Portland is a bellwether for transportation policy; is it going to take a giant step backward? Last month, the Oregon Legislature passed a $5.3 billion transportation funding bill. A central piece of this legislation is advancing three projects that would…
The public wealth of cities is substantial, but under-pricing public assets is rampant There’s an old saw among economists. Two economists are walking along, and one of them says, “Look, there’s a hundred dollar bill on the sidewalk.” The second…
What City Observatory did this week 1. How luxury housing becomes affordable. It’s always been the case that developers build new housing for those at the top end of the market. It’s true today, and it was true 50 and…
Oregon’s DOT seems to be more concerned with making cars go faster than saving lives Yesterday, we took a look at a recent Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) “performance report” on Portland area freeways. One of its main messages–which we…
Congestion is increasing in Portland: But not, apparently, because traffic volumes are increasing Traffic congestion reports are just as formulaic as bodice-ripping romance novels. They have a predictable narrative form: our region is growing; it has more people and more…