Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Cross-Laminated Timber: An Innovative Building Material Takes Hold In Oregon, Andrew Crampton

Metroscape

In a rapidly urbanizing world fueled by the enormous demand to house and shelter billions of people in the upcoming decades, building materials must be utilized that have a lighter climate impact than today’s commonly used energy-intensive building materials.

Is there an alternative to the energy-intensive concrete jungle that is both sustainable and financially viable? How can our built environment enhance, rather than destroy, the natural environment? Part of the solution lies in a recent innovation that uses one of the world’s oldest building materials, wood, with a modern twist: cross-laminated timber, often abbreviated as CLT. These wood-based structures can …

Women In The Trades: An Interview With Connie Ashbrook And Nora Mullane, Liza Morehead

Metroscape

Liza Morehead interviews Connie Ashbrook and Nora Mullane.

Connie Ashbrook is the Executive Director and founder of Oregon Tradeswomen, Inc., Previous to her years with OTI, she worked in the trades for seventeen years as a dump truck driver, carpenter apprentice, and elevator constructor. She was the first woman in Oregon to become licensed as an elevator mechanic.

Nora Mullane has been a union journey-person carpenter, general contractor, building inspector, and City of Portland Bureau of Developments Services supervisor. Nora says that successfully completing her carpenter’s apprenticeship program has served her well throughout her entire career, and life in general, …

Election 2016: Voter Turnout And Results Across Oregon, Kevin Curry

Metroscape

Metroscape went inside the numbers from the 2016 general election. We examined Oregon’s new "motor voter" law to see if it affected turnout and to better understand the new voters added to the rolls in the ‘Beaver State.’ We looked at voter turnout and election results in Clackamas, Columbia, Multnomah, Washington, and Yamhill counties in Oregon and Clark and Skamania counties in Washington to answer several questions about the 2016 General Election.

Periodic Atlas Of The Metroscape: The Geography Of Future Housing, Randy Morris, Sheila Martin

Metroscape

In this edition of the Periodic Atlas, we provide a glimpse of housing construction that has been permitted over the past few years, with a focus on multifamily housing. Focusing on recently-permitted units provides a perspective on how the newest housing is and will be different from existing housing. The type of housing that will be built, where it is built, its characteristics, and its price will shape the Portland region in the years to come.

Indicators Of The Metroscape: Average Wage Per Job, Institute Of Portland Metropolitan Studies

Metroscape

A chart offering Portland MSA average wage as a percentage of the US metro average wage, 2001-2015.

The Landscape: Tualatin, Liza Morehead

Metroscape

This edition of The Landscape takes a brief look at the city of Tualatin, Oregon, located twelve miles south of Portland, and examines its population, growth, and demographics, as well as defining features and points of interest.

The Landscape: Tiny And Very Small Houses, Andrés Oswill

Metroscape

The article describes one of many approaches to creating more affordable housing choices -- tiny and very small houses. The author explains how the current trend returns to an affordable housing approach used much earlier in Portland's history.

Indicators Of The Metroscape: The Young, The Old, And The Single, Elizabeth Morehead

Metroscape

Elizabeth Morehead focuses on the changing demographic of households in the Portland metropolitan region

Periodic Atlas Of The Of The Metroscape: The Geography Of Publicly Subsidized Affordable Housing, Meg Merrick

Metroscape

Meg Merrick maps publicly subsidized affordable housing units across the region, discusses their geography, and describes their location in relation to two important amenities: schools and libraries.

Is Housing Making People Sick?: An Overview Of Seven Studies That Raise Questions To Consider As We Incorporate Health Into Planning And Build New Housing To Address Shortages And Energy Efficiency, Merilee D. Karr

Metroscape

The article discusses the unintended consequences of some of the strategies for housing energy efficiency: they can lead to indoor air pollution that is making people sick. As we pursue ways to reduce the cost of housing, we must pursue innovation in building materials and techniques that might reduce the negative health consequences of sealing our homes from the elements.

From The Frontlines Of The Housing Crisis: Two Vulnerable Tenants Discuss Their Experiences In Portland's Increasingly Brutal Housing Market, Thomas Kerr

Metroscape

Homelessness is the most visible face of Portland's affordable housing crisis, but the numbers of street sleepers and tent campers are nothing compared to the hundreds of thousands of beleaguered tenants. They may be hidden away in their separate apartments, but they are suffering the effects of crisis all the same. Forty percent of the 900,000 households in the Portland Metro area are tenants, and half are paying more than 30 percent of their income on rent. A quarter pay more than 50 percent, and the percentages go higher as the households get poorer. Besides forcing them to impoverish themselves …

Living On The Edge: The Forgotten Tribulations Of Affordable Housing In The Suburbs, Linn Davis

Metroscape

The article describes how the housing crisis is playing out in the region's suburbs.

