Baby Boomers and Millennials are fueling the renaissance of the American city. While Boomers are downsizing, young people, especially recent college graduates, are delaying buying homes and, perhaps, rejecting the suburban lifestyle altogether. Cities are rife with advantages for children: interaction with a diverse demographic and easy access to parks, schools, neighbors, and cultural institutions. At the same time, the adequacy of schools and affordable housing is a concern. These issues have been front and center in Portland for a decade, and a primary goal of the city's new comprehensive city plan is to make the Central City attractive to families.
Just as in other American cities, population fled downtown Portland after World War II. 25,000 people left the ten neighborhoods comprising the Central City before numbers stabilized in the 1980s. The 1988 Central City Plan set out to create a pedestrian friendly urban environment that supported a diverse mix of residents, workers, and visitors. Investments in transit, parks, and pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure fueled development and, by 2010, 12,000 housing units were added, a 300 percent increase. Projections are for another 35,000 housing units to come on line in the Central City by 2035, which will account for 30 percent of Portland’s population growth on just 3 percent of its land.
Just as in other American cities, population fled downtown Portland after World War II. 25,000 people left the ten neighborhoods comprising the Central City before numbers stabilized in the 1980s. The 1988 Central City Plan set out to create a pedestrian friendly urban environment that supported a diverse mix of residents, workers, and visitors. Investments in transit, parks, and pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure fueled development and, by 2010, 12,000 housing units were added, a 300 percent increase. Projections are for another 35,000 housing units to come on line in the Central City by 2035, which will account for 30 percent of Portland’s population growth on just 3 percent of its land.
For families there is both opportunity and adversity. Housing in the Central City is expensive, but approximately 30 percent of it is classified as affordable, the price equitable for those earning 80 percent or less of the region’s median family income (MFI). The problem is that 85 percent of units are either one bedroom or studios, which is not adequate to support the demand for family housing.
The Pearl District, which has a birth rate comparable to that of the established neighborhoods on the near eastside, is an important test case. Portrayed by critics as an elite high-priced neighborhood, 28 percent of the housing is classified as affordable, and its 2015 median income of $50,636 is less than the city’s average of $51,741. Its vibrant urban life and mix of parks, safe streets, and services is appealing to families. Young children can watch trains pass, ride streetcars, search for books at Powells, and splash in the rising and falling waters at Jamison Square. "It is just wonderful for a child because you are exposed to so many new sights, sounds, and smells," the mother of a four year old notes. http://lda.ucdavis.edu/people/websites/francis/FamilyFriendly.pdf
Exposed to a more diverse population than in the suburbs, children prosper from this variety of people and experience. Growing up in concert with adults enhances their vocabulary, conceptual understanding, and social skills, including the ability to read people and gauge their character. Moreover, exposure to the workings of society--the interdependence of business, government, and the arts--heightens a child’s ability to understand career opportunities and negotiate a path to adulthood. These attributes inspired the curriculum of the Emerson School, a charter school that opened in the Pearl District in 2003.
The Pearl District, which has a birth rate comparable to that of the established neighborhoods on the near eastside, is an important test case. Portrayed by critics as an elite high-priced neighborhood, 28 percent of the housing is classified as affordable, and its 2015 median income of $50,636 is less than the city’s average of $51,741. Its vibrant urban life and mix of parks, safe streets, and services is appealing to families. Young children can watch trains pass, ride streetcars, search for books at Powells, and splash in the rising and falling waters at Jamison Square. "It is just wonderful for a child because you are exposed to so many new sights, sounds, and smells," the mother of a four year old notes. http://lda.ucdavis.edu/people/websites/francis/FamilyFriendly.pdf
Exposed to a more diverse population than in the suburbs, children prosper from this variety of people and experience. Growing up in concert with adults enhances their vocabulary, conceptual understanding, and social skills, including the ability to read people and gauge their character. Moreover, exposure to the workings of society--the interdependence of business, government, and the arts--heightens a child’s ability to understand career opportunities and negotiate a path to adulthood. These attributes inspired the curriculum of the Emerson School, a charter school that opened in the Pearl District in 2003.
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| Emerson School on North Park Blocks |
The founders of the K-5 Emerson School wanted to make use of the neighborhood’s unique surroundings and they devoted the curriculum to the project approach, which invests students in experiential, hands-on education. Children have a strong disposition to explore and discover. The project approach builds on this natural curiosity by enabling students to step outside the classroom and question, problem-solve, and interact with experts. http://www.emersonschool.org/education/Project-Approach
An exemplar project was having student teams identify their favorite parks. Emerson is is ideally situated for this exercise. It is located next to the historic North Park Blocks and there are a series of parks within walking distance. Tanner Springs is the favorite. Its mix of native habitats and a restored wetland with a variety of fish and amphibians are magnets for exploration. Students map the site and trace how stormwater moves through the park and pollutants are filtered out before water flows east into the Willamette River. Experts share how Tanner Springs and the slew of bioswales being built throughout the Central City improve the water quality for the endangered Chinook and Steelhead Salmon. This effort is not only integral to the ecological health of the region, it has cultural benefits as well as the endangered salmon are icons of Native American culture.
Such lessons lie at the core of the Emerson School’s mission to inspire “life-long learners who see themselves as being engaged members of their communities whose actions can make a positive difference.” This task is ideally suited to the Pearl District. It is an urban laboratory where students learn the advantages that accure from caring for their immediate surroundings. Moreover, they glean the dynamcis of a place designed to be resilient in the face of rapid expansion, climate change, and declining resources.
