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Facts & Praises - 2005

Portland’s Praises
Even more about our incredible city...

Bicycle Friendly Communities: Portland is Golden but Aspires for More!

Davis, California is added to the list of Bicycle Friendly Communities as the first Platinum level designation. Of the total 52 communities honored with this designation, six Oregon cities listed including gold status designees Portland and Corvallis; silver status Eugene; and bronze status Ashland, Beaverton and Bend.

Portland Commissioner Sam Adams, along with the rest of Portland City Council, passed a resolution "establishing Portland's intent to become the first major U.S. city to be awarded Platinum bike-friendly status," hoping to join the smaller Davis, Ca. (65,000 residents).

Twelve communities renewed their Bicycle Friendly Community status by updating their applications and demonstrating continued progress. These communities include Portland, Oregon (Gold status); Folsom, Ca. and Tempe, Az. (Silver status); Arlington, Va., Bloomington, In., Boca Raton, Fl., Brunswick, Me., Chattanooga, Tn., Gilbert and Mesa, Az., and Auburn, Al. (Bronze status). See a current list of all currently awarded communities on www.bicyclefriendlycommunity.org.

Source: Bicycle Friendly Community, December 2005.

CEO Schmidt Test Runs Google Transit
(or how come Portland, Oregon gets all the good stuff?)

LONDON — How come Portland, Oregon gets all the good stuff? Good beer, the highest parks-per-capita ratio in the U.S., a planetarium, a forestry center, a zoo and classical Chinese gardens too. Now the lucky dogs are the only ones who can use Google Transit Trip Planner, a new service from the search engine behemoth that courteously plots a step-by-step itinerary for the good burghers of Portland, using all available public transportation schedules and information—rather than [just] driving directions.

(PDC has decided to take advantage of this great new online resource by providing a link to Google's Transit Trip Planner on our web site.)

Source: Forbes, Inc., Dec 8, 2005.

Sierra Club Praises [Portland's] Pearl District

In a November report announcing America's best new development projects, the Sierra Club named Portland's Pearl District a top example of successful development.

...The Sierra Club commended the [Hoyt Street Properties] developer for working with the Portland Development Commission in creating a pedestrian-friendly environment where walking, cycling and streetcars are seen as viable means of transportation.

Learn more about Portland's acclaimed Pearl District:

• Explore the Pearl at PearlDistrict.com
• Guide to Portland's Pearl District
• Pearl District Neighborhood Association
• Pearl District History: A Jewel in the Making
• Shop the Pearl and Visual Tour of the Pearl

Source: Portland Business Journal, December 7, 2005.

San Francisco's Planning & Urban Research Association (SPUR) features Portland in its Nov/Dec 2005 Newsletter

Read several articles about Portland, including 10 Transportation Lessons from Portland and They Planned, It Worked.
(PDF newsletter, 28 pps, 11,194 kb)

Source: SPUR, Nov/Dec 2005.

Up-and-Coming Hubs for Creative Workers

Portland is a "Poster Child" among the 15 up-and-coming hubs for creative workers—places that draw people who are talented, tech savvy, and tolerant. Meet the home of your next big opportunity.

Source: Fast Cities, Fast Company, November 2005.

Travel: Going to Portland, Oregon

Why go now—"At first glance, late fall does not recommend Portland. The sky turns the color of old oysters. Clouds obscure the inspiring Dairy Queen dollop of volcanic Mount Hood until May. Rain drools from eaves."

But the Rose City continues to show surprising vigor in the arts and nightlife and fashion, as well as a strong design sensibility...the land of Birkenstocks now has Fashion Week. (Visit the links below and view two multimedia slideshows.)

On a related note, also read "A Tale of Two Portlands" about Portland, Maine and Oregon.

Source: Going to Portland, Ore., The New York Times: Travel, November 2005.

Location, Location, Location. Research, Research.

