Regional Planning Report: UXH433 - Metro Portland Case Study Analysis

This report provides an analysis of the Metro Portland case study, focusing on regional planning and urban development. It examines the historical context of Portland's growth, the establishment of Metro Portland, and the implementation of land-use policies such as the Urban Growth Boundary. The report highlights the role of the Oregon Land Conservation and Development Act and the involvement of organizations like 1000 Friends of Oregon in shaping planning goals. It discusses the evolution of regional governance, the importance of citizen involvement, and the challenges of balancing densification and transportation demands. The study emphasizes the significance of the Metro Portland model as a center for analysis and strategic action in the global economy, while also acknowledging the need for each region to develop its own unique approaches to urban planning and growth management. The report references key literature and provides a comprehensive overview of Portland's regional planning initiatives.

Running head: UXH433 REGIONAL PLANNING 1
UXH433 Regional Planning
Student’s Name
Name of Institution

UXH433 REGIONAL PLANNING 2
UXH433 Regional Planning
Regional planning entails systematic deployment of land-use activities, settlement
growth, and infrastructure over a greater piece of land than an individual or town. In the past,
little has been said about Australian cities in regards to urban development and regional
planning. Cities in Australia emerged and grew due to trade and colonies and were much
concentrated on the commercial sector of their usefulness. Australia managed to achieve on
average an upper-income class despite the increased inflow of immigrants as the counterparts
from North America faced an increase in slum development. The Portland metropolitan region
has drawn international attention for regional planning and governance. It has become a center of
information on how to plan and rule at a metropolitan scale (Richmond, 2016).
The Portland metropolitan region covers five counties in Oregon (Clackamas, Columbia,
Washington, Yamhill, and Multnomah). Its population as of 2016 was 2.39 million with the city
being inhabited by about 650 000 people. Approximately forty years ago, the Oregon state
embraced strong urban planning requirements, inclusive of the urban growth boundary. Of the
resulting policies, the two main objectives were densification and transforming travel demand to
transit from cars (Irazabal, 2017). Portland’s advancement toward these purposes has been
modest as most growth continued to be in the suburbs and employment continued to spread from
the core. Travel by car remained dominant as before and house prices went relatively high with
respect to income.
In 1973, the Oregon Land Conservation and Development act was passed by the state
senate and later signed into law. This law established a chassis for land use planning across
Oregon. It compelled every town and county to create a comprehensive plan for land use
(Glifford, 2016). Later on, the Senate bill was expanded onto the state-wide planning goals. In
1975, 1000 friends of Oregon was founded by the then governor, Tom McCall. It was a non-
profit watchdog organization pressing for and warranting compliance to the recently adopted
land-use-law. In the same year, there was the adoption of Oregon state-wide planning goals,
nineteen in total. They articulated the state’s policies on land use and subsequent topics such as
citizen involvement, housing, and natural resources. In 1978, Metro Portland was established
through a referendum. It was a directly elected regional government that covered the Oregon
portion of the Metro area. Its main responsibilities were; imposing state goals and growth

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management policies, more so the urban growth boundary, and collective planning approach
involving multiple stakeholders and levels of government (Thompson, 2012).
Metropolitan areas have increasingly become the centers for analysis and strategic action
in the current global economy. This is the era where the health and power of metropolitan
economies are used to evaluate national economies. Portland is of interest because it has a
regional government where citizens directly elect their legislators. Furthermore, it has a
collection of projects, interventions, and plans at a metropolitan scale.
Even though Portland’s experience is useful, researchers are advised to acknowledge that
each place must create its success. The experiences here are not given as perfect practices to be
applied directly in new settings, perhaps the trends can be altered.

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References
Glifford, L. J. (2016). The Making of an Unquiet Land-Use Revolution. Origon Historical
Quarterly, 117(1), 106.
Irazabal, C. (2017). City making and urban governance in the Americas: Curitiba and Portland.
Abingdon-on-Thames: Routledge.
Richmond, H. &. (2016). Looking Back at Planning Oregon. Metroscape: Portland University
State.
Thompson, S. &. (2012). Planning Australia: An Overview of Urban and Regional Planning
(2nd ed.). Cambridge: Cambride University Press. Retrieved from
https://www.amazon.com/Planning-Australia-Overview-Urban-Regional/dp/1107696240