Gentrification in Portland

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Portland ranks as the 4th fastest city gentrifying in the US. The Portland metro area had one of the largest median rent increases in the country in 2017 and the surging rent prices are not trending to slow down but rather to keep increasing in 2018. The current median rent in Portland sits at $1,879. This increase in rent has broken up and affected various communities that used to call Portland and in particular North Portland home.

It is extremely difficult to stop or slow down gentrification, and some may feel that gentrification may not be such a bad thing. I however feel that the displacement of residents and the breaking up of ethnically diverse communities is a tragic result of gentrification.

You may ask yourself, what can be done to combat such a complex issue? Living Cully, a collaboration formed in 2010 between Habitat for Humanity Portland/Metro East, Hacienda Community Development Corporation, Native American Youth and Family Center, and Verde, have answered this question. Living Cully strives to create a thriving neighborhood where investments are by and for the people who currently reside in the neighborhood. Living Cully works under the following goal areas:

·      Community development without displacement
·      Build employment and income opportunities for residents and businesses in the neighborhood
·      Community engagement through collective action, cultural expression, and clear avenues for communication
·      Expanding safe, high quality affordable housing in Cully.
·      Increase green infrastructure and environmental education in the neighborhood


Through this framework the Cully neighborhood has become one of the most diverse census tracts in Oregon. The development of a vibrant neighborhood does not have to come at a cost of displacing its current residents.

http://www.livingcully.org

http://www.kgw.com/article/news/local/portland-rents-among-fastest-rising-in-nation/283-501520125

https://www.colorlines.com/articles/gentrification-spotlight-how-portland-pushing-out-its-black-residents

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