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{{Infobox Settlement|official_name = Portland, Oregon|settlement_type = City and the state of [Oregon|subdivision_type1 = [Political divisions of the United States|subdivision_type2 = List of counties in Oregon|subdivision_name = United States ]|subdivision_name2 = Multnomah County, Oregon|government_type =|leader_title = Mayor|leader_title1 = Commissioners|leader_name1 = [Sam Adams (Oregon politician)Randy LeonardDan SaltzmanErik Sten|established_title = [Municipal corporation|established_date = February 8 1851|utc_offset = -8|timezone_DST = [Pacific Daylight Time|utc_offset_DST = -7|postal_code_type = ZIP codes]|latd = 45 |latm = 31 |lats = 12 |latNS = N|longd = 122 |longm = 40 |longs = 55 |longEW = W|elevation_m = 15.2|elevation_ft = 50|blank_name = Federal Information Processing Standard|blank_info = 41-59000|blank1_name = Geographic Names Information System feature ID|blank1_info = 1136645|footnotes =-->Portland is a city located near the confluence of the Willamette River and Columbia River rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. With a population of 562,690 PSU:Population Research Center it is Oregon's most populous city, and the third most populous city in the Pacific Northwest, after Seattle, Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia. Approximately two million people live in Portland metropolitan area (United States metropolitan area), the 23rd most populous in the United States as of July 2006.

Portland was incorporated in 1851 and is the county seat of Multnomah County, Oregon; it extends slightly into Washington County, Oregon and Clackamas County, Oregon Counties as well.

The city and region are noted for strong land-use planning and investment in public transport, supported by Metro (Oregon regional government), a distinctive regional-government scheme. Portland lies in the Marine West Coast climate region, which is marked by warm summers and rainy but temperate winters. This climate is ideal for growing roses, and for more than a century Portland has been known as "The City of Roses," with many rose gardens – most prominently the International Rose Test Garden. Portland is also known for its large number of microbrewery, and as the home of the Portland Trail Blazers National Basketball Association team.

History Portland started as a spot known as "the clearing", which was on the banks of the Willamette about halfway between Oregon City, Oregon and Fort Vancouver. In 1843, William Overton (Portland founder) saw great commercial potential for this land, but lacked the funds required to file a land claim. He struck a bargain with his partner Asa Lovejoy of Boston, Massachusetts: for quarter (U.S. coin), Overton would share his claim to the 640 acre (2.6 km²) site. Overton later sold his half of the claim to Francis W. Pettygrove of Portland, Maine. Pettygrove and Lovejoy both wished to name the new city after their own home town; this was decided with a coin toss, which Pettygrove won.

At the time of its incorporation on February 8, 1851 Portland had over 800 inhabitants,Gibson, Campbell (June 1998). Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990. U.S. Bureau of the Census - Population Division. a steam sawmill, a log cabin hotel, and a newspaper, the The Oregonian. By 1879, the population had grown to 17,500.

Portland's location, with access both to the Pacific Ocean via the Willamette and the Columbia rivers and to the agricultural Tualatin Valley via the "Great Plank Road" through a canyon in the West Hills (the route of current-day U.S. Highway 26), gave it an advantage over nearby ports, and it grew quickly."City keeps lively pulse." (Spencer Heinz, The Oregonian, January 23, 2001) It remained the major port in the Pacific Northwest for much of the 19th century, until the 1890s, when Seattle, Washington's deepwater harbor was connected to the rest of the mainland by rail, affording an inland route without the treacherous navigation of the Columbia River. During this time, corruption in the government allowed for some very unsavory activities to go on as well: "white slavery", specifically including the abduction of men to be used as forced labor on sailing ships, was so common that a network of underground tunnels, formerly used to transport goods from the river to nearby hotels and bars, was coopted to accommodate the practice. (See the Portland Underground, also known as the "Shanghai Tunnels.")http://cgsmthood.com/shanghai/history.phpThe first known reference to Portland as "The City of Roses" was made by visitors to an 1888 Episcopal Church in the United States of America convention, the nickname growing in popularity after the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition where Mayor Harry Lane suggested that the city needed a "festival of roses" City Flower. City of Portland Auditor's Office - City Recorder Division.. The first Portland Rose Festival was held two years later and remains the city's major annual festival a century later.

Law and government , .The city of Portland is governed by the Portland, Oregon City Council, which includes the Mayor and four other Commissioners; and an auditor. Each is elected citywide to serve a four year term. The auditor provides checks and balances in the commission form of government and accountability for the use of public resources. In addition, the auditor provides access to information for all Council members and the public and issues reports on various matters of city government.

The city's Office of Neighborhood Involvement serves as a conduit between city government and Portland, Oregon neighborhoods, which are grouped into seven coalitions.

Portland and its surrounding metropolitan area are also served by Metro (Oregon regional government), the United States' only directly elected regional government. Metro's charter includes land use and transportation planning, solid waste management, and map development. It also owns and operates the Oregon Convention Center, Oregon Zoo, Portland Center for Performing Arts, and Portland Metropolitan Exposition Center. The Multnomah County, Oregon government also provides many services to the Portland area, along with that of Washington County, Oregon and Clackamas County, Oregon Counties to the west and south.

Since the 1950s, if not earlier, Portland has strongly favored the United States Democratic Party at all levels of government. Although local elections are nonpartisan, most of the city's elected officials are Democrats. Democrats also dominate the city's delegation to the Oregon Legislature.

Federally, Portland is split between three congressional districts. Most of the city is in the Oregon's 3rd congressional district, represented by Earl Blumenauer, who served on the city council from 1986 until his election to Congress in 1996. Most of the city west of the Willamette River is part of the Oregon's 1st congressional district, represented by David Wu. A small portion of the city is in the Oregon's 5th congressional district, represented by Darlene Hooley. All three are Democrats; a United States Republican Party has not represented a significant portion of Portland since 1975. Oregon's senior United States Senate, Ron Wyden, is from Portland.

Planning and development Portland is often cited as an example of a city with strong land use planning controls; This is largely the result of statewide land conservation policies adopted in 1973 under Governor Tom McCall, in particular the requirement for an urban growth boundary (UGB) for every city and metropolitan area. The opposite extreme, a city with few or no controls, is typically illustrated by Houston, Texas.

Portland's urban growth boundary, adopted in 1979, separates urban areas (where high-density development is encouraged and focused) from traditional farm land (where restrictions on non-agricultural development are very strict). This was atypical in an era when automobile use led many areas to neglect their core cities in favor of development along interstate highways, in suburbs, and satellite city.

As a result, one can see pastoral farmlands and old red barns within of downtown Portland, literally across the street from large suburban developments (where that street is the urban growth boundary.) Opponents argue that this growth boundary has limited growth and increased the costs of housing; proponents argue that it has preserved valuable farmland, made possible the popular farmer's markets in Portland, and brought more efficient public transportation and less traffic than similarly sized cities.

As the population has grown, and undeveloped land inside the urban growth boundary has dwindled, there has been pressure to change or relax the rules. The rapid growth of two major employers in Washington County, namely Nike, Inc. and Intel, contributed to this pressure.

The original state rules included a provision for expanding urban growth boundaries, but critics felt this wasn't being accomplished. In 1995, the State Legislature ordered cities to expand UGBs to provide enough undeveloped land for a 20 year supply of future housing at projected levels, and to complete the newest expansion by the end of 1999.



The Portland Development Commission is a semi-public agency that plays a major role in downtown development; it was created by city voters in 1958 to serve as the city’s urban renewal agency. It provides housing and economic development programs within the city, and works behind the scenes with major local developers to create large projects. It has been criticized for clubbiness and lack of transparency.

In the early 1960s, the PDC led the razing of a large Italian-Jewish neighborhood downtown, bounded roughly by the I-405 freeway, the Willamette River, 4th Avenue and Market street. It was replaced by concrete office developments that proponents find clean and modern, and opponents find antiseptic and lifeless at night.

