In Portland, sustainability is an important identity of the city and many of the inhabitants. The city brands itself as a bike-friendly, commutable, and most importantly, sustainable and green city. The branding technique has worked well, as the city has been bombarded with new residents in the last few years. The city is often portrayed as a thriving urban ecotopia, suggesting that all inhabitants are benefiting from the sustainable retrofitting that the city has/is experiencing. Goodling et al. (2015), however, suggests that these environmentally friendly policies and renewal projects are a type of sustainability fix that are stratifying the conditions of the urban core with its outer city counter- parts (namely the east side).
So what does Portland’s sustainability fix have to do with identity? Well in order to create the type of city-wide renewal projects and policies that Portland is experiencing, the branding of the city needs to create an identity that is widespread and structured enough in application that it can be used to define the place. The use of sustainability as an identity of Portland subjects the residents to the popular understanding of what the label means. Perhaps more importantly, it subjects some residents to an identity that they do not necessarily identify with, or agree with. The complete-ness of the branding used in Portland has led to gentrification and displacement of many of its residents that do not fall into the white, middle-class ranking that most Portlander’s need to fall under in order to live in the urban core.
Goodling, Erin, Jamaal Green, and Nathan Mcclintock. 2015. “Uneven Development of the Sustainable City: Shifting Capital in Portland, Oregon.” Urban Geography 36 (4): 504–27. doi:10.1080/02723638.2015.1010791.