Portland Documentary on PBS

This may belong in the non-Detroit forum, but I decided it was very relavent to our discussions about Detroit and posted it here instead. Moderators please move it if necessary.

PBS aired a documentary on Oregon's land use laws called "Making Sense of Place---Portland: Quest for the Livable City". [[Note: This is NOT the same show that aired in the spring which compared Portland, Denver, and New York. That show was probably a bit better but this one was quite effective as well.)

The show focused on the effects of the Urban Growth Boundary law over the last 40 years and presents both the positive and negative through interviews with residents. It effectively presents the debate over land use restrictions for the sustainability and health of the city and the rights of land owners for unrestricted choices.

I tried to find future show times on PBS's website but could not, although of course they tend to repeat shows througout the week, especially in the early hours. I highly recommend watching it.

I have never visited Portland but I have heard so many good things and this show confirmed the best of it. Even though the documentary seems to have a greater tilt towards the conservative side, at least as far as allotted air time.

At the risk of sounding dismissive of property rights, many of which are quite legitimate, I think it is only reasonable to curtail some owner choices in favor of a great and thriving city over the long term, rather than having the unrestriced and chaotic sprawl with a detetiorating center that has characterized our region for so long. I realize I haven't said anything dramatically new there, but to actually live in one extreme and see the other in the show was quite enlightening.

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I have never visited Portland

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I have and they do have suburban sprawl, so what are these restrictions supposed to be doing?

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Originally Posted by Pam

I have and they do have suburban sprawl, so what are these restrictions supposed to be doing?

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they sure do, but have you ever been to the edge of it? my pops lives out there and i have. imagine the most dense housing development you can think of, like 5 feet between houses, little to no back or front yards, across the street from a farm field. that is what it looks like at the edge of the growth boundry.

they drive developers to utilize as much space as possible within the boundry before the boundry will be expanded. case in point, the new 9 house development built behind my dad's house [[which itself is on a "flag" lot, essentially in another house's back yard) on a one acre plot.

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Originally Posted by gravitymachine

they sure do, but have you ever been to the edge of it? my pops lives out there and i have. imagine the most dense housing development you can think of, like 5 feet between houses, little to no back or front yards, across the street from a farm field. that is what it looks like at the edge of the growth boundry.

they drive developers to utilize as much space as possible within the boundry before the boundry will be expanded. case in point, the new 9 house development built behind my dad's house [[which itself is on a "flag" lot, essentially in another house's back yard) on a one acre plot.

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My brother just bought a new house that is like you describe, but prior to that he lived in Beaverton and had a bigger lot. My sister is renting a place in Tualatin with a big lot, so do these restrictictions only apply within the city of Portland itself? If so, that won't do a whole lot to stop sprawl in their suburbs.

[[Edit- I see you say your Dad lives on "the edge". The infill house my bro bought is in the Portland city limits.)

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Originally Posted by Pam

My brother just bought a new house that is like you describe, but prior to that he lived in Beaverton and had a bigger lot. My sister is renting a place in Tualatin with a big lot, so do these restrictictions only apply within the city of Portland itself? If so, that won't do a whole lot to stop sprawl in their suburbs.

[[Edit- I see you say your Dad lives on "the edge". The infill house my bro bought is in the Portland city limits.)

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my dad lives near the tigard/beaverton/portland line in SW portland. the restrictions are a regional thing, governed by the tri-county government i believe. the "edge" i described was on a road way out on the east side of the region, south of troutdale. here i think http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...06609&t=h&z=17