Mayor Neil Goldschmidt took office in the 1970s as a proponent of bringing housing and the associated vitality back to the downtown area, which was seen as emptying out after 5pm. The effort has had dramatic effects in the 30 years since, with many thousands of new housing units clustered in 3 areas; west of Portland State University (between the I-405 freeway, SW Broadway, and SW Taylor St.); the RiverPlace development along the waterfront under the Marquam (I-5) bridge; and most notably in the Pearl District (between I-405, Burnside St., NW Northrup St., and NW 9th Ave.).

The Urban Greenspaces Institute, housed in Portland State University Geography Department's Center for Mapping Research, promotes better integration of the built and natural environments. The institute works on urban park, trail, and natural areas planning issues, both at the local and regional levels.

In 2006, Portland was ranked overall number 1 of 50 U.S. cities by the organization SustainLane on quality of life and economic factors that affect personal sustainability. According to Grist Magazine, Portland is the second most eco-friendly city in the world.

Free speech Because of strong free speech protections of the Oregon Constitution, Portland reportedly has more strip clubs per capita than both Las Vegas and San Francisco.

Geography and climate in the background.Portland lies at the northern end of Oregon's most populated region, the Willamette Valley. (As the metropolitan area is culturally and politically distinct from the rest of the valley, local usage often excludes Portland from the valley proper.) Although almost all of Portland lies within Multnomah County, small portions of the city lie within Clackamas County, Oregon and Washington County, Oregon counties, with mid-2005 populations estimated at 785 and 1,455, respectively. The Willamette River runs north through the city center, separating the southwest and southeast quadrants of the city, before veering slightly northwest to join with the Columbia River (which separates the state of Washington from the state of Oregon) a short distance north of the city.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 145.4 square mile (376.5 square kilometre). 134.3 mi² (347.9 km²) of it is land and 11.1 mi² (28.6 km²), or 7.6%, is water.

Portland lies on top of an extinct Plio-Pleistocene volcanic field known as the Boring Lava Field. The Lava Field includes at least 32 cinder cones such as Mount Tabor, Portland, Oregon, and its center lies in Southeast Portland. The potentially active volcano Mount Hood, to the east of Portland, is easily visible from much of the city, and the active volcano Mount Saint Helens, to the north in Washington, is visible in the distance from high-elevation locations in the city, and is close enough to have dusted the city with volcanic ash during its spectacular 1980 eruption.

Climate Portland's climate is temperate and seasonal. The rainfall averages 36.3 inches per year. Portland averages 155 days with measurable Precipitation (meteorology) a year. Snowfall is uncommon, generally occurring no more than a few times per year, although the city has been known to see major snow and ice storms thanks to cold air outflow from the Columbia River Gorge. The city's winter snowfall totals have ranged from just a trace on many occasions, to 1,547 mm (60.9 inches) in 1892-93. Although it lies in the Marine west coast climate zone, Portland shows many characteristics of a Mediterranean climate. The city has mild, wet winters, and hot, dry summers. The summer months (June through September) mark the driest period, averaging no more than one inch of rain per month, but it is not uncommon for summer months to receive little or no precipitation. November through April is the rainy season, with 80% of the total annual rainfall occurring in those months. Winter low temperatures hover around 35 °F (2 °C), and summer highs average around 27 °C (80 °F), however summer heat waves with temperatures exceeding 38 °C (100 °F) do occur. But for the most part, the Portland summers are very pleasant with abundant sunshine. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Portland was −19 °C (−3 °F), set on February 2 1950. Portland has recorded a record high temperature of 42 °C (107 °F) numerous times, and temperatures of 38 °C (100 °F) have been recorded in each of the months from May through September.

{]
(inches) Portland's Monthly and Annual Precipitation Totals. National Weather Service Portland, Oregon. Retrieved 2007-September 19.| style="background: #28B; color: white;" | 135.9
(5.35)| style="background: #28B; color: white;" | 97.8
(3.85)| style="background: #4AD; color: white;" | 90.4
(3.56)| style="background: #4AD; color: white;" | 60.7
(2.39)| style="background: #4AD; color: white;" | 52.3
(2.06)| style="background: #6CF;" | 37.6
(1.48)| style="background: #6CF;" | 16.0
(0.63)| style="background: #6CF;" | 27.7
(1.09)| style="background: #6CF;" | 44.5
(1.75)| style="background: #4AD; color: white;" | 67.8
(2.67)| style="background: #28B; color: white;" | 135.6
(5.34)| style="background: #28B; color: white;" | 155.7
(6.13)| style="background: #CCC;" | 922.0
(36.30)|}

Sections and neighborhoods Portland straddles the Willamette River near its confluence with the Columbia River. The denser and earlier-developed west side is mostly hemmed in by the nearby Tualatin Mountains, though it extends over them to the border with Washington County. The flatter east side fans out for about 180 blocks, until it meets the suburb of Gresham, Oregon. Rural Multnomah County lies farther east.

In 1891 the cities of Portland, Albina, Oregon, and East Portland, Oregon were consolidated, and duplicate street names were given new names. The "great renumbering" on September 2, 1931 standardized street naming patterns, and changed house numbers from 20 per block to 100 per block. It divided Portland into five sections: Southwest, Southeast, Northwest, North, and Northeast. Burnside St. divides north and south, and the Willamette River divides east and west. The river curves west five blocks north of Burnside and in place of it, Williams Ave. is used as a divider. The North section lies between Williams Ave. and the Willamette River to the west.

The streets of Portland are for the most part laid out on a grid, with named "streets" running perpendicular to the Willamette River and numbered "avenues" running parallel to (and with numbers increasing with distance from) the river. The grid breaks down in hilly regions, particularly in the West Hills, where roads follow the contours of elevation. The "logic" of the grid also breaks down slightly in the North section: it's the only section on the east side where address numbers go higher towards the river. In the rest of the east side, the numbers go lower towards the river.

On the west side, the RiverPlace, John's Landing and South Waterfront Districts lie in a "sixth quadrant" where addresses go higher from west to east toward the river. This "sixth quadrant" is roughly bounded by Naito Parkway and Barbur Boulevard to the west, Montgomery Street to the north and Nevada Street to the south.

Southwest , with Fox Tower in the background.Downtown Portland lies in the Southwest section between the I-405 freeway loop and the Willamette River, centered around Pioneer Courthouse Square ("Portland's living room"). Downtown and many other parts of inner Portland have compact square blocks (200 ft m on a side) and narrow streets (64 ft m wide), a pedestrian-friendly combination.

Many of Portland's recreational, cultural, educational, governmental, business, and retail resources are concentrated downtown, including:

Beyond downtown, the Southwest section also includes:



Northwest Northwest Portland includes the Pearl District, Portland, Oregon, most of Old Town Chinatown, Portland, Oregon, the Northwest District, Portland, Oregon, and various residential and industrial neighborhoods. A range of streets in Northwest Portland are named alphabetically, from Ankeny (actually one block South Of Burnside, which, even though it is technically the divider between north and south, is the "B" street in the alphabetical sequence) north to Yeon. (Several characters in Portland native Matt Groening's TV show The Simpsons have names based on these: Ned Flanders, the bully Kearney (Simpsons), Reverend Lovejoy, Mayor Quimby, Milhouse Van Houten (actually in North Portland), and possibly C. Montgomery Burns. Contrary to popular belief, the character [Sideshow Bob is not named after SW Terwilliger Boulevard in Southwest Portland.

The Pearl District is a recent name for a former warehouse and industrial area just north of downtown. Many of the warehouses have been converted into lofts, and new multistory condominium (housing)s have also been developed on previously vacant land. The increasing density has attracted a mix of restaurants, brewpubs, shops, and art galleries. The galleries sponsor simultaneous artists' receptions on the first Thursday of every month.

Between the Pearl District and the Willamette is the Old Town Chinatown neighborhood. It includes Portland's Chinatown, marked by a pair of foo dog at its entrance at NW 4th Ave. and W Burnside St. and home to the Portland Classical Chinese Garden. Before World War II, this area was known as Japan Town or Little Tokyo; Chinatown was previously located just south of W. Burnside St. along the riverfront.