The New York Times has called PortlandMaps.com the best government-run real estate site. "It lets you search for houses of a certain age, size or price range and then displays the results on a Google map. And that's all properties, not just the ones that are for sale. Then you can check for permit history or hazards. (It doesn't give out property owners' names though.) Read the complete NY Times article from November 5, 2005.

Portland in Top 50 of Logistics-Friendly Cities

Portland ranks No. 37 on a list of the most logistics friendly cities in the U.S. The study, conducted by Expansion Management and Logistics Today magazines, ranks 362 metropolitan areas in the country based on their transportation infrastructures, according to the report.

The site selection ranking annually evaluates the overall logistics infrastructure based on 10 categories: the transportation and distribution industry, transportation and distribution work force, road infrastructure, road congestion, road conditions, interstate highway access, vehicle taxes and fees, railroad access, water port access and air cargo access.

Source: Portland Business Journal, Oct 25, 2005; Expansion Management and Logistics Today magazines.

Oh-so Creative

Portland's reputation as a mecca for the "creative class" might just have some validity. Portland comes in at No. 7 in Fast Company magazine's list of 10 cities showing the highest rates of growth among the "creative class," a group that encompasses everything from scientists to managers to the undefined "cultural creatives."

Source: Portland Business Journal, Oct 21, 2005; Fast Company, Nov 2005.

Oregon is Home to the World's Largest Wi-Fi "Hotspot"

The world's largest hotspot stretches over fields of onions in rural Oregon.

While cities around the country are battling over plans to offer free or cheap internet access, some rather lonely terrain in Hermiston Oregon is served by what is billed as the world's largest hotspot, a wireless cloud that stretches over 700 square miles of landscape so dry and desolate it could have been lifted from a cowboy tune.

Source: CNN Technology, Wireless Society, Oct 19, 2005.

Four Portland Designers Selected for Top 100

Four Portland companies are highlighted in a residential building publication's new list of the top 100 U.S. architectural firms.

Source: Daily Journal of Commerce, Oct 12, 2005.

What's Old is New Again in Portland's Gem

Oregon's No. 1 city has been mostly overlook by Californians (not always to its great regret) as merely a "nice place" with rose-filled parks, pretty bridges and decent hotels—more important as a stopover than a destination. A coterie of hippies and iconoclasts were drawn to Portland's individualism, and fans of Seattle's coffee and dot-com cultures might have had a look on the way, but mostly we haven't paid much attention.

News flash: When we weren't looking, Portland got hip.

Source: San Francisco Chronicle online at SFGate.com, Oct 2, 2005;
View or download the complete article in PDF format.

Ten percent of Portland residents pedal to the office on a system of bike paths that crisscross the city like arteries. (Complete article below.)

Source: CNN.com HEALTH, (view PDF) August 2005.

Women Own Majority of Portland-area Businesses

The Center for Women's Business Research reports the Portland-Vancouver area has the greatest share of 50 percent or more women-owned business in the country.

Of the 50 metropolitan areas, 57.7 percent of businesses in the Portland-Vancouver area are owned by women. The Seattle-Bellevue-Everett area is No. 2, with 56.8 percent owned by women. Also, out of the 50 metropolitan areas, Portland is ranked seventh of the top 10 with the estimated fastest growth of 50 percent or more women-owned firms (based on an average of the growth in number of firms, employment and sales between 1977 and 2004.)

Read some top facts about women-owned businesses.

Source: Portland Business Journal, September 2005.

Portland Among Nation's Most Liberal Cities, says study

Among 237 cities with populations over 100,000, Portland ranked more liberal than Atlanta or Los Angeles, but not as liberal as Seattle, New York City or Boston, according to a study by the Bay Area Center for Voting Research, which ranks Portland as No. 29 on the nation's liberal list.

Most liberal? Detroit. And most conservative? Well that would be Provo, Utah, of course.

Source: Portland Business Journal, August 2005.