The Landscape: Walkable Tigard, Elizabeth Morehead

Metroscape

Elizabeth Morehead takes a walk in Tigard and reviews the effort to make Tigard and other suburbs - built in a car-dependent area - more walkable, healthy, and attractive to current and prospective residents

Boom Town: Prioritizing Preservation Under Pressure, Linn Davis

Metroscape

A demolition epidemic? Linn Davis explores the history of architectural preservation in the region, how it intersects with other development issues, and how we might strengthen our ability to protect architecturally important buildings amid Portland's rush to build sufficient housing and commercial space to accommodate our growing needs.

Looking Back At Planning Oregon, Henry Richmond, James Sitzman

Metroscape

An interview with Henry Richmond is the product of a new project called People and the Land: An Oral History of Oregon's Statewide Land Use Planning Program. Richmond explains the political and economic conditions in which land use program was forged, and how these have changed over time.

The full interview is available here: http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/16296

Periodic Atlas Of The Of The Metroscape: Warming Up The City - Mapping The Hottest (Literally) Neighborhoods Of Portland, Vivek Shandas, Jackson Voelkel

Metroscape

Vivek Shandas and Jackson Voelkel show us how urban head varies by characteristics of a neighborhood's built and natural environment. The Atlas reminds us to be aware of the potential impact on those most likely to suffer ill effects from the heat.

Indicators Of The Metroscape: Housing Cost Burden, Elizabeth Morehead

Metroscape

Elizabeth Morehead focuses on the percentage of households spending 30 percent or more of their income on housing.

6 Reasons To Relax About Portland's Recent Sell-Offs, Thomas Kerr

Metroscape

Are you feeling nostalgic for Oregon-born companies like Dave's Killer Bread, Little Big Burger, and Precision Castparts? Thomas Kerr asserts that we need not fear the recent rash of acquisitions. New owners often bring fresh ideas and capital to the table while maintaining the characteristics we've come to love about our locally owned companies.

Leveraging University/Community Engagement, Sheila A. Martin

Metroscape

Dr. Stephen Percy reflects on his first year as Dean of the College of Urban & Public Affairs and the unique opportunities for civic engagement an urban university offers. An interview by Sheila Martin.

Make Way For The Orange Line And A Milwaukian Renaissance, Ben Maras

Metroscape

Ben Maras describes how residents of Milwaukie, Oregon feel about the new TriMet Orange Line that will surely bring change to this city just over 20,000.

Indicators Of The Metroscape: Housing Affordability And A $15 Minimum Wage, Elizabeth Morehead

Metroscape

Elizabeth Morehead focuses on housing affordability and the impact of a $15 minimum wage.

Go By Transit! Out-Of-Town Adventures On Local Public Transportation, Linn Davis

Metroscape

Linn Davis recounts his epic public-transit journeys to far-flung areas of the metroscape, and the surprising discoveries he made along the way.

The Landscape: Equity, Elizabeth Morehead

Metroscape

Elizabeth Morehead uses data from Greater Portland Pulse to point to educational and economic disparities as well as the disproportionate involvement of racial and ethnic minorities in the region's criminal justice system.

Periodic Atlas Of The Of The Metroscape: The Power Of The Pyramid, Meg Merrick

Metroscape

Meg Merrick explains an important tool for understanding demographics - the population Pyramid. She then uses this tool to describe demographic trends in Portland and Beaverton's neighborhoods.

The Landscape: Carnegie Libraries, Linn Davis

Metroscape

A brief look at the legacy of Carnegie libraries in the Portland Metropolitan Area, with special emphasis on the Oregon City Library and plans for its renovation.

Rock, Water, And Gravity: Alchemy Along The Willamette, Andrée Tremoulet

Metroscape

An exploration of the Willamette Falls Legacy Project, which aims to transform and develop the former 22-acre Blue Heron Paper Company mill site just southwest of downtown Oregon City.

Work With Me People! An Interview With Mike Weatherby, Recently Retired Mayor Of Fairview, Oregon, Sheila A. Martin

Metroscape

Mayor Mike Weatherby was first sworn in as Mayor of Fairview on January 2, 2003. He was re-elected in November of 2006 and 2010. Sheila Martin sat down with him to discuss how the town and the region have changed over hsi twelve years in office and his hopes for the future.

Voters' Choice 11/14, Sheila A. Martin, Meg Merrick, Richard A. Clucas, Carolyn N. Long

Metroscape

A review of the 2014 midterm election in Oregon. This version of the Atlas considers the results if the November 2014 elections for some key races and intiatives in Oregon and, separately, some of the important issues faced by voters in Clark County. The maps show precinct-level results; the circles within each precinct show the distribution of votes within that precinct.

Values & Beliefs, Sheila A. Martin, Carolyn N. Long

Metroscape

hat values are commonn to residents of the metroscape? Sheila Martin and Carlolyn N. Long examine recent survey results on topics ranging from government priorities to economic development.

Indicators Of The Metroscape: Self-Sufficiency, Institute Of Portland Metropolitan Studies

Metroscape

Overview of annual median income and self-sufficiency standards for various household types in 2014, for several Oregon counties in Northwestern Oregon.