Portland is experiencing its moment.
It has been enjoying appearances on a seemingly endless supply of “best of” lists regarding its food, its beer, and its startup environment. These achievements are worthy of celebration. I count among my very best friends and colleagues some of those who are celebrated contributors to these scenes. But this moment, one defined by growth, is accompanied by growing pains.
First the caveats. What is going on in Portland by way of its culinary contributions, both gastronomical and alcoholic, is incredible, and what is occurring in the startup and entrepreneurship ecosystems offers both hope and inspiration to those looking to do business here for the long haul. Portland is one of the very best small cities in which to eat a mind-blowing and creative meal, drink a delicious beer and, increasingly, explore starting a company. Wearing my own business hat, I hear great news in all of this.
But talk with those who have played music here for a long time, and they’ll ask where all the venues have gone. Talk to the artists, and they’ll ask where all the galleries have gone. Talk to the renters, and they’ll ask where all the affordable living space has gone.
One of my employees has been trying to find an apartment on a respectable budget for two months. She has looked at dozens of places and has come up short every time. A friend suggested she check out his apartment — he’s leaving this month — but noted his landlord is considering nearly doubling rent upon his departure.
My company looked for a studio for nine months and, without exaggeration, every property we looked at, including the one we eventually leased, was part of some condo conversion plan. The market has helped to make renters a priority lower than buyers of condos, guests at hotels, or Airbnb tenants.
Increasingly, Portland is becoming difficult to inhabit for people who aren’t looking to start a restaurant, brewery, startup or become landlords. My wife and I do comparatively well — she is in commercial banking, and I own my own company, which is growing at a steady pace — and we are looking to relocate to Greater Portland, but Portland is out of our reach.
The realities of a Portland in which the Portlanders who gave the city the charm and personality responsible for its wide appeal can no longer live here illustrates the paradoxical, and sometimes seemingly cannibalistic, nature of development booms.
The resulting anxiety has picked up in recent years.
The hubbub surrounding Congress Square Park a few years back — the backlash against the City Council’s plan to sell and privatize city-owned land — was deeply rooted in this feeling among Portlanders that they aren’t quite sure they understand where they fit in the city’s future. While I disagreed with their proposed approach, the Soul of Portland’s movement to preserve Portland’s views were rooted in the same anxieties.
Most recently, the pushback against the city’s plan to shut down the India Street public health clinic, an organized movement that was partially successful in altering Portland’s plan, reflected the feeling among many that the city is not prepared to maintain a standard of livability that is realistic for most — and especially so for the city’s most vulnerable population.
My friends who make things happen in the business and development communities assure me that this eventually will mean an elevation of wages for working people in the city. It is certainly helping my own company create jobs. But for many who are still living paycheck to paycheck, or are one emergency away from homelessness, long-term promises leave them wondering if Portland will be able to accommodate them in the meantime. If artists can’t afford to create here, musicians are left without space to perform, working people are left without a place to live, on what lists will the city appear in a few years’ time?
I often hear populist movements written off as reactionary and anti-growth or anti-development, but the reality is that many who have been making the city cool, quirky, appealing and livable for so long aren’t sure where they fit in the future of the city they shaped.
Alex Steed has written about and engaged in politics since he was a teenager. He’s an owner-partner of a Portland-based content production company and lives with his family, dogs and garden in Cornish.