A Green Blueprint

Lloyd Crossing, a 35-block section of Portland, Oregon, was recognized by the American Institute of Architects' Committee on the Environment as one of this year's "Top Green Projects," even creating a special planning category for the occasion. More significantly, with its plan for a drastically reduced environmental footprint, Lloyd Crossing may serve as a blueprint remedy for all cities faced with rising air- and water-quality standards, rapid urban development, and the need for more power production and water-treatment plants. Lloyd Crossing was also honored by the AIA's Committee on the Environment earlier this year as part of its list of Top Ten green projects for the year.

"If we can successfully implement Lloyd Crossing," PDC project manager Sloan Schang says, "then we have in effect created a new model for the development of urban areas." Read about the innovate steps that will drastically reduce Lloyd Crossing's environmental impact while quadrupling its density—and could be used to retrofit other urban neighborhoods.

MetropolisMag.com and PortlandArchitecture.com, July 25, 2005.

Portland Tops Best Cities for Seniors

Portland, Oregon tops best cities for seniors says a new study from Bankers Life and Casualty Company.

A new survey conducted for Bankers Life and Casualty Company reveals Portland, Ore. is the best city in the United States for senior living with Seattle, San Francisco, Milwaukee and Pittsburgh rounding out the top five.

A panel of experts on gerontology and senior issues identified the qualities for optimal senior living. Major categories were: health, disease, economics, social, environment, spiritual, transportation, housing, and crime. Each category was statistically weighted to reflect the needs of the senior population.

Source: Bankers Life and Casualty Company, July 5, 2005.

Can a Place be Too Perfect?

In recent years, Portland, Oregon, has acquired a reputation as a big city with a small-town quality of life: The air is fresh, the food is organic, the streets are paved with good intentions.

Portland can be as arch as it is earnest, as sophisticated as it is folksy, as obsessive as it is easygoing—and although it may lead with its utopian aspirations, it has plenty of dystopian secrets. Portland, I was surprised to learn, has more strip bars per capita than any other U.S. city. Read the complete article.

Source: MSNBC/Frommer's Travel, July 5, 2005.

Where to Live NOW—18 Perfect TOWNS That Have It All

Portland has been named as one of the top 10 "New American Dream Towns" by Outside magazine, a publication geared towards outdoor recreation enthusiasts. Looking to settle in Shangri-La? These 10 towns make a strong play for perfection with eco-smart designs, commitment to open space, smart solutions to sprawl and gridlock, can-do community spirit, green-thinking mayors, health job markets, and an active embrace of adventurous life." Eight honorable mentions were also selected.

Source: Outside Magazine, August 2005.

NY Times editorial: A Livable Shade of Green

In 1993, Portland became the first local government in the United States to adopt a strategy to deal with climate change. The latest data, released a few weeks ago, show the results: Greenhouse gas emissions last year in Multnomah County, which includes Portland, dropped below the level of 1990 (the benchmark for the Kyoto accord) while booming economically, and per capita emissions were down 13 percent.

This was achieved partly by a major increase in public transit, including two light rail lines and a streetcar system. The city has also built 750 miles of bicycle paths, and the number of people commuting by foot or on bicycle has increased 10 percent.

A new study by the Surface Transportation Policy Project (STPP) and the Center for Neighborhood Technology (CNT) shows that families are paying a high price to meet their transportation needs and families in areas with fewer transportation choices carry even greater burdens. [Portland provides a variety of transportation options including light rail, streetcar, and an excellent bus system.]

Their report, Driven to Spend: Pumping Dollars Out of Households and Communities, shows how transportation costs affect families and regions, with new information on gas prices and its impact on households and local areas.

The study shows that Portland ranks second in the lowest percent of household dollars going toward transportation expenses.

Source: STPP, 6/16/05.

Portland has been ranked as the nation's No. 2 city in terms of sustainability, just behind San Francisco. "It was so close statistically (between Portland and San Francisco) that it was almost a dead heat," said Warren Karlenzig, SustainLane chief strategy officer. "Those two cities are really in a class by themselves."

