Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

The Road To Damascus, Liona Tannesen Burnham

Metroscape

This article explores the dynamics of land use planning, zoning and incorporation in Damascus, Oregon. Residents are divided on whether to remain part of the Metro system of governance, or to unincorporate, but in a recent election, voters overwhelmingly voted to reject the city's comprehensive plan. Damascus is currently exploring the process of removing Damascus from the established urban growth boundary.

Indicators Of The Metroscape: Health Outcomes, Michael Burnham, Neba Noyan

Metroscape

A brief analysis of the findings of a study performed by the University of Wisconsin and the Robert Wood Jonson Foundation that ranks more than 3,000 US counties in terms of health and longevity. Emphasis is on ranking for Oregon and southwestern Washington counties.

The Landscape: Cornelius, Michael Burnham

Metroscape

A brief snapshot and overview of the community of Cornelius, Oregon, focusing on its efforts to deal effectively with problems arising from declining economic fortunes.

Periodic Atlas Of The Metroscape: Seeing The Past In The Present - A Snapshot Of The Relationship Between Urban Growth And Transportation, Meg Merrick

Metroscape

With this edition of the periodic atlas, we explore the waves of growth and changes in urban form that have occurred over the last century in Metro's tri-county region using historic maps and the year-built information provided by Metro's Regional Land Information System (RLIS) for tax lots.

Running The Region: An Interview With David Sobolik, Amy Jackson, David Sobolik

Metroscape

An interview with David Sobolik, co-owner of Fit Right Northwest, a running store with locations in Portland and Vancouver, in which he discusses the state of running in Oregon as a sport, exercise and leisure activity.

Treatment In Miniature, Lisa Ekman

Metroscape

This article explores innovations in the design and construction of small scale sewage treatment facilities in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area, made possible by the development of membrane bioreactor technology.

The Landscape: Skamania County, Michael Burnham

Metroscape

A brief overview of the communities nestled along the Columbia River in Skamania County, Washington, reviewing economic conditions and vignettes that reveal what life is like in those locales.

Indicators Of The Metroscape: Census Participation, Charles Rynerson

Metroscape

A brief analysis of response and non-response rates in Oregon counties for the 2010 mail-in census, highlighting differences between the 2000 and 2010 censuses.

Indicators Of The Metroscape: Radon, Scott Burns

Metroscape

Brief discussion and mapping of radon emanation in different areas of Portland, Oregon.

The Landscape: Sherwood, Elizabeth Mylott

Metroscape

A brief look at the community of Sherwood, Oregon, highlighting the town's landmarks, features and future prospects.

Periodic Atlas Of The Metroscape: Health And Home: Neighborhood Stability And Hiv Outcomes In The Metroscape, Moriah Mcsharry Mcgrath, Gretchen Luhr

Metroscape

The miasma theory of disease went out of style in the 1850s. The discovery that bacteria, rather than vapors emanating from the soil at night, caused illness launched the modern public health profession. In the intervening 150 years, public health practitioners have focused on controlling disease through sanitary infrastructure and educational campaigns.

Despite these great strides, the geography of HIV illuminates the inconvenient truth that relationships between health and place persist. New York and New Jersey, which together are home to 9.3% of U.S. residents, were the site of 22.3% of AIDS cases recorded by the CDC through 2007. Not …

Indicators Of The Metroscape: Foreclosures, Webb Sprague

Metroscape

A brief snapshot of foreclosures in the Portland Metropolitan Area during the May 2007-October 2009 period.

The Landscape: Forest Grove, Elizabeth Mylott

Metroscape

A brief look at the community of Sherwood, Oregon, highlighting its history, attractions, landmarks, and future prospects.

It's The Principal Of The Thing: Guiding A Rural School Has Its Own Trials, Susan Wilson, Tim France

Metroscape

The difficulties of K-12 education have become familiar to citizens of the metroscape, but they are usually viewed through the lens of urban and suburban schools, with their problems of multi-ethnic populations, crowded classrooms, strained budgets, and the like. Metroscape® was curious about the struggles and triumphs of the schools in the rural areas of the region, so we sent our interviewer, Susan Wilson, a Portland freelance writer, to Willamina to talk to a small town education leader in hopes of glimpsing the realities of schooling kids in that often overlooked setting.

