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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. 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 Involvement
If 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:
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The Northwest District Association formed in 1969
to deal with a proposed hospital expansion. It worked with the
Planning Bureau to develop an alternative plan that would preserve Northwest
as a high density residential area.
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The Hill Park Association organized also organized
in 1969 to fight the possible clearance of the Lair Hill neighborhood,
located just south of the downtown urban renewal zone. It joined
three other neighborhoods to develop their own district plan to preserve
fragments of old South Portland and Fulton.
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."
Sources
Best
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.
Bright Neighbor
This site lists events, goods and services. Additional features enable users
to connect for rides, trades and more. Users can click on an event, for
example, and find a list of people offering or looking for rides to the
event, too. And instead of selling or hunting for goods and services one
at a time, users can keep a wish list or inventory of offerings in a "Swap
& Share" section.
News for Neighbors
By far the best source of news about Portland neighborhoods. According
to their site, "News for Neighbors is a Web site dedicated to supporting
Portland neighborhoods by promoting discussions about local issues. We provide
tools for citizens and neighborhood associations to discuss breaking news."
CascadeLink
is another online source for neighborhoods. CascadeLink is designed
to be a place for getting and sharing information about neighborhoods
and neighborhood activities. CascadeLink also covers Clark,
Clackamas, and Washington county neighborhoods. But only a few of
the neighborhoods create a page or update the information on a periodic
basis.
The Insiders Guide gives a local perspective on a few Portland neighborhoods
as well as the local real estate market. The Insider Guide is one
of the few sites that actually has some well-written content about
Portland neighborhoods as most Web sites simply redirect you to the ONI
or CascadeLink sites.
Traditional Neighbhood Development (TND)
 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.
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 Score
Walk
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).
Walk Score reported in their 2008 report that 45% of Portland
residents have a Walk Score of 70 or above. The report said that 83%
have a Walk Score of at least 50 and just 17% live in car-dependent neighborhoods.
Click
here
to view the Portland scores for 60 neighborhoods.
Below is the Walk Score for the Trolley Barn Townhouse
development in the Sellwood-Moreland neighborhood in southeast Portland.
City of Portland Livability Study
The 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's 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 Information
Portland Maps The best source for current (U.S. 2000 Census)
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
 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.
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)
4815 NE 7th Avenue, 97211
Telephone: 503-823-4575
Email:
info@necoalition.org
Webpage: www.necoalition.org
Southeast Uplift (SEUL)
3534 SE Main, 97214
Telephone: 503-232-0010
Email: seul@southeastuplift.org
Webpage:
www.southeastuplift.org
Neighbors West/Northwest (W/NW)
819 NW Everett, Room. 205 97209
Telephone: 503-223-3331
Email: mailto:coalition@nwnw.org
Webpage: www.nwnw.org
Southwest Neighborhoods, Inc (SWNI)
7688 SW Capitol Highway 97219
Telephone: 503-823-4592
Email: swni123@spiritone.com
Webpage:
www.spiritone.com/~swni123
East Portland Neighborhood Office (EPNO)
SE 106th, 97216
Telephone: 503-823-4550
Email: epno@epno.org
Webpage: www.epno.org
NE Coalition of Neighborhoods (NECN)
4815 NE 7th Avenue, 97211
Telephone: 503-823-4575
Email: necn123@teleport.com
North Portland Neighborhood Services (NPNS)
2209 N. Schofield, 97217
Telephone: 503-823-4524
Email: npno123@teleport.com
Drawing Some Conclusions
Here are a few conclusions that can help you with selecting
a neighborhood.
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Most of the "highlands" are on the west side.
As such, most of the more expensive neighborhoods are on the west side.
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Although some new homes have been built to fill in
vacant land in the stopover, everyday and highland neighborhoods, most
of the newer housing is in the suburbs. In order to increase density,
newer multiple-unit housing is being built close to downtown Portland.
This includes everything from rowhouses, condos, and lofts. Underutilized
warehouses in the Pearl district are being converted to loft housing
and new buildings (both traditional condos and lofts) are being erected.
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Most west side homes are built into the hills; a smaller
number sit on stilts. A popular west side style is the daylight
basement, which is built into the hill, with some rooms at street level,
and others on the lower level. West side streets tend to curve
around the hills, often intersecting at odd angles.
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East side streets are generally straight, and they
tend to follow a north/south and east/west grid. A popular east
side style, now known as the Old Portland, is a small bungalow home,
with an open floor plan and big front porch. Many Old Portland
homes were built during the building booms in the early part of the
century.
Sex Offenders
ORS 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, ext. 4429.
Neighborhood Profiles
The below City of Portland neighborhoods have detailed
profiles:
Suburban Communities
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Getting Around
The
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 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 approximately from 95 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.
Click
here to access the online tool.
Laura Foster writes about Portland, Oregon in her three
books, Portland Hill Walks, Portland City Walks, and
Walk There!
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.
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.
Neighborhood
Map
View a
Portland Neighborhood
Map
in PDF format.
The Physical Size
of Portland
The City of Portland
is 134 square miles.
Others Cities in
square miles:
Austin - 252
Chicago -227
Denver - 153
Los Angles - 469
Seattle - 84
Voting Results
2008 General
Election
Pick your neighborhood
by voting preferences based on the 2008 election.
STEPS:
1) Go to the Multnomah County
Precinct Overview Map
and locate the precinct.
2) Go to the
Precinct Map to verify that you have the correct precinct.
3) View the
2008 President Abstract file.
Oregon Elections Interested in viewing additional voting
information visit
Oregon Elections Division Secretary of State.
Portland Facts
Altitude
Highest - 1073 feet;
Lowest - sea level
Density in Year 2000
(People per Square Mile)
Portland - 3,939
Bend, OR - 1,625
Eugene, OR - 3,403
Seattle - 6,717
Austin, TX - 2,610
New York City - 26,403
Average Daily Temp
January - 39.6° F
July - 68.2° F
Churches
Protestant - 450
Roman Catholic - 48
Jewish - 9
Buddhist - 6
Other - 190
City-owned Parks
200
(over 9,400 acres)
Per Capita Personal Income in 2000
$31,620
Median Age in 2000
35.2 years
Sex Offenders
The
Oregon site
lists information on sex offenders who have been classified as "predatory"
by the state Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision.
In addition to names, addresses and photographs, the site includes a physical
description of each offender, the type of vehicle he owns, a description
of the crime committed, and the types of victims targeted.
Crime
View detailed crime maps of a neighborhood and the City
of Portland with the City of Portland Police Bureau
CrimeMapper
interactive mapping site.
CrimeMapper
creates maps from a database of Part 1 Crimes created specifically for CrimeMapper
from the Portland Police Data System.
CrimeMapper also creates detailed graphs and reports that
display crime data by month, day of week, and time of day. CrimeMapper displays
the same crime data as Portland Maps.
The
City Police
Department also tracks crimes by neighborhood. You have the option
to download files for
neighborhood crime stats.
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).
Local Census is
a free Web site that provides a plethora of statistical information about
the U.S.A. and all of its cities, zip codes, and counties.
Linus Torvalds
Linus, creator of the Linux computer operating
system, lives in Dunthorpe, a Southwest Portland neighborhood. He
moved to Portland in 2004 with his wife and three daughters. Here is what
Linus says about living in Portland:
I actually like having stuff nearby, even though I never go to it.
I like having a small downtown, and I like knowing that I could, if I wanted
to, do things. That makes me happy."
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