The Portland Metropolitan Area's Urban Growth Boundary
Urban Growth Boundaries
An Urban Growth Boundary is exactly what it sounds like, a boundary that contains the growth of an urbanized area. Under Oregon law, all every city or metropolitan area in the state must have an urban growth boundary that separates urban land from rural land. In Portland, the Oregon Metro is responsible for managing the regions boundaries.
Urban Growth Boundaries are very important in controlling sprawl, restricting human impacts on environmental process, and creating a healthy, livable region. Growth boundaries are a key incentive to develop, and re-develop areas and buildings within the urban core, which helps to keep healthy downtowns and cultural centers. It provides a healthy framework of land on which to place infrastructure and developments. This assurance keeps property and land value up. Urban Growth Boundaries also create more efficient places by focusing development money on improving pre-existing infrastructure and developments, instead of funding additional roads and construction further away from the urban core, a key cause of urban sprawl.
An Urban Growth Boundary is exactly what it sounds like, a boundary that contains the growth of an urbanized area. Under Oregon law, all every city or metropolitan area in the state must have an urban growth boundary that separates urban land from rural land. In Portland, the Oregon Metro is responsible for managing the regions boundaries.
Urban Growth Boundaries are very important in controlling sprawl, restricting human impacts on environmental process, and creating a healthy, livable region. Growth boundaries are a key incentive to develop, and re-develop areas and buildings within the urban core, which helps to keep healthy downtowns and cultural centers. It provides a healthy framework of land on which to place infrastructure and developments. This assurance keeps property and land value up. Urban Growth Boundaries also create more efficient places by focusing development money on improving pre-existing infrastructure and developments, instead of funding additional roads and construction further away from the urban core, a key cause of urban sprawl.
Urban Growth Boundary in Portland
Portland Oregon is a unique example of an Urban Growth Boundary because its growth is not limited solely by the limits it chooses to put on itself. Due to its unique location is a fairly mountainous environment, Portland is also limited by the topography of the region. Developing on steep slopes and on unstable soil is a dangerous, expensive endeavor. Because of this, the metropolitan area is limited by the areas that it can build on. The map to the right shows Portland's growth boundary, as well as the topography lines of the environment. Not in particular the large ridge that dissects the city from North West to South East. This spine of mountainous land works its way right in to the downtown. How did Portland deal with this? They made it into parkland for the public's enjoyment. You can think of Portland's physical form as a container, and its urban growth as a liquid. It fills into the areas that are cheapest to build on, the flat ones.
This map also shows the growth of the urban growth boundary over time. The darkest red areas being the areas that were most recently approved to be added to the boundary.
Portland Oregon is a unique example of an Urban Growth Boundary because its growth is not limited solely by the limits it chooses to put on itself. Due to its unique location is a fairly mountainous environment, Portland is also limited by the topography of the region. Developing on steep slopes and on unstable soil is a dangerous, expensive endeavor. Because of this, the metropolitan area is limited by the areas that it can build on. The map to the right shows Portland's growth boundary, as well as the topography lines of the environment. Not in particular the large ridge that dissects the city from North West to South East. This spine of mountainous land works its way right in to the downtown. How did Portland deal with this? They made it into parkland for the public's enjoyment. You can think of Portland's physical form as a container, and its urban growth as a liquid. It fills into the areas that are cheapest to build on, the flat ones.
This map also shows the growth of the urban growth boundary over time. The darkest red areas being the areas that were most recently approved to be added to the boundary.