Further west is the compact but thriving NW 21st and 23rd Avenue restaurant and retail area, the core of the Northwest District. Parts of this area are also called Uptown and Nob Hill. The residential areas adjacent to the shopping district include the Alphabet Historic District (with large Victorian and Craftsman homes built in the years before and shortly after 1900) and a large district centered around Wallace Park. The neighborhood has a mix of Victorian-era houses, apartment buildings from throughout the 20th century, and various businesses centered around Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center. The Portland Streetcar connects Nob Hill to downtown, via the Pearl.

West of the developed areas is the northern portion of Portland's West Hills, including the majority of extensive Forest Park (Portland).

North .North Portland is a diverse mixture of residential, commercial, and industrial areas. It includes the Portland International Raceway, the University of Portland, and massive cargo facilities of the Port of Portland. Slang-names for it include "NoPo" (shortened from North Portland) and "the Fifth Quadrant" (for being the odd-man out from the four-cornered logic of SE, NE, SW, and NW).

North Portland is connected to the industrial area of Northwest Portland by the St. Johns Bridge, a long suspension bridge completed in 1931 and extensively rehabilitated in 2003-5.

During World War II, a planned development named Vanport, Oregon was constructed to the north of this section between the city limits and the Columbia River. It grew to be the second largest city in Oregon, but was wiped out by a disastrous flood in 1948. Columbia Villa, another wartime housing project in the Portsmouth Neighborhood, is being rebuilt; the new $150 million community is known as New Columbia and offers public housing, rental housing, and single family home ownership units. Since 2004, a MAX Yellow Line, which parallels I-5, stopping short of crossing the Columbia River.

Northeast in NE Portland.

Northeast Portland contains a diverse collection of neighborhoods. For example, while Irvington, Portland, Oregon and the Alameda, Portland, Oregon boast some of the oldest and most expensive homes in Portland, nearby King is a more working-class neighborhood. Because it is so large, Northeast Portland can essentially be divided ethnically, culturally, and geographically into inner and outer sections. The inner Northeast neighborhoods that surround Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. were once predominantly African American, resembling typical urban inner-city environments found in most major U.S. cities. That is now changing due to the process of gentrification. Inner Northeast includes several shopping areas, such as the Lloyd District, Alberta Street, Portland, Oregon Arts District and Hollywood District, and part of the affluent Irvington, Alameda, and Laurelhurst neighborhoods and nearby developments. The city plan targets Lloyd District as another mixed-use area, with high-density residential development.

At the base of Northeast is the Rose Quarter. It is named after the Rose Garden Arena, home of the Portland Trail Blazers, and also includes the Blazers' former home, the Memorial Coliseum. The Coliseum is the home to Portland's hockey team, the Portland Winter Hawks, of the Western Hockey League, though they often play at the Rose Garden. The newest Rose Quarter tenants are the Portland LumberJax of the National Lacrosse League. The city still holds the lease to the land and owns the Coliseum, but the Rose Garden and other buildings were owned by private business interests until they went into receivership. The area is quite active during the teams' home games, and the city hopes to extend the activity by promoting a major increase in residential units in the quarter using zoning and tax incentives.

Southeast in the Hawthorne, Portland, Oregon district.Southeast Portland stretches from the warehouses along the Willamette, through the historic Ladd's Addition to the Hawthorne, Portland, Oregon and Belmont, Portland, Oregon districts out to Gresham. Southeast Portland initially tended toward the blue-collar but, with its lower real-estate prices, has since evolved to encompass a wide mix of backgrounds; inner southeast is something of a haven for hippies, hipsters, and environmentalists, while the outer edges remain populated by an increasingly diverse, largely working-class population constituted of significantly large immigrant communities from Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia. The Hawthorne district in particular is known for its hippie/radical crowd and small subculturally-oriented shops; not far away is Reed College with its counter-cultural flavor and strong intellectual, anti-establishment tradition.

Between the 1920s and the 1960s, Southeast was home to Lambert Gardens. Southeast Portland also features Mount Tabor, Oregon, a dormant volcano that has become one of Portland’s more scenic and popular parks.

People and culture Demographics {{USCensusPop|1850 = 821|1860 = 2874|1870 = 8293|1880 = 17577|1890 = 46385|1900 = 90426|1910 = 207214|1920 = 258288|1930 = 301815|1940 = 305394|1950 = 373628|1960 = 372676|1970 = 382619|1980 = 366383|1990 = 437319|2000 = 529121| footnote=|-->

As of 2000, there are 529,121 people residing in the city, organized into 223,737 households and 118,356 families. The population density is 1,521/km² (3,939.2/mi²). There are 237,307 housing units at an average density of 682.1/km² (1,766.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 77.91% White American, 6.64% African American, 6.33% Asian American, 1.06% Native Americans in the United States, 0.38% Pacific Islander American, 3.55% from Race (U.S. Census), and 4.15% from two or more races. 6.81% of the population are Hispanics in the United States of any race.

Out of 223,737 households, 24.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.1% are Marriage living together, 10.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 47.1% are non-families. 34.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.3 and the average family size is 3.

The age distribution was 21.1% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 34.7% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 97.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 95.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $40,146, and the median income for a family is $50,271. Males have a reported median income of $35,279 versus $29,344 reported for females. The per capita income for the city is $22,643. 13.1% of the population and 8.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 15.7% of those under the age of 18 and 10.4% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line. Oregon has a 9% income tax which tends to suppress accurate reporting. Figures delineating the income levels based on race are not available at this time.

Portland is becoming increasingly racially diverse. Recent trends have more young people moving into the city as older, more established white families with children move to the suburbs. Although the city has the highest percentage of white residents of an American city of 500,000 or more, 60% of people moving to Oregon are non-white.

However, though the population of the city is increasing, the total population of children is diminishing, which has put pressure on the public school system to close schools. A 2005 study found that Portland is now educating fewer children than it did in 1925, despite the city's population having almost doubled since then, and the city will have to close the equivalent of three to four elementary schools each year for the next decade.

Portland's public school system has remained racially imbalanced. As of the 2000 census, three of its high schools (Cleveland, Lincoln and Wilson) were over 70% white, while Jefferson High School was 86% non-white. The remaining four schools are more ethnically balanced.

The imbalance can be explained through Portland's demographic history. Before the Second World War, Portland had very few residents of non-European ethnicity, primarily because Portland (and Oregon as a state) was a Sundown town for much of its history. In 1940, Portland's African-American population was approximately 2,000 and largely consisted of railroad employees and their families. During the war-time Liberty Ship construction boom, the need for workers drew many blacks to the city. Because of institutionalized racism in the real-estate community at the time, this new influx of blacks was guided to specific neighborhoods, such as the Albina, Oregon district and Vanport, Oregon. The post-war destruction of Vanport, Oregon eliminated the only integrated neighborhood, and the ghettoization of blacks into the NE quadrant of the city continued.

Portland also possesses a strong LGBT population as one out of every seven unmarried couples in Multnomah County is a same-sex couple. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, for couples as a percentage of households in 212 large urban counties nationwide, Multnomah County ranked third in the number of lesbian couples, 11th in the number of gay couples and third in unmarried heterosexual couples.

Media newspaper box.The Oregonian is the only daily general-interest newspaper serving Portland, and circulates statewide.

Smaller local newspapers, distributed free of charge in newspaper boxes and at venues around the city, include the Portland Tribune (general-interest paper publishing twice a week), Willamette Week (general-interest alternative weekly), the The Portland Mercury (another weekly, targeted at younger urban readers), The Asian Reporter (newspaper) (a weekly covering Asian news, both international and local), and The Portland Chinese Times (a Chinese-language weekly).

Indymedia is one of the oldest and largest Independent Media Centers. The Portland Alliance, a largely anti-authoritarian socialist monthly, is the largest radical print paper in the city. Just Out, published in Portland twice monthly, is the region's foremost LGBT publication.

