Wendell Cox questions the economic impact of the city's much-celebrated land use and transportation policies, which are intended to strengthen the urban core and discourage sprawl.
Cox suggests that stringent growth regulations by Portland Metro, the three county planning body, cause the region to lose jobs and residents to its neighbors. While Multnomah County, the core of the Portland metro region, lost 20,000 jobs between 2001 and 2009, nearby Clark County, which has less stringent land use regulations and lower housing prices, added 13,000.
Cox also argues that the city is over-investing in transit at the expense of roadways, spending $5 billion on new light rail and bus systems over the past 25 years even as telecommuting is on the rise. In 2009, nearly as many residents worked from home as commuted on public transit.
'A higher cost of living driven by policies that have kept prices 40% higher than before the housing bubble (adjusted for household incomes), and increasing traffic congestion make Portland's three county area less competitive and nearby alternatives more attractive,' writes Cox.
FULL STORY: Portland Metro's Competitiveness Problem
USDOT Releases Climate Strategies Playbook
The USDOT's new Climate Strategies that Work Playbook provides detailed information concerning benefits and implementation requirements for 27 transportation-related emission reduction strategies.
Calculating Vehicle Travel Reduction Benefits
The Rocky Mountain Institute's new Smarter MODES Calculator quantifies economic, social and environmental benefits provided by shifts from automobile travel to more resource-efficient modes. This includes benefits that are often overlooked or undervalued in conventional planning.
Cascadia High-Speed Rail Corridor Seeking Federal Funding
The state of Washington is hoping federal infrastructure funding can pay for $198 million of the $348 million necessary to plan the Cascadia High-Speed Rail project.
Florida Considers Legalizing ADUs
Current state law allows — but doesn’t require — cities to permit accessory dwelling units in single-family residential neighborhoods.
Manufactured Crisis: Losing the Nation’s Largest Source of Unsubsidized Affordable Housing
Manufactured housing communities have long been an affordable housing option for millions of people living in the U.S., but that affordability is disappearing rapidly. How did we get here?
HUD Announces Plan to Build Housing on Public Lands
The agency will identify federally owned parcels appropriate for housing development and streamline the regulatory process to lease or transfer land to housing authorities and nonprofit developers.
EPA Terminates $116 Million in Grants for Reducing Emissions from Construction Materials
C-MORE grants were earmarked for industry trade groups and universities.
BART Closes $35 Million Deficit
Cost control and revenue generation measures prevented service cuts.
The New Parisian Hearse is a Bicycle
Sleek, silent, and sustainable, a green trip to the graveyard has hit the streets of the French capital.
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.
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Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
City of Piedmont, CA
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service
City of Cambridge, Maryland