Portland's Post-Industrial Neighborhoods

Abstract

Reimagined, remediated, and redeveloped former industrial lands are now thriving mixed-use neighborhoods in Portland's Pearl District and South Waterfront. Places of physical labor have been transformed into spaces where a new class of knowledge workers live, work, and play. This paper argues that inner-city post-industrial neighborhoods offer a valuable lens through which to view key transformations in cities and in the wider society. Using historic and current land-use maps in a geographic information system, we identified the major post-industrial areas of Portland. We then used demographic data, business location data, and planning studies to find the stories behind these places. In the shadow of lost manufacturing jobs and the changing location of heavy industry, the emergence of postindustrial neighborhoods reflects a growing emphasis on cities as centers of consumption, livability, and sustainability. The demographics of these new post-industrial neighborhoods signal the return to the inner city by highly educated, high-income residents.