“GENTRIFICATION” is a word that’s been on the lips of many Portlanders these days—people are talking about it with increasing frequency in bars, on TriMet, in the press, and on social media. With this discussion has come an outpouring of strong emotions: sadness! resentment! rage! bitterness! (To paraphrase Yoda: “Fear, anger, hatred… Portland, this is.”) That’s some pretty negative stuff—and yet it kind of feels good, doesn’t it? Just let it out, Portland. Let it all out.
By broaching this subject, we’ve lanced a cultural boil—these pent-up frustrations had to be drained from our psyches. As a native Portlander and now-reluctant suburbanite, this process of complaining and blaming has been as cathartic for me as it’s been for everyone else. But much like primal scream therapy or listening to Sia, something needs to come after that catharsis. All this discussion has been good, but now that we’ve opened up the wound, we can’t just let it fester. It’s time to stop commiserating and start talking about solutions.
Last week, I wrote an article on my blog, PretentiousPDX. “Four Rules for Talking About Gentrification in Portland” ended up getting shared all over the place, proving either that using the G-word guarantees hits these days, or that there’s an insatiable demand for jokes about Lewis and Clark being the original hipsters. (It’s probably the former.) Here’s the CliffsNotes version of those rules: (1) Stop accepting Portland’s problems just because Portland’s still less crappy than other cities, (2) Stop fixating on Portland’s aesthetic “authenticity,” (3) Start being cognizant of the true costs of gentrification, and (4) As Portland inevitably changes, figure out what’s worth saving.
Since that post, I’ve thought a lot about that last point. Where do we go from here? I think we need to talk about not just what’s worth saving, but what’s worth changing, too. Now, I’m not an urban planner or an architect. Nor am I an expert on crime or homelessness or race. But as someone who’s spent the greater part of the last three decades at least passively thinking about these issues (minus a few years of my childhood when I was utterly devoted to hating the Sonics), here are my three best ideas for what I hope will be Portland’s renaissance, not its demise.
1. We need Metro-wide solutions, not Portland-centric ones.
Portland and its suburbs are mutually dependent—and as Portland residents continue to be pushed out of the city, that dependency is only going to grow stronger. Yet the divide between the city core and… well, everywhere else continues to deepen. Look at how much time and money we lost because Portland and Vancouver couldn’t see eye-to-eye on the Columbia River Crossing. (One can also argue that the creation of downtown’s “Entertainment District” is a nod to a certain degree of outdated bridge-and-tunnel prejudice.) We need to talk about transportation infrastructure and the quality of life throughout and around Portland—not just places like downtown and the Pearl, or Mississippi and Alberta, or Division. If we don’t, we run the risk of further stratifying the upper, lower, and middle classes into completely separate communities.
2. We need to start being socially informed and responsible Portlanders—in ways that actually matter.
Portlanders pay a lot of attention to whether or not their coffee is fair-trade and their eggs are cage-free—but how much scrutiny do we give to local developers and local (or not) businesses? How many of us even know who those players are? (Given that nobody said much when Hoyt Street Properties all but ignored their affordable housing goal, I’m guessing the answer is “not many.”) Do we put our money where our mouth is? Sure, there was widespread whining over the demise of Besaw’s, but what would you do if Pok Pok and Salt & Straw announced they were creating a hybrid venture to go in its place? Would you still be outraged—or would you be standing in line as soon as you finished griping about it on Facebook?
3. Get on board with moving forward.
Everyone’s had a chance to talk about what they think makes (or, maybe more accurately, made) Portland great. But as many have pointed out, that’s mostly just nostalgia. And nostalgia is useless. The real question is: How do we want to be defined in 2030 or 2060? What will this city look like by then? If our small-town mentality is proving to be unsustainable, what comes next? We need to start charting a course for Portland now—or else, as we’re seeing, outside interests will do it for us. How many of us have researched what amount of affordable housing would actually be useful? Or what it would take for Portland to strengthen renters’ rights? [See “Out of Control,” News, this issue.] How many of us have read the city’s 2015 Climate Action Plan? Or the 2035 Comprehensive Plan? What do we think of the city’s proposal to reduce all human methane emissions by 50 percent, or to ban all non-artisan hot dogs? (Those aren’t actually in there, but you wouldn’t know unless you read the plan, right?)
