Oregon

This piece from Preservation magazine looks at how historic districts in Portland fall short in preventing incompatible uses.

A new review of Oregon's land use system calls for a reworking of the state's policies to allow counties and regions to make more focused and appropriate decisions.

In Oregon, transportation officials are set to vote on an ambitious list of transportation projects that they hope will garner funding when Congress allocates transportation money this year.

Plummeting gas prices, roads in disrepair, and soaring state deficits have caused some state politicians to, gasp, attempt to raise gas taxes - last raised over 15 years ago in some states.

The master plan for Salem, Oregon's Pringle Creek Community is ambitious, says Jim Fitzsimons, incorporating mixed-use, sustainable development with the community-enhancing aspects of old city neighborhoods.

Bend, Oregon councilmembers took no more than five minutes to vote to expand the city's urban growth boundaries, adding nearly 9,000 acres of developable land to the city's map.

Oregon was the first state to study replacing state gas taxes with a Vehicle Miles Traveled fee in 2007. Now Gov. Kulongoski is taking the next step - introducing legislation to replace the 24-cent gas tax with a VMT fee that applies GPS technology.

A former Oregon timber town learned to evolve when its logging business dried up in the '80s, and now boasts a growing manufacturing industry. It's being seen as a model for other towns facing similar changes.

Ecotopia is a '70s cult novel that imagines a future where the Pacific Northwest secedes from the U.S. to become an environmentally-conscious utopian state. The NY Times reflects on the influence of this under-recognized novel.

Officials have brokered a deal to remove dams from the Klamath River in the Pacific Northwest -- a plan intended to counteract sharp declines in salmon counts and appease environmentalists. But the plan is also meeting criticism.

Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski has proposed a suite of tax and fee increases to create more than $1 billion for transportation projects in the state. The package will hit the legislature in January.

Portland's Pioneer Square, designed back in 1983, is still looked t as a model of successful public space design. Landscape Architect Doug Macy looks back on the thought that went into the design.

Quirky, artistic bike racks are cropping up in cities around the country--a trend that benefits more than just cyclists.

The foreclosure scourge has moved its way into Oregon, causing some of the highest rates of loan defaults since the 1980s.

The myth of the American West as a wild, natural place is long gone, says urban studies professor Carl Abbott. The Western U.S. is actually the most urban part of the nation.

Cyclists are much more likely to use bike lanes when they're available -- even if it means going out of their way and taking longer routes, according to a recent study from Portland State University.

As new design requirements come in at a late stage, bridge planners in Portland are trying to nail down a design for the new light rail bridge that is affordable, appropriate and beautiful. But the beauty aspect may fall to economics.

CoolTown Studios looks at a recent study in Portland, OR that shows that certain retail establishments- cafes, movie theaters, wine bars- increase property values in neighborhoods by up to 30%.