Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

Reading Neighborhood Character : A Semiotic Analysis Of Three Portland, Oregon Neighborhoods, Jodi Hanson Tanner

Dissertations and Theses

The character of a neighborhood is demonstrated through environmental cues that tell the casual passerby about a neighborhood and its residents, including such aspects as privacy, neighboring, and wealth. Neighborhoods may be made up of residents all speaking the same message, such as exclusivity or independence; these neighborhoods give coherent messages and have strong identifiable character. Other neighborhoods may seem fragmented or have unclear character because the residential make-up is changing over time. Residents reflect aspects of themselves through the physical surroundings that make up a neighborhood.

This study examines three neighborhoods in a preliminary effort to identify which characteristics …