So who gets to be part of this conversation? Everyone who lives or works in Portland—or has and wishes that they still could. Whether you’ve been here a year or a lifetime, we’re all stakeholders in Portland’s future. The transplants of today will be tomorrow’s victims of gentrification. This isn’t just a discussion for natives, or homeowners, or elected officials. That said, it’s important that we respect our elders. Even if you recently moved here, you have a right to be heard—but know, and recognize, that the passion you feel for this city may run far deeper in long-time residents.
There’s no panacea here, no magic salve to heal the wounds of gentrification. Portland’s changing, and it’s affecting all of us. There is, however, an opportunity to stop complaining about Portland’s present, and start having a meaningful discussion about its future. That’s my plan. I hope you’ll join me.
Yume Delegato is a Portland native. After spending a few years covering Portland’s live music scene, he now runs the tongue-in-cheek website PretentiousPDX.com. You can find him on Twitter & Instagram: @PretentiousPDX.
“Hoyt Street Properties all but ignored their affordable housing goal” is an interesting way of saying that 30% of the units built were affordable instead of 35%.
Also:
Overturn ORS 91.225, the state law that prohibits rent control in Oregon.
Overturn ORS 653.017, the state law that prohibits local governments from setting their own minimum wages.
Bring back the Homeowners’ and Renters’ Refund Program, which was killed off by Measure 5.
Great article- thanks!
I think we need a statewide initiative against AirBnB, Vacasa etc. Houses are for residents- hotels are for tourists. Not vice versa!
How does Columbia Villa fit in this conversation? Can we just build more Columbia Villas? Or is that below a waiter’s standards? Both sides need to give because everybody wants it for wholesale these days.
I hate the idea of rent control. They own the house, and should be able to do whatever they want with it. If you want a house, buy your own. Don’t force a rule that says they have to share with you, just because they have one and you don’t.
Who do we hold responsible for these potential land-grabbing shenanigns?
http://portlandobserver.com/news/2015/may/…
– “we run the risk of further stratifying the upper, lower, and middle classes into completely separate communities” – Agree on this one as it relates to strategies that encourage some portion of affordable housing stock being important. ….BUT, this identified risk is in essence exactly what all of these extreme anti development people are asking for when they shun the idea of new development in close-in Portland and/or more well-to-do people wanting to buy homes close in. If all of this interest and investment/development that they hate so much stopped and nobody cared to live in close-in Portland, we would see a continual decay of the infrastructure, support for local businesses, schools, etc….but hey, the rent would be a little lower!! (on that decaying 150 year old rental studio of yours that you landlord is uninterested in keeping up, that is)!! You can’t just hit pause on the way life was in ’95…an aging city requires new $ sources from development type investors and homeowners who can invest in upkeep of older homes if it is to remain viable.
– Hoyt meeting 30% of its 35% affordable housing goal was pretty damn good if you ask me, and certainly not “all but ignoring”.
– point 3 – right on, and about the most sane thing I have seen written toward the topic.
Re: rent control – at the first inkling of any talk of rent control, we would see enormous increases in rents ahead of a bill passing (which would take quite a while). Then, you would be ok with these levels being “locked in”? All arguments aside that rent control ends up being a net negative as many believe it is in other cities, I don’t see how it is going to help if we are already at levels deemed way “too damn high”.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!
This was a much-needed article. I’m sure it has given hope to many of us who are being alienated by the nonchalant attitudes about gentrification. Thank you too for opening the floor for conversations about solutions. We can lament it all and be depressed, or we can do something about it. We need solutions!
I also applaud the Mercury for having the balls to tackle gentrification. I’ve been really impressed lately by your work around this difficult subject and I’m so glad you’re doing it. Another reason why I think the Mercury is a much better rag than the Willamette Week! Cheers!
When I moved to portland I was the only one with white shoes. Now every other person downtown wears them and everything else about their clothing is very unportlandish… well I learned the hard way come rainy season why no one wears white shoes around here.
Aside from waiting for the rain to wipe the smiles off their tourists faces I just got a ninja turtle hat and now that I am free of being couped up in a lab for the summer, after a very dirty day of work I am going to flaunt myself and all my dark colored portland hiking gear clothing with my entirely unmatching bright green ninja turtle hat all around downtown so they know where they are at.
whos with me? It’s okay I’m used to going at it alone….
