All About Urban Renewal Areas (URA)...

Our Mission is to bring together resources to achieve Portland’s vision of a diverse, sustainable community with healthy neighborhoods, a vibrant central city, a strong regional economy, and quality jobs and housing for all.

Pioneer Courthouse Square Eastbank Esplanade Portland State University's Urban Plaza Oregon Convention Center Willamette Industrial District

Waterfront Park Union Station Pioneer Place Walnut Park South Waterfront District

See a shining example of urban renewal project results and view a map of our current Urban Renewal Areas.

What do these new or renovated Portland landmarks have in common?

  —  Urban Renewal

Urban renewal is a state-authorized, redevelopment and finance program designed to help communities improve and redevelop areas that are physically deteriorated, suffering economic stagnation, unsafe or poorly planned. PDC uses urban renewal as a tool to focus public attention and resources in blighted or underused areas to stimulate private investment and improve neighborhood livability. (View our interactive map of all existing Urban Renewal Areas.)

The outstanding developments listed above are the result of neighbors, business leaders and city government working together to create positive changes in our community.

See just one example of our efforts in Urban Renewal that dramatically changed the face of downtown Portland. View a presentation on urban renewal. Click on each slide in the new window to move forward through the presentation. You can also download the publications listed below as well as view an animated history of urban renewal in Portland. (Download a print version in PDF format.) Note: this presentation requires the Flash player. You can download the free player here.

Publications

Portland Development Commission (PDC) and Urban Renewal

• A Brief History of Urban Renewal in Portland, Oregon (30 pages, 2,234 kb)
• Appendix (9 pages, 24 kb)
• Annual Urban Renewal Report
• Facts About PDC Agency brochure (8 pages, 885 kb)
• Legislative History (3 pages 12 kb)
• Map of All Urban Renewal Areas (1 page, 1,218 kb)
• Urban Renewal Primer (6 pages, 26 kb)
• Urban Renewal in Oregon (70 pages, 296 kb)
• Urban Renewal: Its Role in Shaping Portland's Future (20 pages, 1,489 kb)

• Urban Renewal History (14.2 MB, animated timeline) (PowerPoint SHOW document; this animated timeline does not require the PowerPoint application to view.)

Are you located in an Urban Renewal Area?

You can determine whether your property is located within a designated Urban Renewal Area by searching for a specific address using our GIS Mapping tool, and then clicking on the Development link in the top navigation of the resulting query results window.

You can also download printable Acrobat PDF versions of our Urban Renewal maps.

Note: PDC publications are provided in Adobe’s Acrobat PDF format. If you need the free Acrobat Reader, it’s available from Adobe’s web site by clicking on the “Get Adobe Reader” icon.

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