Seattle vs. Portland: Debate Club Edition

Seattle. Photo: Author

Seattle and Portland are in many ways two organic peas in a pod. Kindred spirits. We dwell in the upper left corner of the map, in mossy green landscapes surrounded by snowy mountains and tidal estuaries. We deal with nine months of rain and gray skies by drinking bottomless mugs of coffee and beer, then rejoice with hiking and biking when the sun comes out. We value freedom and individuality, but you can count on both of us to vote in the blue column and compost in the green bin.

But that’s where the similarities end. In addition to the most obvious difference – Seattle is bigger – there are nearly endless comparisons to be made. I think about them every time I make the 170-mile journey up I-5 (or on Amtrak Cascades) to the Emerald City. There are moments of jealousy, but also moments of “whew, glad I didn’t move here.” Each city excels at different things.

On that note, the following are my observations from 17 years visiting and 6 years living in the great Pacific Northwest. Let's do this debate club style, with 15 topics. (Deal with it - we like to read here in the Northwest). Representing my dual opinions will be Chief Seattle and the Portlandia statue. We'll be "Portland polite" and let Chief Seattle state his arguments first (respect your elders), followed by a nice passive-aggressive rebuttal from our lady in copper, Portlandia. We used to settle our scores with NBA games, but now the only sport we have in common is Major League Soccer. And that can end in a 0-0 draw.

Apartments go boom!

I think we can officially say we’re in the midst of an apartment boom.

Daily Journal of Commerce

Of course, any free market boom should be approached with caution, especially ones involving real estate development (understatement of the decade!) Developers are often like gold-hungry 49ers, all rushing to the same place to do the same thing and make the same fortune, then overdoing it and leaving a wasteland. The 1990s/2000s real estate bubble - based largely on suburban sprawl - left us with not just an economic catastrophe, but also empty subdivisions filled with big houses that require lots of $4 gas to drive to.

Fortunately this time, instead of a sprawl and mortgage boom, we’re talking about a boom of infill rental apartments in dense, urban neighborhoods. While there’s still a risk of overbuilding, shoddy construction and rash bulldozing (old buildings instead of cornfields this time), we are at least experiencing a “smart growth” boom. It’s a boom that meets many urban and regional planning goals: infill development, efficient use of urban land, neighborhood revitalization, transit-oriented development, housing choice, and (hopefully) equity. And for the most part, the free market is providing this boom, without the help of public subsidies. How did we get to this unlikely stage?

The Portland Rain Conspiracy

For years I've been boasting to out-of-towners, "Portland seems damp, but we only get 37 inches of annual precipitation on average, which is less than most East Coast and Southern cities." For example, Philadelphia gets 42 inches, and most of Florida gets more than 50 inches. In Portland, the rain (and rare snow) is simply spread out over more days. This has been my story. But after a recent conversation and some digital digging, I am concerned that our rain data is suspect - or, at the very least, not representative of the Portland region, or even the city proper.

A whack at democracy in land use

Suburban and rural Troutdale, Oregon. Photo: author

Here's a problem that could use fixing, but is prompting legislative overreach. Apparently there are some places inside the Portland region's urban growth boundary that developers are having a hard time developing. These are usually unincorporated areas adjacent to, but outside, city limits. When a developer asks a local city to annex his/her land, it must go to a public vote. To succeed, the annexation must receive a "yes" vote from a double majority - a majority of residents in the affected unincorporated area, and a majority of residents in the city doing the annexing. Even after this hurdle, the developer must figure out how to extend (and pay for) infrastructure like roads, water, sewer and electricity, while also paying numerous system development charges (SDCs) for services like emergency services, schools and recreation. It's a tough, expensive process, and sometimes developers ask cities for financial help in extending infrastructure or reducing fees.

Transit-to-Parking Price Ratio

TriMet, the Portland region's primary transit provider, has been struggling to overcome budget shortfalls for several consecutive years. Just like at almost every other public agency in this nation, the Great Recession blew a hole in TriMet's revenue stream - in this case, the regional payroll tax. Among the agency's proposed solutions is raising fares from $2.10 to $2.50 for a two-zone trip. The proposal would also eliminate fare zones (including Portland's free rail zone), and institute a one-way-only rule (no more quick out-and-back trips). Meanwhile, Portland will continue to have among the cheapest downtown parking meter rates on the West Coast: $1.60/hour.

My (Threatened) Car-Free Day Trip

Last week, to celebrate one year of getting around fine without a car, I took a day trip. It was an unusual day trip for the United States of America - it involved trains, bike paths and hiking trails instead of cars and interstates. It featured transportation modes that more and more people are using in our urbanizing nation, but that are threatened by Congress. This week, the Republican-led House of Representatives nearly voted on a transportation bill that cut off Highway Trust Fund allocations for transit and bike/ped projects. This would have eliminated a critical funding stream for active transportation projects originally authorized by President Reagan. Fortunately, the bill was so bad, and had so many people from both parties against it, that it never left committee. But Congress may try again in a few weeks.

Living in Portland

There have been a number of these going around the interweb lately. So I made one about Portland...