The Portland American City Business Journals, a weekly, covers business-related news, as does The Daily Journal of Commerce. Open Spaces is a quarterly magazine of society, culture, the environment and the arts. Portland Monthly is a monthly news and culture magazine. BarFly Magazine is a popular weekly periodical covering the city's nightlife and bar scene. Exotic Magazine is the major monthly magazine covering the city's adult entertainment and nightlife since 1993. The Mid-county Memo is a neighborhood newspaper serving the Gateway and Parkrose neighborhoods on Portland's east side. PORT is an art macroblog dedicated to the vibrant art scene that provides daily updates on the arty goings on around town. Oregon Business magazine covers business from a statewide perspective. Oregon Home magazine is the region's remodeling and decor publication.

Portland is well served by television and radio. The metro area is the 23rd largest Designated market area (DMA) in the U.S., consisting of 1,086,900 homes and 0.992% of the U.S. market. The major network television affiliates include:

Parks and attractions Portland is proud of its parks and its legacy of preserving open spaces. Parks and Greenspace planning dates back to John Charles Olmsted's 1903 Report to the Portland Park Board, inspiring generations of urban greenspace advocates. In 1995, voters in the Portland metropolitan region passed a regional bond measure to acquire valuable natural areas for fish, wildlife, and people. Ten years later, more than of ecologically valuable natural areas had been purchased and permanently protected for the public.

Portland along with Bend, Oregon are the only cities in the Continental United States with extinct volcanos within their boundaries. Mount Tabor, Portland, Oregon was inadvertently built on one of Portland's; it is known for its scenic views and historic reservoirs.

Forest Park (Portland) is among the largest wilderness parks within city limits in the United States, covering over 5,000 acres (20 km²). Portland is also home to Mill Ends Park, the world's smallest park (a two-foot-diameter circle, the park's area is only about 0.3 square m). Washington Park, Portland is just west of downtown, and is home to the Oregon Zoo, the Portland Japanese Garden, and the International Rose Test Garden.

seen from the north.Tom McCall Waterfront Park runs along the west bank of the Willamette for the length of downtown. The 37 acre (150,000 m²) park was built in 1974 after Harbor Drive was removed and now plays host to large events throughout the year. Portland's downtown also features two groups of contiguous city blocks dedicated for park space; they are referred to as the North and South Park Blocks.

The only state park in Portland is Tryon Creek State Park; its creek still has a run of rainbow trout. Adjacent to the park is the Tryon Life Community Farm, an aspiring urban ecovillage and educational center.

The Beverly Cleary Sculpture Garden, which immortalizes three of Beverly Cleary's best known characters with bronze sculptures, quote plaques, and a fountain, is located in Grant Park, Portland, Oregon, just a few blocks from the real Klickitat Street of "Henry Huggins" fame.

Leach Botanical Garden is a 15.6 acre botanical garden in the Southeast section of the city, emphasizing plants of the Pacific Northwest.Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden is a 9.49 acre garden in the Southeast section of the city, adjoining Reed College, featuring more than 2,500 rhododendron, azalea, and companion plants.

Hoyt Arboretum is a much-beloved Portland open space, covering of ridge-top about two miles (3 km) west of downtown. It is home to a collection of trees representing more than 1,100 species gathered from around the world.

Audubon Society, founded 1903, is one of the largest local Audubon chapters in the country with over 10,000 members. The Chapter's book store, wildlife care center, and administrative offices are located on a sanctuary nestled against Forest Park only 5 minutes from downtown Portland. The sanctuary trails are open to the public.

Arts and culture , home of the Oregon Symphony, among others.Portland is home to a diverse array of artists and arts organizations, and was named in 2006 by American Style (magazine) magazine as the 10th best Big City Arts Destination in the U.S.

Major performing arts institutions include the Oregon Ballet Theatre, Oregon Symphony, Portland Center Stage, and the Portland Opera. Over 75 other arts organizations produce theatre, music, dance, folk art, media arts in Portland, helping Portland achieve its reputation as an arts destination for cultural tourists.

Some of the town's many theater companies include the following: Portland Center Stage, Artist Repertory Theater, Theater Vertigo, Northwest Children's Theater, Stumptown Stages, Oregon Children's Theater, Miracle Theater, Blue Monkey Theater Company, Northwest Classical Theater Company, Third Rail Repertory Theater and Profile Theater

The Portland Art Museum owns the city's largest art collection and presents a variety of touring exhibitions each year and with the recent addition of the Modern and Contemporary Art wing it became one of the United States' 25 largest museums. Art galleries abound downtown and in the Pearl District, as well as in the Alberta Arts District and other neighborhoods throughout the city. Other organizations displaying visual arts include the Portland Art Center, Disjecta, and Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA).

The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) is located on the east bank of the Willamette River across from downtown Portland, and contains a variety of hands-on exhibits covering the physical sciences, life science, earth science, technology, astronomy, and early childhood education. OMSI also has an OMNIMAX Theater and is home to the USS Blueback (SS-581) submarine (which was featured in the film The Hunt for Red October).

above the entry to the Portland Building on SW 5th Avenue.Portland is also home to Portland Classical Chinese Garden, an authentic representation of a Suzhou-style walled garden. Local construction workers provided the site preparation and foundation, and dozens of workers from Suzhou, using material from China, constructed its walls and other structures, including a tea house.

Portlandia, a statue on the west side of the Portland Building, is the second-largest hammered-copper statue in the U.S. (after the Statue of Liberty). Portland's public art is managed by the Regional Arts & Culture Council.

Powell's City of Books says it is the largest independent bookstore in the United States and the largest bookstore west of the Mississippi River.

Beer ' Hefeweizen.Portland is well-known for its microbrewery beer. It is often said that Portland is the home of the microbrew revolution in the United States. Some illustrate Portlanders' interest in the alcoholic beverage by an offer made in 1888, when local brewer Henry Weinhard volunteered to pump beer from his brewery into the newly dedicated Skidmore Fountain. However, the renown for quality beer dates to the 1980s, when state law was changed to allow consumption of beer on brewery premises. In short order, microbrewery and brewpubs began to pop up all over the city. Their growth was supported by the abundance of local ingredients, including two-row barley, over a dozen varieties of hop (plant), and pure water from the Bull Run Watershed.

Today, with 28 breweries within the city, Portland is home to more breweries than any other city in the country. The McMenamins alone have over thirty brewpubs, distilleries, and wineries scattered throughout the metropolitan area, several in renovated movie theater and other old buildings otherwise destined for demolition. Other notable Portland brewers include Widmer Brothers Brewing Company, BridgePort Brewing Company, and Hair of the Dog Brewing Company, as well as numerous smaller quality brewers. In 1999, author Michael Jackson (writer) called Portland a candidate for the beer capital of the world because the city boasted more breweries than Cologne, Germany. The Portland Oregon Visitors Association is promoting "Beervana" and "Brewtopia" as nicknames for the city. In mid-January of 2006, Mayor Tom Potter officially gave the city a new nickname-- Beertown.

Portland hosts a number of festivals throughout the year in celebration of beer, including the Oregon Brewers Festival. Held each July, it is the largest gathering of independent craft brewers in North America. Other major beer festivals throughout the calendar year are: the Spring Beer and Wine Festival in April, the Portland International Beerfest in July, and the Holiday Ale Festival in December.

An unusual feature of Portland entertainment is the large number of movie theaters that serve beer, often with second-run or revival films. Examples include the Academy Theater, The Bagdad Theater and Pub, Clinton Street Theater, Edgefield, Kennedy School, Laurelhurst Theater, and Mission Theater.

Cuisine Portland has a growing restaurant scene, and among three nominees, was recognized by the Food Network Awards as their "Delicious Destination of the Year: A rising city with a fast-growing food scene" for 2007.

