Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Counting Everyone Because Everyone Counts: The Value Of Census Data For Local Decision Making, Uma Krishnan

Metroscape

Once every ten years the US Census Bureau conducts the decennial United States census, and 2020 is the year. The census is a national effort to count everyone in the United States. Unfortunately, this year the COVID-19 pandemic has captured the nation’s attention even as the 2020 census struggles to claim relevance and broaden its reach. At the same time, census data has emerged as a critical tool for examining stark inequities in the demographics of who is contracting and dying of COVID-19. This year, counting everyone is more important than ever.

The Landscape: Making Oregon Count In 2020, Mac Cunningham

Metroscape

In our increasingly polarized national environment, the census remains one of the few tasks that all United States residents share in common. The results of the census will have implications for the decade to come.

Mandated by Article I of the United States Constitution, the census is the largest peacetime mobilization in the country. Conducted at the start of each new decade, the census is an effort by the government to count every resident in the United States at the location where each person usually lives. While this once-a-decade survey might seem labor intensive, the results of the census impact …

Indicators Of The Metroscape: Show Us The Money, Portland State University. Population Research Center

Metroscape

Chart showing census-based allocation for Medicare, Medicaid and other programs (2017), for each of the United States.

The Census Is Political: Hard-To-Count Communities Must Be Reached, We Count Oregon, Julia Michel

Metroscape

We Count Oregon is the first woman-of-color-led statewide census campaign in Oregon purposefully designed to undermine exclusionary census norms. The We Count Oregon 2020 campaign reflects the values, cultures, and needs of hard-to- count communities. In Oregon, these are primarily communities of color (including Black, Asian and Pacific Islanders, Latinx, Indigenous and native communities), LGBTQI communities, children under the age of five, disabled people, rural communities, and people experiencing homelessness. Hard-to- count communities in Oregon had less than a 73 percent self-response return rate in the 2010 census. Due to the history of the census and a variety of contemporary …

Periodic Atlas Of The Metroscape: Counting Oregon, Mac Cunningham, Xi Wei, Randy Morris

Metroscape

Every United States census has challenges ensuring that every person responds and is counted. Individuals who are missed in the census count or “undercounted” for various reasons are often referred to as “hard-to-count” populations. Hard-to-count populations include rural residents, people of color, immigrants, people experiencing homelessness, children under age five, renters, and more.

For the 2010 census, the final mail return rate in Oregon was 76 percent. Census tracts with a mail return response rate of 76 percent or less are highlighted on the map on this page. Response rates closest to the state’s final response rate are light yellow, …

Geography In Laser-Light: Using Lidar To Map The Metroscape, Justin Sherrill

Metroscape

Forms part of the recurring series Periodic Atlas of the Metroscape.

This issue of the Periodic Atlas will look at the rising prominence and capabilities of lidar, and how local researchers are using the technology to change the way we see, measure, and manage our region.

Life Expectancy, Institute Of Portland Metropolitan Studies

Metroscape

Using Center for Disease Control data, we can visualize the spatial distribution of life expectancy estimates. For reference, the life expectancy of an average adult within the United States born in 2016 is 78.6 years. In the Portland Metropolitan region, 34 percent of the population lives in tracts with an average life expectancy below the United States average. These tracts are clustered largely in east Portland and Gresham. Future research should consider exploring other factors related to life expectancy such as race, income, and education.

Forms part of the continuing series Indicators of the Metroscape.

Making The Connection: Municipal Broadband Meets A Need In The Portland Metropolitan Area, Eavan Moore

Metroscape

Internet access has become critical to participating in modern American society, yet the private market is no closer to serving low-income and rural Americans.

In May 2018, the City of Hillsboro announced it would go ahead with a publicly owned and operated, affordable, gigabit-speed Internet service for the entire city. Multnomah County Commissioners voted for a feasibility study of their own in June. The Port of Ridgefield, Washington, has big hopes for its own fiber optic project. Meanwhile, the city of Sandy, Oregon, has been running its own municipal broadband service for the last six years.

