Portland, Maine: Growth Comes At A Price

Still, while most people like living in Portland, the city faces critical challenges in the next decade, namely high property taxes, expensive housing and, increasingly, the white-knuckle traffic congestion that comes with urban sprawl... City officials worry that the West End and Munjoy Hill, downtown neighborhoods that once welcomed working families, are becoming gentrified. Homes and apartments built for families now house one or two people. Often they are young professionals or empty-nesters moving back to the city. Real estate prices have doubled or tripled in the last decade, depending on the view of Casco Bay.