Sports , home of the Portland Trail Blazers, the only top-level sports team in Oregon.Portland has one major league sports team (the Trail Blazers) and a variety of minor league teams. Running is a major sport in the metropolitan area, which hosts the Portland Marathon and much of the Hood to Coast Relay (the world's largest such event). Skiing and snowboarding are also {{Infobox Settlement|official_name = Portland, Oregon|settlement_type = City and the state of [Oregon|subdivision_type1 = [Political divisions of the United States|subdivision_type2 = List of counties in Oregon|subdivision_name = United States ]|subdivision_name2 = Multnomah County, Oregon|government_type =|leader_title = Mayor|leader_title1 = Commissioners|leader_name1 = [Sam Adams (Oregon politician)Randy LeonardDan SaltzmanErik Sten|established_title = [Municipal corporation|established_date = February 8 1851|utc_offset = -8|timezone_DST = [Pacific Daylight Time|utc_offset_DST = -7|postal_code_type = ZIP codes]|latd = 45 |latm = 31 |lats = 12 |latNS = N|longd = 122 |longm = 40 |longs = 55 |longEW = W|elevation_m = 15.2|elevation_ft = 50|blank_name = Federal Information Processing Standard|blank_info = 41-59000|blank1_name = Geographic Names Information System feature ID|blank1_info = 1136645|footnotes =-->Portland is a city located near the confluence of the Willamette River and Columbia River rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. With a population of 562,690 PSU:Population Research Center it is Oregon's most populous city, and the third most populous city in the Pacific Northwest, after Seattle, Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia. Approximately two million people live in Portland metropolitan area (United States metropolitan area), the 23rd most populous in the United States as of July 2006.

Portland was incorporated in 1851 and is the county seat of Multnomah County, Oregon; it extends slightly into Washington County, Oregon and Clackamas County, Oregon Counties as well.

The city and region are noted for strong land-use planning and investment in public transport, supported by Metro (Oregon regional government), a distinctive regional-government scheme. Portland lies in the Marine West Coast climate region, which is marked by warm summers and rainy but temperate winters. This climate is ideal for growing roses, and for more than a century Portland has been known as "The City of Roses," with many rose gardens – most prominently the International Rose Test Garden. Portland is also known for its large number of microbrewery, and as the home of the Portland Trail Blazers National Basketball Association team.

History Portland started as a spot known as "the clearing", which was on the banks of the Willamette about halfway between Oregon City, Oregon and Fort Vancouver. In 1843, William Overton (Portland founder) saw great commercial potential for this land, but lacked the funds required to file a land claim. He struck a bargain with his partner Asa Lovejoy of Boston, Massachusetts: for quarter (U.S. coin), Overton would share his claim to the 640 acre (2.6 km²) site. Overton later sold his half of the claim to Francis W. Pettygrove of Portland, Maine. Pettygrove and Lovejoy both wished to name the new city after their own home town; this was decided with a coin toss, which Pettygrove won.

At the time of its incorporation on February 8, 1851 Portland had over 800 inhabitants,Gibson, Campbell (June 1998). Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990. U.S. Bureau of the Census - Population Division. a steam sawmill, a log cabin hotel, and a newspaper, the The Oregonian. By 1879, the population had grown to 17,500.

Portland's location, with access both to the Pacific Ocean via the Willamette and the Columbia rivers and to the agricultural Tualatin Valley via the "Great Plank Road" through a canyon in the West Hills (the route of current-day U.S. Highway 26), gave it an advantage over nearby ports, and it grew quickly."City keeps lively pulse." (Spencer Heinz, The Oregonian, January 23, 2001) It remained the major port in the Pacific Northwest for much of the 19th century, until the 1890s, when Seattle, Washington's deepwater harbor was connected to the rest of the mainland by rail, affording an inland route without the treacherous navigation of the Columbia River. During this time, corruption in the government allowed for some very unsavory activities to go on as well: "white slavery", specifically including the abduction of men to be used as forced labor on sailing ships, was so common that a network of underground tunnels, formerly used to transport goods from the river to nearby hotels and bars, was coopted to accommodate the practice. (See the Portland Underground, also known as the "Shanghai Tunnels.")http://cgsmthood.com/shanghai/history.phpThe first known reference to Portland as "The City of Roses" was made by visitors to an 1888 Episcopal Church in the United States of America convention, the nickname growing in popularity after the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition where Mayor Harry Lane suggested that the city needed a "festival of roses" City Flower. City of Portland Auditor's Office - City Recorder Division.. The first Portland Rose Festival was held two years later and remains the city's major annual festival a century later.

Law and government , .The city of Portland is governed by the Portland, Oregon City Council, which includes the Mayor and four other Commissioners; and an auditor. Each is elected citywide to serve a four year term. The auditor provides checks and balances in the commission form of government and accountability for the use of public resources. In addition, the auditor provides access to information for all Council members and the public and issues reports on various matters of city government.

The city's Office of Neighborhood Involvement serves as a conduit between city government and Portland, Oregon neighborhoods, which are grouped into seven coalitions.

Portland and its surrounding metropolitan area are also served by Metro (Oregon regional government), the United States' only directly elected regional government. Metro's charter includes land use and transportation planning, solid waste management, and map development. It also owns and operates the Oregon Convention Center, Oregon Zoo, Portland Center for Performing Arts, and Portland Metropolitan Exposition Center. The Multnomah County, Oregon government also provides many services to the Portland area, along with that of Washington County, Oregon and Clackamas County, Oregon Counties to the west and south.

Since the 1950s, if not earlier, Portland has strongly favored the United States Democratic Party at all levels of government. Although local elections are nonpartisan, most of the city's elected officials are Democrats. Democrats also dominate the city's delegation to the Oregon Legislature.

Federally, Portland is split between three congressional districts. Most of the city is in the Oregon's 3rd congressional district, represented by Earl Blumenauer, who served on the city council from 1986 until his election to Congress in 1996. Most of the city west of the Willamette River is part of the Oregon's 1st congressional district, represented by David Wu. A small portion of the city is in the Oregon's 5th congressional district, represented by Darlene Hooley. All three are Democrats; a United States Republican Party has not represented a significant portion of Portland since 1975. Oregon's senior United States Senate, Ron Wyden, is from Portland.

Planning and development Portland is often cited as an example of a city with strong land use planning controls; This is largely the result of statewide land conservation policies adopted in 1973 under Governor Tom McCall, in particular the requirement for an urban growth boundary (UGB) for every city and metropolitan area. The opposite extreme, a city with few or no controls, is typically illustrated by Houston, Texas.

Portland's urban growth boundary, adopted in 1979, separates urban areas (where high-density development is encouraged and focused) from traditional farm land (where restrictions on non-agricultural development are very strict). This was atypical in an era when automobile use led many areas to neglect their core cities in favor of development along interstate highways, in suburbs, and satellite city.

As a result, one can see pastoral farmlands and old red barns within of downtown Portland, literally across the street from large suburban developments (where that street is the urban growth boundary.) Opponents argue that this growth boundary has limited growth and increased the costs of housing; proponents argue that it has preserved valuable farmland, made possible the popular farmer's markets in Portland, and brought more efficient public transportation and less traffic than similarly sized cities.

As the population has grown, and undeveloped land inside the urban growth boundary has dwindled, there has been pressure to change or relax the rules. The rapid growth of two major employers in Washington County, namely Nike, Inc. and Intel, contributed to this pressure.

The original state rules included a provision for expanding urban growth boundaries, but critics felt this wasn't being accomplished. In 1995, the State Legislature ordered cities to expand UGBs to provide enough undeveloped land for a 20 year supply of future housing at projected levels, and to complete the newest expansion by the end of 1999.



The Portland Development Commission is a semi-public agency that plays a major role in downtown development; it was created by city voters in 1958 to serve as the city’s urban renewal agency. It provides housing and economic development programs within the city, and works behind the scenes with major local developers to create large projects. It has been criticized for clubbiness and lack of transparency.

In the early 1960s, the PDC led the razing of a large Italian-Jewish neighborhood downtown, bounded roughly by the I-405 freeway, the Willamette River, 4th Avenue and Market street. It was replaced by concrete office developments that proponents find clean and modern, and opponents find antiseptic and lifeless at night.

