During that same year, the metropolitan area took the additional step of creating a powerful regional government, metro, to oversee the ugb and plan for urban growth. A line to control urban expansion into farm and forest lands and promote the efficient use of land, public facilities and services inside the boundary. When it is not being sent up for its bike karaoke and ironic moustaches, portland, oregon, is being held up as the city that threw out the rule book for conventional city growth patterns in the u. View a map of the urban boundaries in the portland metro area. One comment about your look at the portland metro area. Urban growth boundary by david oates each urban area in oregon is required to define an urban growth boundary ugb. That evaluation results in the urban growth report. Urban growth boundary remand city of bend bend, oregon. The boundary controls urban expansion onto farm and forest lands. Since 1997, oregon law also requires metro to maintain a 20year supply of land for future residential development inside the boundary. Portlands urban growth boundary plots city versus country. Pdf the effects of portlands urban growth boundary on urban. City limits osu press oregon state university press.
In 1973, oregons legislative body adopted the states first land use planning laws. The portland ugb covers 24 cities including the urban portions of washington, multnomah and clackamas counties that contained. Just north of portland, across the columbia river and. Dlcd partners with the portland state university population research center to create population forecasts for cities and counties in oregon.
Metro expanded the portland area boundary in 2002 by 18,867 acres, its largest expansion to date. Portlanders take it for granted that we can be surrounded by nature in literally a matter of minutes. There are twentyfive cities in the portland metro region that fall within an urban growth boundary. Growth management in portland, oregonmetro 2040 denver regional council of governments drcogmetro vision 2020. Urbangrowth boundaries, smart growth, and housing affordability with jefferson g. City of redmond, oregon apg led a multidisciplinary team to support a 2,300acre urban growth boundary expansion. Nelson and terry moore many states in the usa attempt to man age urban growth so that development is directed to urban areas equipped to accommodate development, and rural lands are preserved for resource and other nonurban uses. Incorporated cities within umatilla county, oregon.
Much can be learned from the description and evaluation of portlands 2040 growth concept and ugb. The primary purpose of the coburg urbanization study was to update the 2004 study which estimated the land needed to accommodate residentially and employment growth over the next 20 years and to determine whether the city has sufficient land within its current urban growth boundary ugb to meet. Urban growth boundary in portland university of calgary. Urban and rural reserves will provide greater predictability. Multnomah county, clackamas county, metro and washington county are leading a regional effort to designate urban and rural reserves to accommodate future growth and protect valuable farmland, forest land and natural areas that define the character of this region. First of all, they show why we are setting the ugb in the proposed location. For example, 2 of oregons 4 fastestgrowing cities are small onessandy and canbythat sit about 10 miles beyond the growth boundary. In these physical terms, the policy has been quite. Metro is responsible for managing the portland metropolitan regions urban growth boundary and is required by state law to have a 20year supply of land. In 1980, the population of the 3county area was about 1. But it was mostly just a long walk on city streets and rural twolanes. How oregons urban growth boundary will soon make portland. From 19982012, 94 percent of new homes in the region were built inside the original 1979 urban growth boundary.
City of salem urban growth boundary map created date. Oregon law requires that the metro council periodically evaluate the capacity of the portland regions urban growth boundary to accommodate a 20year forecast of housing needs and employment growth. One of the most remarkable aspects of oregon planning law is the urban growth boundary ugb. Portlands urban growth boundary explained living in portland. At the center of the state of oregons land use regulations is the complex and ongoing issue of urban growth boundaries.
David oates traveled the 260mile boundary that defines portland to discover how the ugb. In december of 2002, the metro council of portland, oregon had to decide whether or not to expand the urban growth boundary ugb for the metropolitan area. Housing tracts, shopping malls, and other kinds of urban development are not allowed to sprawl past that boundary, while agricultural lands and open space outside a ugb are preserved. The expansion added 2,380 acres of land for housing and employment to the citys ugb. While most cities stretch out as they grow, turning rural areas into suburban sprawl, oregon law as established an urban growth boundary to control urban expansion, and protect farms and forest that surround oregon s cities. Metro is responsible for managing the portland metropolitan areas urban. Since then, each city and metropolitan area has created their own ugb in oregon.