The success of the Emerson School inveighed the need to make the Pearl District more family friendly. In the 2008 update to the Pearl District Development Plan, a primary objective was building “larger units to attract families.” The Great Recession blunted the initiative, but progress has ensured.
In 2012 the Ramona opened to families earning up to 60 percent of MFI and offered 138 family apartments (two and three bedroom units). The LEED certified building delivered three essential items families with young children desire: quality schools, play space, and safety. Located on a pedestrian scaled street, the neighborhood benefits from the “eyes on the street” that secures personal safety for both children and adults.
A special feature of the Ramona is an interior courtyard designed as a play space for toddlers. Since the 1920s, housing reformers in the United States have championed such spaces as integral to developing the mental acuity and social maturation of preschool children. In 1929 Radburn, New Jersey, a model community designed by Henry Wright and Clarence Stein, sited a system of interior greens that allowed children under five to enter a world of play by stepping out their front door. The Ramona offers similar access to recreation. Parents find seating on short walls with views of the play equipment, while the interior walkways are wide enough for two children’s tricycles to pass an adult.
In 2016, Chapman Elementary School, which serves the Pearl District, moved its kindergarten to the Ramona's ground floor. This new twist to mixed-use development is meeting a need, but it has detractors. Residents find that noise of children at play over the course of a day grating. At the same time, a group of 70 parents and residents are upset by the noise of the 100 decibel pile driving operation used in constructing a condominium tower 100 feet away. Portland's noise officer declared their would be no harm to the children's hearing, as long as they stay inside. http://portlandtribune.com/pt/9-news/325206-203911-building-boom-baby-boom-collide-in-the-pearl
The Pearl District will need a new K-8 school in the near future. But after half a century of investing in suburban schools, there are few models for locating a school in a dense, pedestrian scaled neighborhood. Brooklyn, New York, which has also seen an influx of Millennials and young families, benefits from having historic schools front residential streets and blend into neighborhoods. Built before the demands of the automobile, the schools devoted land to play space rather than parking lots. This model is not unreasonable in the Pearl District, where new buildings with affordable housing offer no parking but offer safe pedestrian passage and access to a range of transportation modes.
An exemplar project was having student teams identify their favorite parks. Emerson is is ideally situated for this exercise. It is located next to the historic North Park Blocks and there are a series of parks within walking distance. Tanner Springs is the favorite. Its mix of native habitats and a restored wetland with a variety of fish and amphibians are magnets for exploration. Students map the site and trace how stormwater moves through the park and pollutants are filtered out before water flows east into the Willamette River. Experts share how Tanner Springs and the slew of bioswales being built throughout the Central City improve the water quality for the endangered Chinook and Steelhead Salmon. This effort is not only integral to the ecological health of the region, it has cultural benefits as well as the endangered salmon are icons of Native American culture.
Such lessons lie at the core of the Emerson School’s mission to inspire “life-long learners who see themselves as being engaged members of their communities whose actions can make a positive difference.” This task is ideally suited to the Pearl District. It is an urban laboratory where students learn the advantages that accure from caring for their immediate surroundings. Moreover, they glean the dynamcis of a place designed to be resilient in the face of rapid expansion, climate change, and declining resources.
The success of the Emerson School inveighed the need to make the Pearl District more family friendly. In the 2008 update to the Pearl District Development Plan, a primary objective was building “larger units to attract families.” The Great Recession blunted the initiative, but progress has ensured.
In 2012 the Ramona opened to families earning up to 60 percent of MFI and offered 138 family apartments (two and three bedroom units). The LEED certified building delivered three essential items families with young children desire: quality schools, play space, and safety. Located on a pedestrian scaled street, the neighborhood benefits from the “eyes on the street” that secures personal safety for both children and adults.
A special feature of the Ramona is an interior courtyard designed as a play space for toddlers. Since the 1920s, housing reformers in the United States have championed such spaces as integral to developing the mental acuity and social maturation of preschool children. In 1929 Radburn, New Jersey, a model community designed by Henry Wright and Clarence Stein, sited a system of interior greens that allowed children under five to enter a world of play by stepping out their front door. The Ramona offers similar access to recreation. Parents find seating on short walls with views of the play equipment, while the interior walkways are wide enough for two children’s tricycles to pass an adult.
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| Playground at the Ramona |
The Pearl District will need a new K-8 school in the near future. But after half a century of investing in suburban schools, there are few models for locating a school in a dense, pedestrian scaled neighborhood. Brooklyn, New York, which has also seen an influx of Millennials and young families, benefits from having historic schools front residential streets and blend into neighborhoods. Built before the demands of the automobile, the schools devoted land to play space rather than parking lots. This model is not unreasonable in the Pearl District, where new buildings with affordable housing offer no parking but offer safe pedestrian passage and access to a range of transportation modes.
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| Brooklyn Public School |
Change is often seen as a threat. Nimbyism and the specter of law suits can deter the best designed project. This is why consensus-building is integral to planning and, just as in politics, virtue and compromise must meld to create a better world.
For more on Romen's study see Emily Badge, “The Ugly Future Cities Face,” Washington Post, September 15, 2016.
For more on Romen's study see Emily Badge, “The Ugly Future Cities Face,” Washington Post, September 15, 2016.
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