Mayor Neil Goldschmidt took office in the 1970s as a proponent of bringing housing and the associated vitality back to the downtown area, which was seen as emptying out after 5pm. The effort has had dramatic effects in the 30 years since, with many thousands of new housing units clustered in 3 areas; west of Portland State University (between the I-405 freeway, SW Broadway, and SW Taylor St.); the RiverPlace development along the waterfront under the Marquam (I-5) bridge; and most notably in the Pearl District (between I-405, Burnside St., NW Northrup St., and NW 9th Ave.).

The Urban Greenspaces Institute, housed in Portland State University Geography Department's Center for Mapping Research, promotes better integration of the built and natural environments. The institute works on urban park, trail, and natural areas planning issues, both at the local and regional levels.

In 2006, Portland was ranked overall number 1 of 50 U.S. cities by the organization SustainLane on quality of life and economic factors that affect personal sustainability. According to Grist Magazine, Portland is the second most eco-friendly city in the world.

Free speech Because of strong free speech protections of the Oregon Constitution, Portland reportedly has more strip clubs per capita than both Las Vegas and San Francisco.

Geography and climate in the background.Portland lies at the northern end of Oregon's most populated region, the Willamette Valley. (As the metropolitan area is culturally and politically distinct from the rest of the valley, local usage often excludes Portland from the valley proper.) Although almost all of Portland lies within Multnomah County, small portions of the city lie within Clackamas County, Oregon and Washington County, Oregon counties, with mid-2005 populations estimated at 785 and 1,455, respectively. The Willamette River runs north through the city center, separating the southwest and southeast quadrants of the city, before veering slightly northwest to join with the Columbia River (which separates the state of Washington from the state of Oregon) a short distance north of the city.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 145.4 square mile (376.5 square kilometre). 134.3 mi² (347.9 km²) of it is land and 11.1 mi² (28.6 km²), or 7.6%, is water.

Portland lies on top of an extinct Plio-Pleistocene volcanic field known as the Boring Lava Field. The Lava Field includes at least 32 cinder cones such as Mount Tabor, Portland, Oregon, and its center lies in Southeast Portland. The potentially active volcano Mount Hood, to the east of Portland, is easily visible from much of the city, and the active volcano Mount Saint Helens, to the north in Washington, is visible in the distance from high-elevation locations in the city, and is close enough to have dusted the city with volcanic ash during its spectacular 1980 eruption.

Climate Portland's climate is temperate and seasonal. The rainfall averages 36.3 inches per year. Portland averages 155 days with measurable Precipitation (meteorology) a year. Snowfall is uncommon, generally occurring no more than a few times per year, although the city has been known to see major snow and ice storms thanks to cold air outflow from the Columbia River Gorge. The city's winter snowfall totals have ranged from just a trace on many occasions, to 1,547 mm (60.9 inches) in 1892-93. Although it lies in the Marine west coast climate zone, Portland shows many characteristics of a Mediterranean climate. The city has mild, wet winters, and hot, dry summers. The summer months (June through September) mark the driest period, averaging no more than one inch of rain per month, but it is not uncommon for summer months to receive little or no precipitation. November through April is the rainy season, with 80% of the total annual rainfall occurring in those months. Winter low temperatures hover around 35 °F (2 °C), and summer highs average around 27 °C (80 °F), however summer heat waves with temperatures exceeding 38 °C (100 °F) do occur. But for the most part, the Portland summers are very pleasant with abundant sunshine. The lowest temperature ever recorded in Portland was −19 °C (−3 °F), set on February 2 1950. Portland has recorded a record high temperature of 42 °C (107 °F) numerous times, and temperatures of 38 °C (100 °F) have been recorded in each of the months from May through September.

{]
(inches) Portland's Monthly and Annual Precipitation Totals. National Weather Service Portland, Oregon. Retrieved 2007-September 19.| style="background: #28B; color: white;" | 135.9
(5.35)| style="background: #28B; color: white;" | 97.8
(3.85)| style="background: #4AD; color: white;" | 90.4
(3.56)| style="background: #4AD; color: white;" | 60.7
(2.39)| style="background: #4AD; color: white;" | 52.3
(2.06)| style="background: #6CF;" | 37.6
(1.48)| style="background: #6CF;" | 16.0
(0.63)| style="background: #6CF;" | 27.7
(1.09)| style="background: #6CF;" | 44.5
(1.75)| style="background: #4AD; color: white;" | 67.8
(2.67)| style="background: #28B; color: white;" | 135.6
(5.34)| style="background: #28B; color: white;" | 155.7
(6.13)| style="background: #CCC;" | 922.0
(36.30)|}

Sections and neighborhoods Portland straddles the Willamette River near its confluence with the Columbia River. The denser and earlier-developed west side is mostly hemmed in by the nearby Tualatin Mountains, though it extends over them to the border with Washington County. The flatter east side fans out for about 180 blocks, until it meets the suburb of Gresham, Oregon. Rural Multnomah County lies farther east.

In 1891 the cities of Portland, Albina, Oregon, and East Portland, Oregon were consolidated, and duplicate street names were given new names. The "great renumbering" on September 2, 1931 standardized street naming patterns, and changed house numbers from 20 per block to 100 per block. It divided Portland into five sections: Southwest, Southeast, Northwest, North, and Northeast. Burnside St. divides north and south, and the Willamette River divides east and west. The river curves west five blocks north of Burnside and in place of it, Williams Ave. is used as a divider. The North section lies between Williams Ave. and the Willamette River to the west.

The streets of Portland are for the most part laid out on a grid, with named "streets" running perpendicular to the Willamette River and numbered "avenues" running parallel to (and with numbers increasing with distance from) the river. The grid breaks down in hilly regions, particularly in the West Hills, where roads follow the contours of elevation. The "logic" of the grid also breaks down slightly in the North section: it's the only section on the east side where address numbers go higher towards the river. In the rest of the east side, the numbers go lower towards the river.

On the west side, the RiverPlace, John's Landing and South Waterfront Districts lie in a "sixth quadrant" where addresses go higher from west to east toward the river. This "sixth quadrant" is roughly bounded by Naito Parkway and Barbur Boulevard to the west, Montgomery Street to the north and Nevada Street to the south.

Southwest , with Fox Tower in the background.Downtown Portland lies in the Southwest section between the I-405 freeway loop and the Willamette River, centered around Pioneer Courthouse Square ("Portland's living room"). Downtown and many other parts of inner Portland have compact square blocks (200 ft m on a side) and narrow streets (64 ft m wide), a pedestrian-friendly combination.

Many of Portland's recreational, cultural, educational, governmental, business, and retail resources are concentrated downtown, including:

Beyond downtown, the Southwest section also includes:



Northwest Northwest Portland includes the Pearl District, Portland, Oregon, most of Old Town Chinatown, Portland, Oregon, the Northwest District, Portland, Oregon, and various residential and industrial neighborhoods. A range of streets in Northwest Portland are named alphabetically, from Ankeny (actually one block South Of Burnside, which, even though it is technically the divider between north and south, is the "B" street in the alphabetical sequence) north to Yeon. (Several characters in Portland native Matt Groening's TV show The Simpsons have names based on these: Ned Flanders, the bully Kearney (Simpsons), Reverend Lovejoy, Mayor Quimby, Milhouse Van Houten (actually in North Portland), and possibly C. Montgomery Burns. Contrary to popular belief, the character [Sideshow Bob is not named after SW Terwilliger Boulevard in Southwest Portland.

The Pearl District is a recent name for a former warehouse and industrial area just north of downtown. Many of the warehouses have been converted into lofts, and new multistory condominium (housing)s have also been developed on previously vacant land. The increasing density has attracted a mix of restaurants, brewpubs, shops, and art galleries. The galleries sponsor simultaneous artists' receptions on the first Thursday of every month.

Between the Pearl District and the Willamette is the Old Town Chinatown neighborhood. It includes Portland's Chinatown, marked by a pair of foo dog at its entrance at NW 4th Ave. and W Burnside St. and home to the Portland Classical Chinese Garden. Before World War II, this area was known as Japan Town or Little Tokyo; Chinatown was previously located just south of W. Burnside St. along the riverfront.

