And so ends my big trip of the year. Unlike the past several years where I have travelled overseas to spend my vacation, I decided to return to Portland and visit a city I have much loved. I haven't been to Portland since 2012, and although there has been four years that have passed since I last step foot in this city, I didn't really expect too much change. Of course I was wrong. Very wrong. A lot of things have happened in the past several years, and not necessarily for the good. And so here is a bit of a snapshot of what I had noticed.
Housing Cost: Portland has over the past many years lagged behind other cities on the West Coast when comes to the cost of housing. A legacy of the Great Recession, many properties (including one of my friend) remained underwater for many years. Although not good for many, this might a good thing for others as housing affordability remained pretty low and many people (in theory) can still afford to rent or own as long as they had a good job. However on this trip, I noticed housing costs have increased substantially in the last few years as the US economy (as well as the local economy) has finally picked up steam to the point that is has put some pressure on housing supply and demand. Although the internal forces might not be at play as much, it is the external factors that have made housing more expensive. In fact, 11% more expensive year over year between July 2015 and July 2016 [Link]. This trend may not be news to many red hot US and Canadian housing markets, but for a place like Portland, it is huge. The external factors are people moving into the city from Seattle or California in search of new jobs and cheaper housing. A result of this is the local population increasingly unable to afford a home in their home city. Portland is a place where young people go to retire. Wealthy young people.
Homelessness: Portland in the past has seen its fair share of poverty especially in the east end of the city where disjointed communities have almost become a dumping ground for the less fortunate. Despite all that, the city continues to function and people, as poor as they may seem, are still friendly and genuine (I can vouch for this because I stayed in the poor parts of Portland during my stays). Homelessness was either never a big issue, or because they were just hidden. Sadly four years later, the issue is a big political hot potato as these squatter camps are everywhere. They are in parks, vacant lands, ravines, and even in abandoned buildings. These individuals have nowhere to go, and so they create a place for themselves. Most are civil and fairly private as long as you leave them alone, but recently in places such as the Springwater Corridor, they have become more of a nuisance as they have at times compromised the security of users of the park [Link]. Without much solution to the problem, this continues to be a hot button topic.
Division Street redevelopment: Certain communities seems to be more active than others with respect to the infill development and revitalization of communities. Case in point is SE Division Street between SE 20th and SE50th. Although this stretch of street is located in a better part of town, the street itself has always been dotted with under-utilized commercial buildings, vacant lands, and parking lots. The potential has always been there as the SE Division is surrounded by middle to upper-middle class households. The transformation of the street has been impressive with lots of new mid-rise residential construction and a revitalization of SE Division due to the influx of new independent shops and restaurants. The first Google streetview is taken dated July 2011, and the second was taken dated August 2016. Sure its been five years between photos, but you have to remember this is part of Portland that might have seen little development at this scale ever.
With so much investment in the community, Tri-Met, the region's public transit agency, is calling on residents to assist in developing a rapid bus service. This service will run through the entire stretch of SE Division from the City Center to its terminus in Gresham [Link].
So in summary Portland has changed a lot in the past four years since I last visited here. Unfortunately the changes have not always been for the better. I hope one day homelessness will be a thing of the past, and housing cost will not impact those who already cannot afford a place to live. I doubt it, but I know Portland is resilient as it always has been.
No comments:
Post a Comment