What’s driving this wave? …

Riverside Parks, Institute Of Portland Metropolitan Studies

Metroscape

A brief overview of the development of riverfront parks in the Portland Metropolitan Area, including the new Waterfront Park in Vancouver, WA that opened in September 2018.

Preserving Small Farms In Gales Creek, Oregon: An Interview With Gales Creek Residents, Nathan Williams

Metroscape

Nathan Williams conducts interviews with several residents of rural Gales Creek, Oregon, discussing the problems faced by small farmers and challenges for farmland preservation.

Equity In Emergency Management, Sabina Roan, Jaye Cromwell

Metroscape

In the decade following Hurricane Katrina, advocates fighting for the rights of people with disabilities changed the field of emergency management. Their pressure on FEMA led to the establishment of legal and planning precedents to include the needs of the whole community in emergency management.(4) There is now a national, legal requirement to plan for people with disabilities and access and functional needs. Despite this important victory for people with disabilities, there have been no direct legal or policy actions that address the disproportionate response along racial and socio-economic lines.

The theory of social equity has its roots in social …

Finding The Middle: Overcoming Challenges To Building Missing Middle Housing, Ryan Winterberg-Lipp

Metroscape

In the Portland metro area and across the state, the demographics of cities are changing. Urban populations and housing prices are rising, while household sizes are declining with an aging baby boomer generation and younger households both delaying marriage and children and having fewer children. With these changing dynamics, many Portland metro communities are looking to missing middle housing types to “provide for the housing needs of citizens of the state” as called for in the Oregon Statewide Planning Goals and Guidelines. With increasing interest in missing middle housing as a way to provide more housing choices for area households …

The Landscape: Happy Valley, Eavan Moore

Metroscape

This article examines Happy Valley, Oregon, with special emphasis on how to manage growth amid continued development.

Indicators Of The Metroscape: Urban Coyotes, Institute Of Portland Metropolitan Studies

Metroscape

A brief look at increasing presence of coyotes in the Portland Metropolitan Region, with an overview of the Urban Coyote Project.

Periodic Atlas Of The Metroscape: The Geography Of Health, Joshua Ollinger, Ashley Donald, Randy Morris

Metroscape

Our ability to lead a fulfilling life and pursue our goals is largely shaped by our health. Although we experience these conditions such as illness and disabilities at a very personal level, factors outside of our control are often what determines our health. Known as the Social Determinants of Health, where we are born, work, live, and spend our lives is considered equally if not more important to our health status than medical care and personal health behaviors. As a result, certain communities and populations disproportionately experience burdens. Identifying and increasing awareness of health disparities is an essential step toward …

Growing Wisely In Vancouver, Washington: An Interview With Mayor Anne Mcenerny-Ogle, Elizabeth Morehead

Metroscape

In November 2017, Anne McEnerny-Ogle was elected to a four-year term as Mayor of Vancouver, Washington. Anne served on City Council from January 2014 through December 2017. She was also Vancouver's Mayor Pro Tem from January 2016 through December 2017. Anne earned a bachelor's degree in education from Southern Oregon State College and a master's degree in education from Lewis and Clark College. Anne retired after teaching thirty years in Lake Oswego Public Schools and serving as the chair of the mathematics department. During this time, she was a consultant to numerous school districts in Washington and Oregon, presented her …

Whither Skamania?, Eavan Moore

Metroscape

An in-depth look at Skamania County, Washington, examining its financial challenges, obstacles faced by employers, the impact of declining timber revenues, long-term impacts of the 2017 forest fires, and a look at future growth and possible local government strategies.

An Emerging Contradiction: Non-Farm Activity Within Exclusive Farm Use Zones, Nicholas Chun

Metroscape

This installment of the Periodic Atlas of the Metroscape examines Oregon land use policy and non-farm use activities on agricultural lands that are zoned for exclusive farm use.