Further west is the compact but thriving NW 21st and 23rd Avenue restaurant and retail area, the core of the Northwest District. Parts of this area are also called Uptown and Nob Hill. The residential areas adjacent to the shopping district include the Alphabet Historic District (with large Victorian and Craftsman homes built in the years before and shortly after 1900) and a large district centered around Wallace Park. The neighborhood has a mix of Victorian-era houses, apartment buildings from throughout the 20th century, and various businesses centered around Legacy Good Samaritan Medical Center. The Portland Streetcar connects Nob Hill to downtown, via the Pearl.

West of the developed areas is the northern portion of Portland's West Hills, including the majority of extensive Forest Park (Portland).

North .North Portland is a diverse mixture of residential, commercial, and industrial areas. It includes the Portland International Raceway, the University of Portland, and massive cargo facilities of the Port of Portland. Slang-names for it include "NoPo" (shortened from North Portland) and "the Fifth Quadrant" (for being the odd-man out from the four-cornered logic of SE, NE, SW, and NW).

North Portland is connected to the industrial area of Northwest Portland by the St. Johns Bridge, a long suspension bridge completed in 1931 and extensively rehabilitated in 2003-5.

During World War II, a planned development named Vanport, Oregon was constructed to the north of this section between the city limits and the Columbia River. It grew to be the second largest city in Oregon, but was wiped out by a disastrous flood in 1948. Columbia Villa, another wartime housing project in the Portsmouth Neighborhood, is being rebuilt; the new $150 million community is known as New Columbia and offers public housing, rental housing, and single family home ownership units. Since 2004, a MAX Yellow Line, which parallels I-5, stopping short of crossing the Columbia River.

Northeast in NE Portland.

Northeast Portland contains a diverse collection of neighborhoods. For example, while Irvington, Portland, Oregon and the Alameda, Portland, Oregon boast some of the oldest and most expensive homes in Portland, nearby King is a more working-class neighborhood. Because it is so large, Northeast Portland can essentially be divided ethnically, culturally, and geographically into inner and outer sections. The inner Northeast neighborhoods that surround Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. were once predominantly African American, resembling typical urban inner-city environments found in most major U.S. cities. That is now changing due to the process of gentrification. Inner Northeast includes several shopping areas, such as the Lloyd District, Alberta Street, Portland, Oregon Arts District and Hollywood District, and part of the affluent Irvington, Alameda, and Laurelhurst neighborhoods and nearby developments. The city plan targets Lloyd District as another mixed-use area, with high-density residential development.

At the base of Northeast is the Rose Quarter. It is named after the Rose Garden Arena, home of the Portland Trail Blazers, and also includes the Blazers' former home, the Memorial Coliseum. The Coliseum is the home to Portland's hockey team, the Portland Winter Hawks, of the Western Hockey League, though they often play at the Rose Garden. The newest Rose Quarter tenants are the Portland LumberJax of the National Lacrosse League. The city still holds the lease to the land and owns the Coliseum, but the Rose Garden and other buildings were owned by private business interests until they went into receivership. The area is quite active during the teams' home games, and the city hopes to extend the activity by promoting a major increase in residential units in the quarter using zoning and tax incentives.

Southeast in the Hawthorne, Portland, Oregon district.Southeast Portland stretches from the warehouses along the Willamette, through the historic Ladd's Addition to the Hawthorne, Portland, Oregon and Belmont, Portland, Oregon districts out to Gresham. Southeast Portland initially tended toward the blue-collar but, with its lower real-estate prices, has since evolved to encompass a wide mix of backgrounds; inner southeast is something of a haven for hippies, hipsters, and environmentalists, while the outer edges remain populated by an increasingly diverse, largely working-class population constituted of significantly large immigrant communities from Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia. The Hawthorne district in particular is known for its hippie/radical crowd and small subculturally-oriented shops; not far away is Reed College with its counter-cultural flavor and strong intellectual, anti-establishment tradition.

Between the 1920s and the 1960s, Southeast was home to Lambert Gardens. Southeast Portland also features Mount Tabor, Oregon, a dormant volcano that has become one of Portland’s more scenic and popular parks.

People and culture Demographics {{USCensusPop|1850 = 821|1860 = 2874|1870 = 8293|1880 = 17577|1890 = 46385|1900 = 90426|1910 = 207214|1920 = 258288|1930 = 301815|1940 = 305394|1950 = 373628|1960 = 372676|1970 = 382619|1980 = 366383|1990 = 437319|2000 = 529121| footnote=|-->

As of 2000, there are 529,121 people residing in the city, organized into 223,737 households and 118,356 families. The population density is 1,521/km² (3,939.2/mi²). There are 237,307 housing units at an average density of 682.1/km² (1,766.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 77.91% White American, 6.64% African American, 6.33% Asian American, 1.06% Native Americans in the United States, 0.38% Pacific Islander American, 3.55% from Race (U.S. Census), and 4.15% from two or more races. 6.81% of the population are Hispanics in the United States of any race.

Out of 223,737 households, 24.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.1% are Marriage living together, 10.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 47.1% are non-families. 34.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.3 and the average family size is 3.

The age distribution was 21.1% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 34.7% from 25 to 44, 22.4% from 45 to 64, and 11.6% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 35 years. For every 100 females there are 97.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 95.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city is $40,146, and the median income for a family is $50,271. Males have a reported median income of $35,279 versus $29,344 reported for females. The per capita income for the city is $22,643. 13.1% of the population and 8.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 15.7% of those under the age of 18 and 10.4% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line. Oregon has a 9% income tax which tends to suppress accurate reporting. Figures delineating the income levels based on race are not available at this time.

Portland is becoming increasingly racially diverse. Recent trends have more young people moving into the city as older, more established white families with children move to the suburbs. Although the city has the highest percentage of white residents of an American city of 500,000 or more, 60% of people moving to Oregon are non-white.

However, though the population of the city is increasing, the total population of children is diminishing, which has put pressure on the public school system to close schools. A 2005 study found that Portland is now educating fewer children than it did in 1925, despite the city's population having almost doubled since then, and the city will have to close the equivalent of three to four elementary schools each year for the next decade.

Portland's public school system has remained racially imbalanced. As of the 2000 census, three of its high schools (Cleveland, Lincoln and Wilson) were over 70% white, while Jefferson High School was 86% non-white. The remaining four schools are more ethnically balanced.

The imbalance can be explained through Portland's demographic history. Before the Second World War, Portland had very few residents of non-European ethnicity, primarily because Portland (and Oregon as a state) was a Sundown town for much of its history. In 1940, Portland's African-American population was approximately 2,000 and largely consisted of railroad employees and their families. During the war-time Liberty Ship construction boom, the need for workers drew many blacks to the city. Because of institutionalized racism in the real-estate community at the time, this new influx of blacks was guided to specific neighborhoods, such as the Albina, Oregon district and Vanport, Oregon. The post-war destruction of Vanport, Oregon eliminated the only integrated neighborhood, and the ghettoization of blacks into the NE quadrant of the city continued.

Portland also possesses a strong LGBT population as one out of every seven unmarried couples in Multnomah County is a same-sex couple. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, for couples as a percentage of households in 212 large urban counties nationwide, Multnomah County ranked third in the number of lesbian couples, 11th in the number of gay couples and third in unmarried heterosexual couples.

Media newspaper box.The Oregonian is the only daily general-interest newspaper serving Portland, and circulates statewide.

Smaller local newspapers, distributed free of charge in newspaper boxes and at venues around the city, include the Portland Tribune (general-interest paper publishing twice a week), Willamette Week (general-interest alternative weekly), the The Portland Mercury (another weekly, targeted at younger urban readers), The Asian Reporter (newspaper) (a weekly covering Asian news, both international and local), and The Portland Chinese Times (a Chinese-language weekly).

Indymedia is one of the oldest and largest Independent Media Centers. The Portland Alliance, a largely anti-authoritarian socialist monthly, is the largest radical print paper in the city. Just Out, published in Portland twice monthly, is the region's foremost LGBT publication.

