Anna Griffin, reporting for the Oregonian, produced a pair of recent articles examining the process of gentrification in Portland—a city that recent saw gentrification controversy spark over the location of a Trader Joe’s.
Ann Griffin surveys the examples of gentrification and displacement in Portland—starting from the post-World War II example of inner Northeast Portland and to the urban renewal efforts of the 1970s.
Griffin goes onto cite the example of Los Angeles’ MacArthur Park as a neighborhood that revitalized without the negative impacts of displacement along racial lines. The secret to MacArthur Park’s success, according to Griffin: inclusionary coning and a Latino political influence. But Oregon prohibits inclusionary zoning and “African American activists, due in part to the small percentage of black voters in Portland, carry little day-to-day influence at City Hall.”
Earlier in the week, Griffin published the transcript from an interview with State Rep. Lew Frederick, who described his take on the African-American experience of gentrification in Portland. He noted, for example, the hidden qualities of gentrification in Portland: “Most of the folks in Portland, the white folks, really do not interact with African Americas at all. When you start talking about this as a problem they go, “Where?” because they don’t see it. They have no clue. That’s one of the issues that Portland has that’s going to be different than Boston or Philadelphia or Washington D.C.”
FULL STORY: Gentrification: In Portland, as in Spike Lee's Brooklyn, a complicated question of race and class

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie