The expansion of the urban growth boundary is a process that was designated when the ugb was first put in place in order to allow for sustainable, controlled outward growth rather than uncontrolled sprawl. This research investigates the effects of portlands urban growth boundary ugb on urban. How oregons urban growth boundary will soon make portland. Impact of the urban growth boundary the longeststanding supply constraint on housing development in the portland area is the urban growth boundary, or ugb. In 1980, the population of the 3county area was about 1. Urban growth boundary lookup this tool performs a query to look up whether an address is in the ugb or one of the urban or rural reserves on feb. Portlanders take it for granted that we can be surrounded by nature in literally a matter of minutes. Since 1997, oregon law also requires metro to maintain a 20year supply of land for future residential development inside the boundary. Since the late 1970s, the portland metropolitan area boundary has been expanded about three. 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. One of the many perks of the urban growth boundary.
Every community then had to develop its own longrange plan for managing growth, with the portland area creating its urban growth boundary in 1979. Portlands urban growth boundary ugb was designed to hold the bursting metropolitan area in. The ugb had been created as a tool to help promote a more compact, livable, and efficient metropolitan area. But it was mostly just a long walk on city streets and rural twolanes. Urban growth boundary ugb history, portland metro region. From 19982012, 94 percent of new homes in the region were built inside the original 1979 urban growth boundary. The columbia region association of governments crag, metros predecessor, engaged in a complete planning process and proposed a ugb for the portland metro region in 1977. 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 developable land within the urban growth boundary.
Department of land conservation and development oregon. Look up where your home is, and how close it is to the portland regions urban growth boundary. This file contains the history of the current urban growth boundary for the portland metro region. Nearly four decades ago, the state of oregon adopted strong urban planning requirements, including the requirement of an urban growth boundary. David oates traveled the 260mile boundary that defines portland to discover how the ugb. A map of the boundary s expansion history is also available. Perhaps the best evidence of this is the fact that the state law requiring urban growth boundaries been in place for some 40 years now. University of wisconsinwhitewater department of geography and geology. Since the inception of growth boundaries as a key component of oregons progressive landuse system in the 1970s, portland has evolved into one of the nations most successful and distinctive cities. Quest for the livable city is a documentary film and educational outreach project produced as a collaboration of the lincoln institute of.
Metro is the regional government for the oregon portion of the portland metropolitan area. Inside of an urban growth boundary, cities around oregon can plan what they want their. Oregons urban growth boundaries are not intended to be static. The data only contains additions for the current ugb. Although portland s population increased by 50 percent between 1973 and 2008, new construction was contained within the urban growth boundary. Almost everyone would say the old soilquality method was broken.
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. Urban growth boundary ugb history, portland metro region, oregon. Portland, orever since portland adopted an urban growth boundary ugb, there have been numerous and very legitimate criticisms of the. 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. 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. Brian said the urban reserves represent only an 11 percent expansion of the urban growth boundary, while the regions population is projected to grow by 60 to 70 percent over the same period. Under oregon law, development cant happen until a city has a longterm growth plan. It is the only directly elected regional government and metropolitan planning organization in the united states. 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. Each urban area in oregon is required to define an urban growth boundary ugb. Its the law and an essential part of where we live. Since that time the city centre has undergone extensive renovation and revitalization, and most areas. Portland, oregon is required to have an urban growth boundary which contains at least 20,000 acres 81 km 2 of vacant land.
City limits osu press oregon state university press. The portland area urban growth boundary has been expanded about three dozen times since. Pdf the effects of portlands urban growth boundary on urban. Portlands urban growth boundary ugb was designed to hold the bursting metropolitan area in check while protecting willamette valley orchards and fields from sprawling suburbia. Under this system, portland has become a nationally acclaimed model of effective urban planning. Metro expanded the portlandarea boundary in 2002 by 18,867 acres, its largest expansion to date.
Portland, oregon, has had an urban growth boundary in place since the 1970s. Portland s urban growth boundary was established in 1981, containing the risk of urban sprawl and protecting surrounding farmland from development. 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. Portland, oregon is required to have an urban growth boundary which contains at least 20,000 acres 81 km2 of vacant. A thirdgeneration grower, park owns 40 acres in the town of gresham, 12 miles east of downtown portland. Red dots in these images indicate areas of growth between 1986 and 1996. The effects of portland s urban growth boundary on urban development patterns and commuting myungjin jun paper first received, february 2003.