I’m just going to throw mud at Tyler Hurst.
Kick out all the transplants!! DUH!!!!! All these problems boil down to 1 thing.
People who arent from here, and dont belong here, are moving here, writing laws and making changes to turn Portland into LA2.0.
That is EXACTLY why we kicked the Bagwan out.
No California is doing the same thing.
Stop allowing outsiders to change our home.
When comments like “Hoyt Street Properties all but ignored their affordable housing goal” crop up in otherwise well-reasoned articles like this, it becomes very, very hard to take any of this seriously. Have you read the development agreement? Affordable housing requires availability of local resources, not just the will of the developer. Falling just short of a goal is not the same as ignoring the goal.
The recent reaction to the affordable requirements in the Pearl is all about the City feeling embarrassed by the local press when asked to defend production in the Pearl. They never acted on the property purchase provision because everyone had continued to work in good faith to make things happen Now, the City owns a property and they get to go it alone. Bravo! Here comes an affordable housing project that will need to be subsidized at $250,000 a door (see Gray’s Landing) and which will be built with the City’s purchasing rules.
Jesus H, Mike Scott. Assuming your post wasn’t sarcastic, I don’t even want to know what you think about them darned “Mexicans” coming here (keep them in LA at least!) or “the blacks” living outside their “proper” NoPo neighborhoods. Same exact paranoid, narrow-minded “I/we are supreme to you” mindset. I bet you are super stoked that this whole debate finally gives you an outlet to spew your pdx-xenophobic garbage on a site that has a larger and more diverse audience than the supremacist chat rooms you surely frequent.
“pretty soon we will all be speakin the Chinese, or Mexican, or worst yet, North Korean or Los Angelean. Build that wall now!”
concerning 1, we already do this. Metro is the only directly elected regional government in the united states. the cohesion between the suburban governments and portland is about as good gets. concerning 3, if you want to be more involved, go to a neighborhood association meeting where you are free to speak you mind and voice your neighborhood concerns. the public/civic planning process is fairly cohesive in this city and pdx takes neighborhood concerns seriously. concerning gentrification, well call it what you want but people moving into rundown areas and fixing them up resulting in higher property values and ultimately displacing lower income residents is as old as urbanity itself. neighborhoods come and go as do industries and cities. i understand the desire to try and live an equitable and empathetic life, but you cant stop urban progress or investment. who gets the reap their benefits is the deeper and more important question. ultimately people with discretionary income. so the better question is not how can we stop neighborhoods from becoming expensive, its how can we raise peoples’ incomes. as soon as anything becomes desireable, it becomes sought after and ultimately expensive. why are rust belt cities cheap to live in? shitty weather and high violent crime rates. why is portland expensive to live in? low crime and far better weather, among other things.
The one person who attempts to speak the truth receives 20 dislikes… I wonder who those were from?
It is remarkable that you would pool a person who has spent a lifetime here with multiple generations of family stemming from Portland, with a person who has spent one year here.
Because, NO, this statement is not accurate with us: “Everyone’s had a chance to talk about what they think makes (or, maybe more accurately, made) Portland great. But as many have pointed out, that’s mostly just nostalgia.”
The difference is, the person who has spent a lifetime here doesn’t speak of Portland with nostalgia, they speak about it with authenticity, history and tradition. It’s not us who are causing gentrification- it’s the insane influx of individuals from out-of-state that have the misunderstanding that Portland is a place where ANYTHING FLIES, where you can simply change tradition and history because you feel so entitled.
Let me ask you this? Why all of a sudden are people moving here in large numbers? Is it because, all of a sudden, those recent transplants made it cool? No. It’s because those of us who have lived here for decades have contributed to making it a better place; we respect those before us, family or not, who did the same- and now, everyone else wants a piece of the pie.
There has NEVER been a time in Portland’s history when a statistic came out that said: “Portland will gain 750,000 residents in the next twenty years.” according to an article by Oregon Live.
There’s no sense of accountability or respect in Portland anymore. I finally understand why Hawaaiin’s are so territorial of their land. I’m beginning to feel the same way.
