A City Always on the A List
Published Mar 05, 2007
Portland Classical Chinese Garden is one of several peaceful refuges.
The Portland region has been acclaimed as one of the most livable metropolitan areas in the United States, and when you listen to Portlanders gush about the place they call home, it’s easy to understand why.
“Portland is a city where you can take a day trip to the wilderness,” says Ethan Seltzer, director of the Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning at Portland State University. “It’s a city where you can drink water straight from the tap, where the air quality is very good, where you can use public transit as much or as little as you want, where the food is local and fresh. … Most Portlanders would agree we enjoy a high quality of life in a spectacular landscape.”
Situated an hour-and-a-half’s drive east of the Pacific Ocean and an hour west of the Cascade Mountains, Portland is indeed ideally situated.
“What sets Portland apart from other cities is a combination of a strong urban core and beautiful natural surroundings,” says David Bragdon, the regionally elected president of the Metro Council.
Echoing that view, Portland City Commissioner Sam Adams says, “We really benefit from our God-given attributes. Being between the mountains and the ocean, the scenery is amazing. And we work hard to protect our environment and preserve natural areas.”
The city’s environmental consciousness is evident in a myriad of parks and green spaces as well as an assortment of impressive gardens, including the Portland Classical Chinese Garden, the Japanese Garden, and renowned rose and rhododendron gardens. Portland Parks and Recreation staff and community volunteers also cultivate 30 community gardens throughout the city, with vegetables, herbs, flowers and small fruit plants.
“People here are very conscious in terms of health and eating,” says Maria Thi Mai, senior policy director for the environment in the Office of Commissioner Adams. “[Many] restaurants buy locally, and there are a lot of neighborhood farmers’ markets.”
Speaking of neighborhoods, Portland has 95 of them, each with its own association, housing styles and in some cases commercial districts.
Housing is a relative bargain here, too – the median price of a home in Portland was $225,000 in 2006, according to CNNMoney.com. “Compared with other West Coast cities, we’re considered the last affordable place to buy a home,” Thi Mai says.
PROGRESSIVE ATTITUDE
As home to the Portland Trailblazers of the National Basketball Association, Portland also is on the map of major league sports locations. And because of constant efforts to improve on every thing from quality of life to government services, the city is noted for its progressive policies.
“In a global context, the Pacific Northwest is seen as a place of tall trees, rushing rivers and leaping salmon,” Seltzer says. “Within the U.S., Portland specifically has a reputation for progressive and effective urbanism. Portland is becoming known for trying a number of things and succeeding.”
One of those successes was the recent opening of the Portland Aerial Tram, which connects Oregon Health & Science University with the South Waterfront.
In addition to public transit, education and health care are recognized as being among Portland’s principal strengths.
“Our students do extremely well on standardized tests,” Seltzer says. “And we have great medical care in this region, with important biomedical research going on.”
And when you have something to say, Portlanders say it’s easy to be heard. “Portland has a very engaged community,” Thi Mai says. “If you want to speak up, there are a lot of avenues to voice your opinions and ideas.”
ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT
Because small businesses – retailers, restaurants, coffee shops and the like – are the backbone of the city’s economy, Portland is largely a city of entrepreneurs.
“That entrepreneurial spirit infuses everything the city does,” Adams says.
It all adds up to the fact that Portland is a great place to live, even if the rainy weather does seem relentless now and then.
“It rains an average of 108 days a year, but what we get for that is the greenest, most luscious environment you could hope for this side of Ireland,” Adams says. “Portland is blessed to be located in one of the most beautiful areas of the world, and we Portlanders work hard to improve upon that. But then … how can you?”
Story by Jessica Mozo
Photo by Brian McCord
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