A small-town principal is a versatile member of …

An Analysis Of "Bike Wars", Jennifer Dill

Metroscape

Kyle Cassidy’s “Bike Wars” in the Summer 2009 issue of Metroscape® is the most controversial article ever to appear in the magazine over its seventeen years of publication. It has received both praise for calling attention to a looming problem and disapproval for factual inaccuracy. While not seeking to resolve the dispute, the editors sought the unbiased opinion of an expert on bicycle transportation about the value of the article as a contribution to the understanding of the issue it highlights. Among the faculty and researchers in the College of Urban and Public Affairs (where the magazine is based) who …

Job Description: A Workforce Expert Discusses Problems, Policies, And Prospects In The New Economy, Craig Wollner, Ray Worden

Metroscape

Transcript of an interview of workforce expert Ray Worden by Craig Wollner, discussing policy issues, employment trends, and public-private partnerships in Oregon.

Indicators Of The Metroscape: School Meals, Elizabeth Mylott

Metroscape

A brief snapshot of the number of free and reduced price lunches served in public schools in the 5-county Portland region in 2008 and 2009.

Periodic Atlas Of The Metroscape: Playing In The Metroscape, Vivek Shandas

Metroscape

Examines how inhabitants of the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area use their leisure time, compares leisure activities from county to county, and looks at the type and amount of public expenditures related to leisure activities.

Name That Town: Why We Call Places What We Call Them, Rachel White

Metroscape

Examines the origins of geographic place names in Oregon

The Landscape: Ferries, Elizabeth Mylott

Metroscape

A brief look at the use of ferries as transportation in the Portland, Oregon, region, touching on their history and contemporary status.

The Landscape: Wine Country, Elizabeth Mylott

Metroscape

Provides a brief overview of the history of wineries and winemaking in the Willamette Valley of Oregon, including its history, economic impact and projected growth.

Indicators Of The Metroscape: Stocks, Elizabeth Mylott

Metroscape

A brief overview of stock prices in the Portland Metropolitan Area in the 2007-2008 time period.

Indicators Of The Metroscape: Air Quality, Elizabeth Mylott

Metroscape

A brief overview of air quality and transportation trends in the Portland Metro Area.

The Landscape: Camas, Elizabeth Mylott

Metroscape

Ten minutes from Vancouver, WA the small town of Camas sits at the juncture of the Columbia and Washougal rivers. Founded and developed as a mill town, today Camas is building on its small-town charm, historic downtown and proximity to both Portland and Vancouver to redefine its role in the metroscape.

Indicators Of The Metroscape: Home Sales, Elizabeth Mylott

Metroscape

Is there a market crisis in real estate? Across the country communities are concerned about the effects of the sub-prime mortgage crisis. At first analysts thought Portland might escape unscathed, but now they are not so sure. The full impact of the mortgage crisis probably won’t be known for years. A look at indicators for the five Oregon counties in the metroscape gives us a picture of the current state of Portland’s residential real estate market and how news of the crisis might have made some buyers nervous.

The Landscape: Kenton, Elizabeth Mylott

Metroscape

A brief history of the Kenton Neighborhood, Portland, Oregon.

Sid Lezak: A Portland Life In The Law, Marilyn Yoelin

Metroscape

On August 2, 2005, Marilyn Yoelin, a volunteer for the Oregon Jewish Museum (OJM), interviewed Sid Lezak at his home in Portland. Lezak, who died on April 24, 2006 at the age of 81, was the longest serving US Attorney in American history. When he retired in 1982, he had served 19 years, but that period was only one—the middle—segment of his three careers in the law in Oregon. He had previously been in private practice and later led in the development of mediation as an alternative to lawsuits. His pioneering work helped make Oregon a national leader in this …

Periodic Atlas Of The Metroscape: A Geography Of Opportunity: Maps From The Regional Equity Atlas, Kenneth Radin, Meg Merrick, Vivek Shandas

Metroscape

Atlas of poverty levels, distribution of wealth, and demographics in the Portland Metro Area.

The Landscape: Quiet Places, Elizabeth Mylott, Kenya D. Williams

Metroscape

How does sound affect the urban experience? Recently, acoustics ecologists who study relationships among human beings, communities, and environments have been drawing attention to the potential adverse and pleasurable effects of aural surroundings on physical and behavioral responses. Such reactions to soundscapes are often unnoticed due to passive hearing versus active listening. Cities are often dismissed as loud areas with noisy and annoying soundscapes. However, some parks and gardens within cities are designed, at least in part, for calm and quiet.

Indicators Of The Metroscape: Immigration, Elizabeth Mylott

Metroscape

The number of immigrants living and working in the metroscape is increasing. In 2005, the foreign born population numbered 250,955, a dramatic increase from the 1990 level of 88,072. Not only are more immigrants settling here, but the proportion of the population who is foreign born is also increasing—from 5.96% in 1990 to 12% in 2005.