Also, rent is not correlated to salaries or wages in this city, anymore- and it is not a businesses obligation to pay a worker or employee a higher salary or wage based off an absurd increase in rental costs. Nor is it unfair for a landowner or homeowner to increase their rent based off of demand. That would be opportunity. Once again- what is the underlying cause of this? Demand. AKA, too many people moving into one place all at once. Simple economics. Bring in a civic economist with experience to our city. Bring in someone from Denmark. They’re doing it right.
Now that’s it’s happening in white neighborhoods people start caring. When it was black and Hispanic neighborhoods, ut was “urban renewal.”
So well said!
Yume wrote the first constructive article I’ve read on this topic (regarding Portland). What if we used this comment thread to do exactly as he says and offer solutions or insight?! It amazes me that nobody caught that part and instead most commenters are continuing to bitch or offer radical libertarian non-solutions. “Go back to…” and “land developers must die” are not solutions. We have an amazing thing going here. Let’s just make sure we grow into a big city in a constructive and responsible way.
Portland Mercury, this might completely change the way I look at you after all. It’s certainly better than the “Grow Up Portland” bullshit from the Willamette Week. But don’t make it a gimmick or an easy attack on your competitor — keep stimulating the minds of this city so to continue the good fight to create a city, a Metro region for everyone, not the richest few.
“Now that’s it’s happening in white neighborhoods people start caring. When it was black and Hispanic neighborhoods, it was “urban renewal.”
The first neighborhoods to be gentrified in Portland like NW 21st/23rd, Hawthorne/Belmont, and the Pearl were not black or Hispanic neighborhoods, they were mostly working class white(or light industrial in the case of the Pearl). Gentrification wasn’t that controversial in Portland nor was it much of a media story later until the mass gentrification of the historically black areas in N. and NE Portland. And today still most of the “community dialogues” and discussions about the effects of gentrification focus on these areas. No one really talks much about who is moving out of Foster-Powell or the Division area.
^^^My thoughts exactly, Deezus. I think M1 might be smoking something that causes his race card to fly out of his pocket, no matter how blatantly contradictory his use of it is.
Bleed the fucker. Restaurants will eventually stay open past 9:00 for dinner, and the people that work in them will either start doing their jobs, or will at least be interesting. Sorry if you fell in love with an idea of Portland being cool, and affordable with no effort from yourselves. I hear Boise is cool.
advice to mayor hales and the mercury; stop starting discussions about “Though we cannot decide whether or not it grows, we can decide in what direction this city grows” and then proceeded to start the change by changing the very heart of downtown Portland; homeless people and strip clubs.
Get real this was the most unproductive conversation ever. I was holding back and just joking and I still inadvertently came up with the only idea that that was practical at all or was more than defeated dumb shit like, “is the way it is and we can do nothing about it” (thank you stuck up white male with the coffee cup incapable of any intelligent thought). You all deserve your town to get ran through you stick up the ass hippies got no clue what even made your town let alone how to stop it. The dumbest shit was that dumb ass saying natives make it special – please weird does not equal special and you did not even make it weird you just made it awkward.
if any of you writers in Portland ever grow a spine then maybe real solutions will start to take root but unfortunately it is more than apparent the dumb stagnate natives and writers who catered to them need to be uprooted and kicked out for anyone around here to grow a spine. HAY!!! Some things about gentrification aint so bad after all :))))))))
fuck you retards.
You know, funny thing is what most people dont realize (inc many locals), is what made Pdx magic was because of the trees. Im a sr and can tell you, used to be an intense magical feeling you got because there was ancient growth all around, gardens and flowers all over, tons of birds, squirrels, other little critters, etc. Over time the tree magic got less and less, but you can still feel it a bit driving to the coast, its a very distinct feeling. But even as the trees started dissappearing via the saw mills, you never walked far before seeing, feeling and smelling growth, it was the trade off for the long wet-gray winters. Then it was the music; was so great to walk into some little club (no ticket window or posters) blasting music and find John Coltrane or Miles Davis at it. I researched that many years ago and learned there was a group of really top notch jazz musicians who just refused to take their music commercial, and the other top notch commercials musicians would come to PDX to jam with them, not make money, but just jam. Hence the jazz festivals we have. But what is being truley forgotten (or unknown to the newbies) is natures role. Clearly PDX is big city now, no room for nature. Im fine living on the outskirts. Gotta have my trees, but am feeling a big loss in my soul for the old Portland.