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A Guide to Neighborhoods in Portland, Oregon |
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City of 90 Plus Neighborhoods
It struck me that Portland neighborhoods are like my husband trying to decide on his daily ice cream flavor. Everyone of them offers a new taste sensation. That isn't to say that you shouldn't pick a favorite. You have lots to sample from and it may mean changing your mind a couple of times. Office of Neighborhood InvolvementIf you like names, you will love those that classify Portland neighborhoods. For example, on the west side you'll find Goose Hollow, Lair Hill, John's Landing, and Terwilliger. Across the river (Willamette) to the east are Brooklyn, Eastmoreland, Ladd's Addition, Mt. Tabor, and Sullivan's Gulch. According to the Office of Neighborhood Involvement, (ONI) a city agency, there are more than 90 neighborhood associations in Portland. It has hyperlinks to all the individual neighborhoods data, calendars, map, and city information. This site has so much information and links, it is difficult to navigate. But perseverance will be rewarded. View a Portland Neighborhood Map in PDF format. The "neighborhood revolution" began when a number of neighborhoods began to argue for their own versions of local revitalization in the late 60s. By 1972, active neighborhood associations and planning committees had established a presence that politicians and planning administrators could not have ignored even had they wanted to do so. Two groups are credited with creating today's active neighborhood associations:
In January 1972, the Portland City Council under the direction of Mayor Terry Schrunk convened the District Planning Organization Task Force to explore the idea of a city structure for neighborhood and district citizen participation. The City was acknowledging the current phenomena of increased citizen interest and participation in the planning and the delivery of government services. as well as requirements on city, state and federal levels for defined citizen participation structures. In 1973, newly-elected Mayor Neil Goldschmidt supported neighborhood participation in city government by proposing a Bureau of Neighborhood Organizations with a budget of $104,000. By 1979, there were 60 active neighborhood associations in Portland, and the city’s planning process and neighborhood efforts were aligned with major accomplishments across the city in neighborhood revitalization. Nomenclature Deciphering the difference between official neighborhood names as maintained by the Office of Neighborhood Involvement (ONI) and what Portlanders call a neighborhood can be a problem. For example, most Portlanders call the official ONI neighborhood of Southwest Hills by the two older historical names: Council Crest and Portland Heights. The official neighborhood name for the area in the hills of Northwest Portland is "Hillside" but many Portlanders call it "King's Heights." SourcesBest Places This amazing Web site is the creation of Bert Sperling who lives in Portland and Depoe Bay, Oregon. He is a co-author of "Cities Ranked & Rated: More Than 400 Metropolitan Areas Evaluated in the U.S. & Canada” (Wiley Publishing). The site offers various cost-of-living calculations, as well as information about schools and amenities, and allows users to take a quiz to help find the best place to live. You'll answer questions about your life stage, job, amenities, schools, health care, culture, etc. Then the site will provide you with a list of places to live.
Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND)
Public and private spaces have equal importance, creating a balanced community that serves a wide range of home and business owners. The inclusion of civic buildings and civic space -- in the form of plazas, greens, parks and squares -- enhances community identity and value. For more information about new urbanism, see the article Welcome to the New Urbanism. The Town Paper Web site provides a list of TNDs throughout the world. Oregon has over fifteen on the list. Walking ScoreWalk Score helps people find walkable places to live. Walk Score calculates the walkability of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc. Walk Score shows you a map of what's nearby and calculates a Walk Score for any property by just inserting the address. Your Walk Score is a number between 0 and 100. The walkability of an address depends on how far you are comfortable walking—after all, everything is within walking distance if you have the time. Scores are from 100 (walkers' paradise) where most errands can be accomplished on foot and you get by without owning a car to below 50 (not walkable). Portland is the 12th most walkable city in the U.S. with a Walk Score of 66 and 57% of the residents have a Walk Score of 70 or above. Click here to view the Portland scores for 89 neighborhoods. City of Portland Livability StudyThe city's Service Efforts and Accomplishments (SEA) report is a comprehensive study on Portland residents' feeling and opinions about where they live. The Audit Services department has conducted the study for about 15 years. They survey questions citizens on everything from police responsiveness to tap-water quality. In the 2005 study, the results were compiled from 22,070 responses to more than 70 questions. Overall the news is good: Portlanders like where they live, with 80 percent of respondents rating the livability of their neighborhoods as "good" or "very good." While livability ratings have increased or remained steady in most neighborhoods since 2001, they've declined in outer East and central Northeast Portland. You can download information about the report to include survey methodology, survey form, etc. at the City of Portland Web site. Two reports are worthy of reading. First is the 2004-05 SEA report (146 pages) − click on City of Portland Service Efforts and Accomplishments. This is the overall summary but it does not get into the actual neighborhood data. To view the data from the 75 neighborhoods, download the Neighborhood Survey Data (MS Excel format) − click on 2005 Neighborhood Survey Data. Demographic InformationPortland Maps The best source for current demographic data for Portland neighborhoods can be found at Portland Maps. You will have to know the address of a home within a neighborhood to obtain the census information. For a neighborhood, you can find the following:
Other information located at Portland Maps: assessor/taxlot Information, aerial photos, elevation, schools, parks, zoning maps, water/sewer, and natural hazard. Washington County has its own version of Portland Maps. Population Research Center The Population Research Center located at Portland State University provides and abundance of demographic data for the Portland Metropolitan area. U.S. 2000 Census data is available for all Oregon metro areas, Oregon counties, and incorporated cities (as well as Census Designated Places). US Census Bureau US Census Bureau also provides demographic data of the Portland Metropolitan (Clackamas, Multnomah, and Washington counties) area. The Portland Monthly magazine will permit you to download their Real Estate Guide to Neighborhoods and Communities. It is an excellent resource. Neighborhood Coalitions
Some of the Web sites such as Southeast Uplift have excellent links to each neighborhood in their respective geographic areas. Below is a list of Portland's neighborhood coalitions, contacts and Web sites: Central Northeast Neighbors (NECN) Southeast Uplift (SEUL) Neighbors West/Northwest (W/NW) Southwest Neighborhoods, Inc (SWNI) East Portland Neighborhood Office (EPNO) NE Coalition of Neighborhoods (NECN) North Portland Neighborhood Services (NPNS) Drawing Some ConclusionsHere are a few conclusions that can help you with selecting a neighborhood.