This includes information about how much we expect to grow in terms of people, homes, jobs, and public land like parks and schools. It is a nice coincidence that the title of the first book about the oregon planning system referenced the oregon trail to emphasize oregons. With its population, economic domination, and the sheer size of its landmass,17 metro is unique. Metro collection oregon sustainable community digital library.
Funded by a state planning grant and supported by additional local resources, the team prepared an urbanization study to determine the available supply of residential, commercial, and industrial land in the existing ugb and. Red dots in these images indicate areas of growth between 1986 and 1996. Nurseryman rod park sold a portion of his acreage, which sits just inside portlands urban growth boundary, to developers in 2005. In portland, oregon, for example, the housing boom of the previous four years drove. The boundary is an element of an urban containment system to promote farm and forest protection and encourage the development of dense, walkable urban spaces. Legislating for an urban growth boundary is one way, among many others, of managing the major challenges posed by. That year, the oregon legislature gave metro responsibility for managing the portland metropolitan areas urban growth boundary. The development of a regional government system metro and the adoption of an urban growth boundary in 1979 have helped protect lands outside of the city while encouraging density and vibrancy. The effects of portlands urban growth boundary on urban. The portland metropolitan ugb encompasses 24 cities and parts of three counties and 1.
While most cities stretch out as they grow, turning rural areas into suburban sprawl, oregon law as established an urban growth boundary to control urban expansion. An urban growth boundary, or ugb, is a regional boundary, set in an attempt to control urban sprawl by, in its simplest form, mandating that the area inside the boundary be used for urban development and the area outside be preserved in its natural state or used for agriculture. Portlands urban growth boundary ugb was designed to hold the bursting. The concept plan study area boundaries include the existing city limits to the north, brookman road to the south, highway 99w to the west, and properties located due east of ladd hill road. The urban growth boundary adoption package is the collection of legally required documents to formally set adopt the ugb these documents serve two primary functions.
Portlands urban growth boundary and housing prices. Thus, the urban growth boundary ugb of oregon was born. Intended to contain urban sprawl and accommodate population growth, oregon is one of few states that require each jurisdiction to establish and maintain an. Urban growth boundary maps view a map of the urban growth boundary a land use planning line to control urban expansion onto farm and forest lands. Oregons minimum wage will increase over the next six years starting on july 1, 2016. With the portland area facing a severe housing shortage, five cities intend to ask the metro council to increase the urban growth boundary it administers, to allow more room for development. Portlands urban growth boundary ugb was designed to hold the bursting metropolitan area in. Portlandarea cities to ask metro for more room to grow.
Weve reported before about the use of ugbs see beth humstones building invisible walls but actually visiting the portland metro area and having the chance to drive across several of its suburbs, hammered home the dramatic impact at least visually these lines on a map can have. Portland, oregon has become wellknown for its growth management initiatives, which center around enforcement of an urban growth boundary ugb. Umatilla county covers a large area 3,200 square miles which is the location of 12 incorporated cities. Across america, there are unique taxes, whether at a state or local level. Today the urban growth boundary encompasses approximately the current urban growth boundary encompasses approximately 400 square miles about 256,360 acres. Urban growth boundary expansion history oregon metro. Urban growth boundary major streets salem city limits other streets 1 0. Under this system, portland has become a nationally acclaimed model of effective urban planning. City officials ooh and ah over portlands light rail. An urban growth boundary is a tool used for growth management in land use planning, and it is intended to create an orderly divide between urban and rural spaces to aid in creating a. For example, 2 of oregon s 4 fastestgrowing cities are small onessandy and canbythat sit about 10 miles beyond the growth boundary. Metro is responsible for managing the portland metropolitan areas urban growth boundary. Assessing urban growth management the case of portland, oregon, the usas largest urban growth boundary arthur c. Since the 1970s, growth in the portland area has been confined within carefully crafted boundaries, the urban growth boundary ugb, outside of which, urban growth was not.