Something Borrowed... Total Annual Circulation Of All Library Materials, Including Renewals, Per Capita, By County, Portland Msa, 2001-2016, Institute Of Portland Metropolitan Studies

Metroscape

This installment of Indicators of the Metroscape examines library usage data in the Portland Metropolitan Area.

The Nuts And Bolts Of Broadband, Institute Of Portland Metropolitan Studies

Metroscape

This Sidebar looks at defining broadband internet access and gives a basic introduction to how it works as well as its implementation at the local level.

Growing Deeper Roots: Toward Resilient Urban Forests, Sachi Arakawa

Metroscape

This article examines the urban forest in Portland, Oregon, as part of a complex system that requires management, education and outreach to remain healthy and sustainable. It also reviews the economic and ecological benefits of a health urban forest.

Engineering Psu's Future: An Interview With Dr. Rahmat Shoureshi, Sheila Martin, Elizabeth Morehead

Metroscape

PSU’s ninth president, Dr. Rahmat Shoureshi (pronounced Shoe-re-she) is an experienced administrator and innovative academic who considers his work with students his greatest accomplishment. Shoureshi is a mechanical engineer who earned a master’s degree and a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Shoureshi says PSU’s commitment to diversity, civic engagement and innovation persuaded him to join the university.

The Balancing Act: A Look At Dynamic School District Boundaries, Sheila Martin, Madison Levy

Metroscape

How do school districts throughout the Portland region respond to changes in student populations that cause overcrowding or under enrollment? In this article, we explore some of the key trends in school enrollment, describe the challenges faced by some of the districts in the region, and describe how different districts address those challenges.

The Landscape: Cully Neighborhood, Eavan Moore

Metroscape

This installment of The Landscape focuses on Portland's Cully neighborhood, briefly reviewing its history, demographic trends, and current planning efforts.

Source Of Down Payment, Institute Of Portland Metropolitan Studies

Metroscape

A statistical snapshot of the percentage of owner-occupied housing stock, by major source of down payment, in 2015.

Spanning The Region: A Survey Of Bridges In The Metroscape, Andrés Oswill

Metroscape

Bridges get us where we need to go. They also have character that contributes to a sense of place. Here we profile a selection of bridges in the Portland Metro area to understand the history and logistics of each bridge. When was the bridge built, how was it funded, who maintains it? The bridges we selected reflect the area’s wide variations in bridge style and management. Some of the bridges are county owned; others are run by a state or city transportation department. The bridges range in age, but all are inspected every twenty-four months. A bridge’s story offers important …

Cultivating The Technology Ecosystem: An Interview With Skip Newbury, Sheila Martin

Metroscape

An interview with Skip Newbury, President and CEO of the Technology Association of Oregon (TAO). He is a frequent speaker on technology trends and topics, economic development, public-private partnerships and civic innovation. Before joining the TAO, Skip served as an economic development policy advisor to Portland Mayor Sam Adams, where he helped create Portland’s first comprehensive economic development strategy in 16 years, recognizing software as a key industry cluster.

Scappoose, Liza Morehead

Metroscape

A brief snapshot of Scappoose, Oregon, discussing its history, growth and development, and a look to its future.

The Geography Of The Commute, Steven Howland, Randy Morris

Metroscape

It is a common misperception that low-income populations are transit-dependent or typically do without a car because it is too expensive. While much larger proportions of low-income populations use a mode of transportation other than a personal automobile to commute to work, a majority of them still use a personal automobile. In this edition of the Periodic Atlas, we looked at commuting as it relates to people of color and low-wage workers using the most recent reliable Census data as well as data from the Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LEHD-LODES).

A New Vision For Timber City Usa, Kerry Politzer

Metroscape

A look at the city of Willamina, Oregon, as it attempts to transition from a timber-reliant town to a sustainable future. Provides a brief history of the community and its economic struggles, and its attempts to foster economic development though tourism, arts and winemaking.