Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

Law Enforcement Services In Clackamas County: Description And Financial Analysis, Judy Seppanen Davis, Peter B. Morris, Mark Bechtel, Jan Monroe, Charles Tracy, Sheldon Edner

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

This report was prepared for the Clackamas County Blue Ribbon Committee on Law Enforcement by the Center for Urban Studies, Portland State University. The report provides a description of the current system of law enforcement service provision in the County by city and County service providers. It also analyzes the current financing process of law enforcement with regard to the equity of service received in relation co amounts paid by city and County residents. The analysis focuses only on law enforcement and does not address rhe other services provided by the County or other jurisdictions. Further, the findings presented here …

Governing And Managing Multi-Modal Transit Agencies In A Multicentric Era, Sy Adler, Sheldon Edner

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

We explore the dynamics of governing and managing multi-modal regional transit agencies through a case study of the Tri-County Metropolitan Transit District (Tri-Met), which provides bus and rail transit services to the Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area (see map). Along with other similarly constituted firms in the United States transit industry, Tri-Met confronts the challenge of providing service in a geopolitical context that is quite different than when the agency was created. The critical new element in Tri-Met's operating environment is the emergence of several suburban business centers that effectively compete with the Portland central business district (CBD), and are seeking …

The Market For Convention Facilities, Philipp Degens, M. Hossein Haeri, James G. Strathman

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

Conventions, trade shows and meetings represent an industry of considerable size in the United States. In a 1984 survey, the International Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus estimated a total of 20.5 billion dollars of annual expenditure generated by 54.3 million delegates nationwide. Despite its economic importance, the industry has received little analytical attention in the literature on tourism. In this paper we develop and estimate a model of demand for metropolitan convention facilities. Our results suggest that metropolitan convention activity is sensitive to both cost and attraction-related factors.

Employment Decline I Timber Dependent Regions, Anthony M. Rufolo, James G. Strathman, Lois M. Bronfman

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

Employment in the wood products industry in Oregon has declined over the past decade despite the resurgence in demand for the products of the industry in the last few years. Because of the dependency of rural regions on this industry, the Ford Foundation funded the authors to undertake a study of the causes and consequences of employment decline within the industry. Such information can contribute to the development of strategies for improving the economic viability of these regions.

Tunber dependent regions in Oregon fit the classic export-base model of economic development These areas produce wood products for export to other …

Geographic Information Systems: Research Issues, Kenneth Dueker

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

GIS research has evolved by trial and error. We need to think more systematically about GIS research. New technology and societal needs are important determinants of issues that govern GIS research strategies. URISA has a stake in fostering GIS research, particularly research that is appliications driven.

Modeling Cadastral Spatial Relationships, Kenneth Dueker, Daniel Kjerne

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

Research exploring the object-oriented paradigm as a tool with which to model location of objects in maps is reported. The research led us into three areas:

• the use of an object-oriented language, Smalltalk.-80 to model cadastral location using the object-oriented paradigm.
• study of the development of spatial information systems, such as engineering design and computer-aided design(CAD) database systems based on object-oriented ideas, to see how that approach might be useful for developing a mapping system.
• Finally, the conceptual exploration of how an object-oriented approach might facilitate linkages of location among layers of a land information system.

Future research is needed …

Hillsboro Union High School District Community Information Project, Daniel O'Toole, Sheldon Edner, Chuck Beadle, Jan Monroe

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

The material below reports on the results of a contract between the Hillsboro Union High School District and the Center for Urban Studies, Portland State University. This contract reflects the District's desire for additional information concerning community ideas and perspectives on District programs. The District had suffered a series of levy defeats at the ballot box, despite significant budget reductions. The result was a major financial shortfall that produced significant program reductions, including the curtailment of athletic programs and busing services. The District's need was for a better understanding of not only specific citizen attitudes but also proposals that would …

Evaluation Of Vertical Equity In Residential Property Assessments In The Lake Oswego And West Linn Areas, James G. Strathman, Dirce Toulan

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

This report presents a statistical evaluation of vertical equity in the pattern of residential property assessments in the Lake Oswego, West Linn and nearby unincorporated areas based on an application of the Paglin-Fogarty method to a sample of recent sales. A vertically regressive pattern of inequity in assessments, which is characterized by systemmatic under-assessment of higher-valued properties and overassessment of lower-valued properties, was found. Based on the entire sample, it was estimated that a typical $75,000 property was overassessed by about $4,700, and a typical $175,000 property was underassessed by $8,800.

Portland State University's Impact On The Portland Smsa Economy, James G. Strathman

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

Portland State University's contribution to the metropolitan Portland economy is both diverse and considerable. A 1982 study estimated that the expenditures made by the University, its faculty and staff, and its full-time students generated over $150 million in gross output in the region. Given the changes that have taken place over the past five years, a re-examination of the University's economic impacts is warranted. This report examines Portland State University's contribution to metropolitan economic activity based on data from the 1985-86 academic year.

The approach taken in this report differs in several respects from the 1982 study. In addition to …

New West, New South, New Region: The Discovery Of The Sunbelt, Carl Abbott

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

Given the speed with which we have embraced the idea and terminology of a Sunbelt, this essay attempts to explore several related issues. As an introduction, it will briefly review the process of introduction and acceptance of the term. It will then explore possible reasons for the "discovery" of the Sunbelt, its seemingly quick success, and its persistent use after it has slipped to the status of cliche in national journalism. The underlying concern is to understand why Americans took the new terminology so readily to heart by examining what it is that "Sunbelt" explains or implies that lies beyond …

The Growth Of Service Industries In California 1960-1980, Ayalew Adamu, James G. Strathman

Center for Urban Studies Publications and Reports

This paper investigates structural changes in the service economy in California between 1960 and 1980. The service sector is disaggregated into four segments - distributive, business, personal and social - and a model is developed and estimated relating the relative growth of employment in services to changes in economic, demographic and urbanization factors. Substitution and complementary linkages among the service segments, and between these segments and manufacturing are also explored. Our results are consistent with the Fisher-Clark hypothesis, and the general importance of demographic and urbanization factors is also established. Variations in the influence of the determinants of structural change …