Starting with a view of portland, oregon, and its vicinity, with the boundary visible, we push in to the southern area and pan around the city moving clockwise, eventually pulling out to view the entire city again. In 1979, the portland metropolitan region adopted an urban growth boundary, complying with an oregon law mandating the creation of such boundaries across the state. Historical development of the metropolitan service district, carl abbott. An urban growth boundary, or ugb, is a regional boundary, set in an attempt to control urban. Department of land conservation and development oregon. An area of land suitable for accommodating new development during the next 50 years. Under oregon law, each of the states cities and metropolitan areas has created an urban growth boundary around its perimeter a land use planning line to control urban expansion onto farm and forest lands. The first statewide urban growth boundary policy was implemented in oregon, under then.
The portland metropolitan area and its core urban area, principally located in oregon, stretches across the columbia river into the state of washington figure 1. These activities include development on the slopes of the boring lava domes, expansion of the urban growth boundary in the kelley creek tributary, urban renewal in lents, and further infill of the frequently flooded areas along johnson creek. A significant level of spillover from the counties in oregon to clark county of washington took place during the 1990s, indicating that the ugb diverted population. One of the many draws to living in portland, oregon, is how quickly you can escape the urban area. The portland area urban growth boundary has been expanded about three.
Urban growth boundary maps oregon sustainable community. University of wisconsinwhitewater department of geography and geology. This area was brought into the urban growth boundary by metro in 2002 in order to accommodate an identified region wide need for additional land. Its the law and an essential part of where we live. Urban growth boundary impacts on sprawl and redevelopment in portland, oregon. Nearly four decades ago, the state of oregon adopted strong urban planning requirements, including the requirement of an urban growth boundary. Urbangrowth boundaries and housing affordability reason. The portland regions urban growth boundary, or ugb, was created to protect farmland and prevent sprawl the metro council by law has to keep 20 years of. From all over the world, people visit my hometown of portland, oregon, to learn the wonders of smartgrowth planning. For the purpose of amending metro urban growth boundary and the. Oregon s land use planning program relies on population forecasts as a primary tool for determining urban growth boundary ugb expansions, as well as for creating planning policy. The ugb had been created as a tool to help promote a more compact, livable, and efficient metropolitan area. Perhaps no city in the united states is cited as often as portland, oregon in the urban planning literature for its progressive transportation and land use policies, downtown redevelopment efforts, and purported success in containing urban sprawl. Each urban area in oregon is required to define an urban growth boundary ugb.
The late 1980s through the 1990s brought several developmental pressures to the watershed. The ugb has been expanded by 31,400 acres 14 percent since 1979. Video slate image reads, portland, oregon showing how the portland boundary contained urban growth from 1986 to 1996. Under oregon law, metro has the responsibility for maintaining a 20year supply of residential land to accommodate urban activity and growth for the portland metropolitan area. The county has a wonderful, rich history and the cities located here contribute to the background of the county. Every incorporated city in oregon has an urban growth boundary ugb, from metropolitan portland population 1. On december 6, 2016 the bend urban growth boundary ugb expansion was acknowledged by the oregon department of land conservation and development. Oregons urban growth boundaries are not intended to be static. Its not portlands boundary, portlands forecast, or portlands growth those things are done regionally, involving a look at all 25 cities and urban areas of three counties in a shared ugb managed by the metro regional government. Contact osu press staff mission historyawards editorial board. Portland, oregon s urban growth boundary ugb has been an iconic policy for the urban planning profession in the past 40 years. Only two other states, washington and tennessee, have adopted similar legislation, though more than 100 individual cities now employ the strategy, according to the.
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