The Portland American City Business Journals, a weekly, covers business-related news, as does The Daily Journal of Commerce. Open Spaces is a quarterly magazine of society, culture, the environment and the arts. Portland Monthly is a monthly news and culture magazine. BarFly Magazine is a popular weekly periodical covering the city's nightlife and bar scene. Exotic Magazine is the major monthly magazine covering the city's adult entertainment and nightlife since 1993. The Mid-county Memo is a neighborhood newspaper serving the Gateway and Parkrose neighborhoods on Portland's east side. PORT is an art macroblog dedicated to the vibrant art scene that provides daily updates on the arty goings on around town. Oregon Business magazine covers business from a statewide perspective. Oregon Home magazine is the region's remodeling and decor publication.

Portland is well served by television and radio. The metro area is the 23rd largest Designated market area (DMA) in the U.S., consisting of 1,086,900 homes and 0.992% of the U.S. market. The major network television affiliates include:

Parks and attractions Portland is proud of its parks and its legacy of preserving open spaces. Parks and Greenspace planning dates back to John Charles Olmsted's 1903 Report to the Portland Park Board, inspiring generations of urban greenspace advocates. In 1995, voters in the Portland metropolitan region passed a regional bond measure to acquire valuable natural areas for fish, wildlife, and people. Ten years later, more than of ecologically valuable natural areas had been purchased and permanently protected for the public.

Portland along with Bend, Oregon are the only cities in the Continental United States with extinct volcanos within their boundaries. Mount Tabor, Portland, Oregon was inadvertently built on one of Portland's; it is known for its scenic views and historic reservoirs.

Forest Park (Portland) is among the largest wilderness parks within city limits in the United States, covering over 5,000 acres (20 km²). Portland is also home to Mill Ends Park, the world's smallest park (a two-foot-diameter circle, the park's area is only about 0.3 square m). Washington Park, Portland is just west of downtown, and is home to the Oregon Zoo, the Portland Japanese Garden, and the International Rose Test Garden.

seen from the north.Tom McCall Waterfront Park runs along the west bank of the Willamette for the length of downtown. The 37 acre (150,000 m²) park was built in 1974 after Harbor Drive was removed and now plays host to large events throughout the year. Portland's downtown also features two groups of contiguous city blocks dedicated for park space; they are referred to as the North and South Park Blocks.

The only state park in Portland is Tryon Creek State Park; its creek still has a run of rainbow trout. Adjacent to the park is the Tryon Life Community Farm, an aspiring urban ecovillage and educational center.

The Beverly Cleary Sculpture Garden, which immortalizes three of Beverly Cleary's best known characters with bronze sculptures, quote plaques, and a fountain, is located in Grant Park, Portland, Oregon, just a few blocks from the real Klickitat Street of "Henry Huggins" fame.

Leach Botanical Garden is a 15.6 acre botanical garden in the Southeast section of the city, emphasizing plants of the Pacific Northwest.Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden is a 9.49 acre garden in the Southeast section of the city, adjoining Reed College, featuring more than 2,500 rhododendron, azalea, and companion plants.

Hoyt Arboretum is a much-beloved Portland open space, covering of ridge-top about two miles (3 km) west of downtown. It is home to a collection of trees representing more than 1,100 species gathered from around the world.

Audubon Society, founded 1903, is one of the largest local Audubon chapters in the country with over 10,000 members. The Chapter's book store, wildlife care center, and administrative offices are located on a sanctuary nestled against Forest Park only 5 minutes from downtown Portland. The sanctuary trails are open to the public.

Arts and culture , home of the Oregon Symphony, among others.Portland is home to a diverse array of artists and arts organizations, and was named in 2006 by American Style (magazine) magazine as the 10th best Big City Arts Destination in the U.S.

Major performing arts institutions include the Oregon Ballet Theatre, Oregon Symphony, Portland Center Stage, and the Portland Opera. Over 75 other arts organizations produce theatre, music, dance, folk art, media arts in Portland, helping Portland achieve its reputation as an arts destination for cultural tourists.

Some of the town's many theater companies include the following: Portland Center Stage, Artist Repertory Theater, Theater Vertigo, Northwest Children's Theater, Stumptown Stages, Oregon Children's Theater, Miracle Theater, Blue Monkey Theater Company, Northwest Classical Theater Company, Third Rail Repertory Theater and Profile Theater

The Portland Art Museum owns the city's largest art collection and presents a variety of touring exhibitions each year and with the recent addition of the Modern and Contemporary Art wing it became one of the United States' 25 largest museums. Art galleries abound downtown and in the Pearl District, as well as in the Alberta Arts District and other neighborhoods throughout the city. Other organizations displaying visual arts include the Portland Art Center, Disjecta, and Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA).

The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI) is located on the east bank of the Willamette River across from downtown Portland, and contains a variety of hands-on exhibits covering the physical sciences, life science, earth science, technology, astronomy, and early childhood education. OMSI also has an OMNIMAX Theater and is home to the USS Blueback (SS-581) submarine (which was featured in the film The Hunt for Red October).

above the entry to the Portland Building on SW 5th Avenue.Portland is also home to Portland Classical Chinese Garden, an authentic representation of a Suzhou-style walled garden. Local construction workers provided the site preparation and foundation, and dozens of workers from Suzhou, using material from China, constructed its walls and other structures, including a tea house.

Portlandia, a statue on the west side of the Portland Building, is the second-largest hammered-copper statue in the U.S. (after the Statue of Liberty). Portland's public art is managed by the Regional Arts & Culture Council.

Powell's City of Books says it is the largest independent bookstore in the United States and the largest bookstore west of the Mississippi River.

Beer ' Hefeweizen.Portland is well-known for its microbrewery beer. It is often said that Portland is the home of the microbrew revolution in the United States. Some illustrate Portlanders' interest in the alcoholic beverage by an offer made in 1888, when local brewer Henry Weinhard volunteered to pump beer from his brewery into the newly dedicated Skidmore Fountain. However, the renown for quality beer dates to the 1980s, when state law was changed to allow consumption of beer on brewery premises. In short order, microbrewery and brewpubs began to pop up all over the city. Their growth was supported by the abundance of local ingredients, including two-row barley, over a dozen varieties of hop (plant), and pure water from the Bull Run Watershed.

Today, with 28 breweries within the city, Portland is home to more breweries than any other city in the country. The McMenamins alone have over thirty brewpubs, distilleries, and wineries scattered throughout the metropolitan area, several in renovated movie theater and other old buildings otherwise destined for demolition. Other notable Portland brewers include Widmer Brothers Brewing Company, BridgePort Brewing Company, and Hair of the Dog Brewing Company, as well as numerous smaller quality brewers. In 1999, author Michael Jackson (writer) called Portland a candidate for the beer capital of the world because the city boasted more breweries than Cologne, Germany. The Portland Oregon Visitors Association is promoting "Beervana" and "Brewtopia" as nicknames for the city. In mid-January of 2006, Mayor Tom Potter officially gave the city a new nickname-- Beertown.

Portland hosts a number of festivals throughout the year in celebration of beer, including the Oregon Brewers Festival. Held each July, it is the largest gathering of independent craft brewers in North America. Other major beer festivals throughout the calendar year are: the Spring Beer and Wine Festival in April, the Portland International Beerfest in July, and the Holiday Ale Festival in December.

An unusual feature of Portland entertainment is the large number of movie theaters that serve beer, often with second-run or revival films. Examples include the Academy Theater, The Bagdad Theater and Pub, Clinton Street Theater, Edgefield, Kennedy School, Laurelhurst Theater, and Mission Theater.

Cuisine Portland has a growing restaurant scene, and among three nominees, was recognized by the Food Network Awards as their "Delicious Destination of the Year: A rising city with a fast-growing food scene" for 2007.

Sports , home of the Portland Trail Blazers, the only top-level sports team in Oregon.Portland has one major league sports team (the Trail Blazers) and a variety of minor league teams. Running is a major sport in the metropolitan area, which hosts the Portland Marathon and much of the Hood to Coast Relay (the world's largest such event). Skiing and snowboarding are also

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