Source: The Business Journal of Portland, 6/3/05.

Portland is 4th Most Unwired City in America

SANTA CLARA, Calif., June 7, 2005 – Seattle is now the most unwired city in America, according to Intel Corporation's third annual “Most Unwired Cities” survey released today. In this most recent survey, Portland is now ranked fourth.

In a rapidly changing wireless landscape, Seattle narrowly unseated former top position holders San Francisco (2004's Most Unwired City ) and Portland, Ore. (2003's Most Unwired City ). Seattle-area residents can now stay connected, informed and entertained throughout the city, from the original Starbucks at Pike Place Market and the Bank of America Tower to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and the Space Needle.

[The collaborative initiative "Unwire Portland" may help to bump up Portland's standing in future rankings.]

Source: Intel Press Release, 6/7/05.

Portland Named Cleanest City in America

America's 50 most populous Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in the country were scored on air quality, water quality, industrial pollution (toxics), Superfund sites, and sanitation and Portland comes out on top. According to Reader's Digest, the cleanest cities are 1) Portland, 2) San Jose, CA, 3) Buffalo, NY, 4) Columbus, OH and 5) San Francisco. Portland was named No. 1 by addressing its ancient sewage system by investing over $1 billion in the "Big Pipe Project" and establishing a growth boundary around its urban center to balance development with open space and farmland. Read the complete report.

Source: The Business Journal of Portland, June 15, 2005.

Survey Ranks States with Dumbest Drivers; Oregon Scores the Best

According to a study commissioned by GMAC Insurance, 1 in 10 drivers would fail a state driver's test if they had to take one today. The state of Rhode Island leads the nation in driver cluelessness. Oregon and Washington drivers knew the rules of the road best, with the average test score for Oregon drivers at 89 (70 and above is passing). Read the full dumb driver article and view the state-by-state results.

Source: CNN/Money, 5/27/05.

Convenient Online Permitting for Portland

Portland became one of the nation's first to launch a multi-jurisdictional online permitting system. Visit the site at www.buildingpermits.oregon.gov.

Source: Business Journal 5/25/05.

Portland among Inc. Magazine's Top U.S. Cities for Doing Business

If you're looking for cities large, medium, and small where job growth is robust and economies are strong, head to the ones on this year's Top Cities list.

Portland was ranked #4 in the "Most Balanced Economy and Growth" category (see the list of the top 25), and in the "Overall Best Cities" category, Portland ranked #32 among the 274 cities evaluated.

Source: Inc.com, May 2005.

America's Top Ten Green Cities

Portland scores extra points by leading the nation in green-building practices: It has the most building projects registered for LEED-certification, in total number 52 and per capita. In 2002, Portland became the first city to gain approval from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to implement their own green building ratings system "Portland LEED," in which local codes were tailored to meet or exceed the USGBC's standards. When it comes to escapes, skiing on Mt. Hood is popular, as are canoeing and hiking along the Columbia and Hood rivers. And right in the city itself, Forest Park, one of the largest municipal parks in the country, provides 74 miles of hiking, running and biking trails.

Source: http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news_detail.cfm?NewsID=28033

[Portland joins Scottsdale, Arizona as the second city in the country to require LEED Gold certification for City facilities. Regionally, Vancouver, BC also requires all of their municipal facilities achieve LEED Gold. LEED, a green building rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, has become the most widely used tool in the U.S. to help design and evaluate the environmental performance of a building.

The City's strategic investment in green building practices and technologies does triple duty. It helps clean up Portland's environment—protecting local watersheds, improving air quality, and creating new habitat; enhancing livability through pedestrian and transit friendly buildings with healthier indoor air quality; and stimulating investment in sustainable economic development.]

Portland is Home to One of the Best New Hotels in the World

Condé Nast Traveler's HOT LIST 2005 names the year's 116 top new hotels, and Portland's Jupiter Hotel was listed among them.

