the houses in them.  That might be a neat place to live, with good views over the city?  Also, note the trees or landscape in those hills...seems to be more scruffy/pines maybe, vs the fuller deciduous trees we have.  The place probably has a very different "feel" or "atmosphere' that Ohio, just by nature of the landscape and maybe climate. 

 

Otherwise this looks like a VERY pleasant city.  Nice street trees, yes, but also the mix of old and new.  And all those bikes!!!  Ohio has a longway to go with bike culture before it gets to where Portland appears to be at w. bike use. 

 

 

 

 

Beautiful pictures. You got a lot in for a day!

I don't quite understand the love affair with ethnic enclaves though.  Why would you want to force racial concentration, perpetuating the status quo?  It's a discriminatory practice and nearsighted in the landscape of any city.  As for Portland, as long as it's known for hate groups, it will never attract African-Americans.

 

There is a difference between an enclave (driven by choice) and a ghetto (driven out of lack of choice). Enclaves allow for ethnic minorities to preserve their heritage while also being a part of the larger system (think of Chinatowns, "gayborhoods", mission districts, and so on). The concentration of any minority into a district due to their economic standing (think of Cincinnati's old Laurel Homes in the West End) does not do the same thing and is in fact a negative situation to have.

 

Furthermore, the "melting pot" approach in the United States is fairly unique. Most other nation's in the world where there is significant ethnic diversity (say Canada, U.K., France or Brazil) tend to promote a different approach with rather successful outcomes. You could make arguments as to whether one is better than the other, but the "mosaic" approach (different cultures mix but remain distinct) allows for greater preservation of ones culture than the "melting pot" alternative. Therefore, I wouldn't call either approach "discriminatory".