Sex OffendersORS 181.592 authorizes the Oregon State Police to make information about registered sex offenders available to the public. ORS 181.592(4)(c) authorizes the release of information on certain sex offenders to be posted on a public web site.This site is for information only. The Oregon State Police has not considered or assessed the specific risk that any convicted sex offender displayed on the Web site will commit another offense or the nature of any future crimes that may be committed. The law mandates Oregon State Police provide information listing the name, address and descriptions of the offenders who MAY pose a risk to the community. The most dangerous sex offenders are classified as predators. Law enforcement agencies must notify neighbors when a predatory sex offender moves nearby. Depending on the classification, the notification can range from fliers to door-to-door visits throughout the neighborhood where the offender has moved. Oregon Sex Offender Web Sites The Multnomah County Web site does not include all known predatory sex offenders in the area. Predatory sex offenders who no longer are on parole or probation are not included on the site, even though they still must register. You can learn the names and addresses of all currently registered sex offenders by contacting the state police headquarters in Salem at 503-378-3720. Neighborhood ProfilesThe below City of Portland neighborhoods have detailed profiles.Downtown and Close to downtown
Northeast Portland North Portland Suburban Communities |
Getting AroundThe Lion and Rose Bed and Breakfast Innn in the Northeast neighborhood of Irvington has an excellent video on "Getting Around in Central Portland." Click here to view it.
Neighborhood Notes
Neighborhood Notes makes it easy for neighbors to stay informed about what’s going on in our city, in our neighborhoods, on our blocks. The site connects people with resources (like civic information, local businesses and organizations, community events), and provide them with the tools to make proactive choices within our city. The interactive elements of the web site (comments, guest posts, user reviews in our neighborhood directories and more) add to the lively conversation framed around our continued, steady stream of what’s interesting, current, and hyperlocal.
Portland Monthly Magazine Neighborhood Guide
The Portland Monthly magazine features neighborhoods in their April issue every year.To help those in the housing market, the magazine combines all the data from over 90 Portland neighborhoods and 25 suburbs in a online reference guide. Include in the document are housing prices, school ratings, demographics, crime statistics, parks, commuting information, and services.
Portland Walking Guides
Laura Foster writes about Portland, Oregon in her three books, Portland Hill Walks, Portland City Walks, and The Portland Stairs Book. She also wrote Walk There! for TriMet that allows visitors to download 50 different walks.Each book leads readers and walkers on urban excursions of two to six miles, telling the stories of neighborhoods' geology, human history, and architecture, along with offbeat tidbits ranging from how Native Americans used local plants, to the story behind those glass squares (vault lights) embedded in old city sidewalks.Walking Portlandby author Becky Ohlsen explores 30 neighborhoods. The book gets the reader onto trails in Washington and Forest parks, but most of the walking is on city sidewalks. The book is more about walking to restaurants, brewpubs, coffee shops and entertainment centers.
Main StreetOver the past 30 years, the Main Street movement has transformed the way communities think about the revitalization and management of their downtowns and neighborhood commercial districts. Cities and towns across the nation have come to see that a prosperous, sustainable community is only as healthy as its core.
NomenclatureDeciphering the difference between official neighborhood names as
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So what does ice cream have to do with Portland neighborhoods? My husband loves ice cream and just about any flavor will do. He has a difficult time deciding which flavor will suit him on a given day and he will change his mind a couple times before making his final pick.
The acronym TND stands for Traditional Neighborhood Development, a comprehensive planning system that includes a variety of housing types and land uses in a defined area. The variety of uses permits educational facilities, civic buildings and commercial establishments to be located within walking distance of private homes. A TND is served by a network of paths, streets and lanes suitable for pedestrians as well as vehicles. This provides residents the option of walking, biking or driving to places within their neighborhood. Present and future modes of transit are also considered during the planning stages.
Neighborhood coalitions are independent non-profit organizations which contract with the Office of Neighborhood Involvement to facilitate citizen participation services and related neighborhood crime prevention activities for the neighborhood associations and citizens within a geographically defined area. The board of each coalition is primarily composed of representatives from its member neighborhood associations.