"For a ticket to the epicenter of Portland's indie-rock scene, head to the burgeoning east side and the Jupiter Hotel. The converted motel's rooms have been recast in an appealing cheap-chic modern aesthetic. But the accommodations are essentially just backup for the main attraction: the Doug Fir Lounge, the Jupiter's bilevel bar, eatery and rock venue. In the upstairs restaurant, walls of shale, faux fur and Douglas fir logs all provide a sleek backdrop."

Condé Nast Traveler, May 2005.

Retire in Portland; Retire in Style

Portland is tops as a retirement location, according to a new survey. Portland tied for top city along with Boulder, Colorado. Other top cities included San Antonio and Austin, Texas; Asheville, North Carolina; and Boca Raton, Florida.

Compiled by Cal State University geographer Dr. Warren Bland, the survey used 12 criteria including landscape, climate, quality of life, cost of living, transportation, retail services, health care, community services, cultural activities, recreational activities, work/volunteer activities and crime. Dr. Bland is an expert in the field of retirement, and is the author of "Retire in Style, 60 Outstanding Places Across the USA and Canada." He wrote, "Portland is a special place. Its physical and human environment is close to ideal. Its location astride the Willamette River in the shadow of the Cascade Range is beautiful and its mild, marine climate is seldom severely hot or cold."

The Business Journal of Portland, April 2005.

PGE Earns High Marks for Power Quality and Reliability

Portland General Electric (PGE) was ranked highest in the power quality and reliability factor in the West region and among the highest in the nation, according to the newly released J.D. Power and Associates 2005 Electric Utility Business Customer Satisfaction Study. The study is based on interviews with representatives of more than 11,000 businesses that spend between $500 and $50,000 monthly on electricity. PGE was ranked fourth in overall satisfaction in the West region.

Fewer power outages and interruptions than other utilities across the country earned PGE high scores for power quality and reliability.

The West region includes 12 utilities: Salt River Project, Arizona Public Service, Puget Sound Energy, PGE, Southern California Edison, L.A. Department of Water and Power, Sacramento Municipal Utility District, PacifiCorp, Pacific Gas and Electric, Sierra Pacific Resources and Xcel Energy-West. PGE serves more than 765,000 residential, commercial and industrial customers in Oregon.

The Business Journal of Portland, April 11, 2005.

Magazine Names OSU Nuclear Engineering Program Among Best in Nation

Oregon State University's (OSU) graduate program in nuclear engineering has been ranked ninth in the nation by U.S. News and World Report, in the magazine's annual ranking of U.S. graduate programs.

Over the past three years, the department has received more than $7 million to upgrade the facilities of the Radiation Center, which houses the department, and to fund scholarships and an endowed chair. As part of a national consortium of universities, the department will collaborate with the new Idaho National Laboratory on cutting-edge research in the energy, national security and medical sectors.

The U.S. News and World Report specialty rankings are based on assessments by department heads who rate other schools in their specialty area on a five-point scale. In nuclear engineering, ranked for the first time in 2005, 25 schools were rated.

The Business Journal of Portland, April 8, 2005.

Portland is One of the Five Best Walking Cities in America

Walking is one of the nation's favorite ways to exercise. A study conducted by the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) shows now more than ever, people living in cities are stepping up their walking regimes. That's good news since, on average, every minute of walking can extend your life by about two minutes. For the third year in a row, the APMA has conducted a walking study as part of its Best Walking City Competition. This year's competition surveyed 200 of the largest U.S. incorporated cities based on three walking conducive categories: healthy lifestyles, modes of transportation to and from work and involvement in fitness and sport activities.

The top five American cities for walking were: 1) Arlington, Virginia; 2) San Francisco; 3) Seattle; 4) Portland, Oregon; and 5) Boston. For more information on America's best walking cities please visit APMA's website.

Source: American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA), March 2005.

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