Researcher(s):
Elijah Probst
ENVS course(s): 400 Initiated: September 2013 Completed: May 2014 Go to project site
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This thesis is about urban renewal in Portland and the distribution of “environmental amenities” in 3 selected neighborhoods. Urban renewal in Portland is a process of neighborhood change that is mediated by the private sector and the Portland Development Commission which represents the public sector. Environmental amenities can be defined as physical features of a neighborhood that prove beneficial to residents. Environmental justice literature1 shows that poor communities and communities of color are disproportionately burdened with negative environmental conditions. What about the inverse, or positive environmental conditions? My thesis aims to discover what environmental amenities are and how they are defined in Portland, the main organizations in charge of their distribution in Portland, and looks at the neighborhood areas of the Pearl, NE Albina, and Lents to assess whether environmental amenities are distributed throughout the city. The history, characteristics, and the interactions of citizens with government officials in these 3 areas of the city is explored to better understand the differences in how environmental amenities are defined by the PDC, the city, and its residents. It is shown that environmental amenities are not evenly distributed in Portland and that an equity focus is necessary to avoid market-driven disparities as well as neighborhood conflicts.