Portlands urban growth boundary and housing prices a. Urban growth boundary impacts on sprawl and redevelopment in portland, oregon. The expedited process is limited to proposals that are initiated by petitions signed by 100 percent of the property owners and 50 percent of the electors, if any, in the affected territory. Portland s urban growth boundary and those used around smaller cities throughout oregon seem to be fairly widely accepted, if not uniformly loved as you saw in the lincoln land institute video. Since the late 1970s, the portland metropolitan area boundary has been expanded about three dozen times.
Areas that were added to the ugb are attributed with the year they were added. Portlands urban growth boundary explained living in portland. The effects of portlands urban growth boundary on urban. Oregon s urban growth boundaries are not intended to be static. View a map of the urban boundaries in the portland metro area. A significant level of spillover from the counties in oregon to clark county of. Using remotely sensed data, this chapter presents historical analyses of. Metro is responsible for managing the portland regions solid waste system, coordinating the growth of the cities in the region, managing a regional parks and natural areas system, and. If you live in bend, oregon youre going to travel less distance to see the milky way vs. Portlands urban growth boundary ugb was designed to hold the bursting. Wastewise holidays stop junk mail opt out of phone books back to school tips. Urbanization and settlement growth management in the book. Dlcd partners with the portland state university population research center to create population forecasts for cities and counties in oregon. 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.
This research investigates the effects of portland s urban growth boundary ugb on urban. An urban growth boundary, or ugb, is a regional boundary, set in an attempt to control urban. Unlike portland, which has worked for decades to restrict its growth with an urban growth boundary, clark county which includes vancouver has no such restrictions. Portlands urban growth boundary has been updated more than 30 times, most recently in 2010 in hillsboro. Today the urban growth boundary encompasses approximately the current urban growth boundary encompasses approximately 400 square miles about 256,360 acres. The urban growth boundary oregon firstoregon first.
Written for both layperson and professional, an architectural guidebook to portland is filled with history and photos that demonstrate why this city. 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. One of the many draws to living in portland, oregon, is how quickly you can escape the urban area. Metro is responsible for managing the portland metropolitan area s urban growth boundary.
Its civic planning, historic preservation, and overall attractiveness make portland a place that natives revel in and visitors admire. Metro expands urban growth boundary to add more than 9,000 new homes to the region. Unreferenceddateaugust 2006an urban growth boundary, or ugb, is a regional boundary, set in an attempt to control urban sprawl by allowing the area inside the boundary for higher density urban development and the area outside for lower density. Metro is responsible for managing the portland metropolitan areas urban growth boundary. A commitment to sound urban planning, solidified in the 1970s with the urban growth boundary, keeps the citys accessibility intact. Contact osu press staff mission historyawards editorial board. Portlands urban growth boundary and housing prices. It is a nice coincidence that the title of the first book about the oregon planning system referenced the oregon trail to emphasize oregons. His wholesale nursery is close enough, just barely, to fall inside portlands urban growth boundary ugb, a line surrounding the metropolitan area that determines where, precisely. 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. In these physical terms, the policy has been quite successful. The boundary was first drawn in 1979 by metro, a 3county, 24city regional planning body that helps dictate landuse decisions for the portland msa.
The ugb has been expanded by 31,400 acres 14 percent since 1979. While portland is one of the most popular cities in america and has witnessed significant population growth, its urban growth boundary has preserved open space around portland and helped make portland. That year, the oregon legislature gave metro responsibility for managing the portland metropolitan areas urban growth boundary. But the 24 cities in the portland region share one common ugb, managed by the. In miamidade, it is referred to as the urban development boundary udb, and is generally to protect from continued sprawl into and drainage of the everglades. Mandated by a state statute in the late 1970s, the ugb is intended to limit the places of urban settlement and preserve land for use by agriculture and the forestry industry. Oregon began a new three tier minimum wage rate on july 1, 2018. Portland s urban growth boundary and housing prices. Metro and 3 portland counties approve urban expansion. Portlands urban growth boundary plots city versus country. Since then, the population of the portland metro area has grown 60 percent, while the urban growth boundary has expanded just 14 percent.
Everything you wanted to know about the urban growth. A nice result is that the citys northeast, southeast, northwest, and southwest quadrants operate like villages, with many of the essentials of daily life easy to reach. 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. 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. Urban growth boundary maps oregon sustainable community.