We Can Build a More Equitable Portland

The Braided River Environmental Justice (EJ) Scorecard is divided by neighborhood coalition and scores Portland neighborhoods based on the presence or absence of 13 EJ principles. Environmental justice addresses the fact that those who live, work, and play in the most polluted environments are commonly low income people and people of color. The modern environmental justice movement is usually traced back to Warren County, North Carolina in 1982 when predominately Black residents mobilized to block the dumping of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in their community. Environmental justice is an intersectional approach that acknowledges the environmental work done by people of color. As such, this scorecard was developed collaboratively with the input of Portland’s environmental activists, non-profits, and community members.

Like cities across the U.S., Portland has a history of using planning tools like zoning to concentrate negative environmental impacts in poor communities and/or communities of color. The state has a history of Black exclusion laws, making it illegal for Black people to live or own property in Oregon. The last of these laws was not repealed until 1926 (Nokes, 2020). As far as we know, communities in Oregon did not use racial zoning, or the practice of overtly designating geographical locations for different races. However, private developers were allowed to place racially restrictive covenants on their properties. These covenants were legal clauses written into the deed of the property restricting who could own or live on the property as well as who the property could be sold to based on race (BPS, 2019). In the 1930s, ‘40s, and’50s, the city rezone large swaths of the city to single family only. These changes were justified as protecting property values and making it easier for homeowners to obtain Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans. At the same time, Portland was also reshaped by the federal government's practice of redlining. Redlining was based on maps from the HomeOwners Loan Corporation (HOLC) and determined whether or not neighborhoods could get federal loan assistance for buying and maintaining a home. Redlined areas were seen as a bad investment and often housed a concentration of Black residents (BPS, 2019).

In the 1960s and ‘70s, the city fully bought into the urban renewal craze. Backed by federal government funding, the city set out to renew “blighted” neighborhoods through demolition and rebuilding. Many so-called “blighted” neighborhoods were formerly redlined neighborhoods home to Black communities, immigrant communities, and other historically-marginalized groups. Though we have been realigning our priorities as a city, these planning mechanisms have clearly shaped the segregation still present in our city and prompted the trends of gentrification. This scorecard highlights where these disparities exist and attempts to unpack what planning decisions led to the current landscape of Portland. We hope that this scorecard uncovers places in which we can make our communities more sustainable in terms of the environment, racial justice, and economic well-being.

We acknowledge that we are on the traditional village sites of the Multnomah, Kathlemet, and Clackamas bands of Chinook, Tualatin Kalapuya, Molalla and many other tribes who made their homes along the Columbia River. The Multnomah are a band of Chinooks that lived in this area.

We thank the descendants of these tribes for being the original stewards and protectors of these lands and waters since time immemorial. We acknowledge that Portland, OR has the 9th largest urban Native American population in the US with over 380 tribes represented in the region. We also acknowledge the systemic policies of genocide, relocation and assimilation that impact many indigenous and Native American families to this day.

We are honored to be guests upon these lands and waters. We pay our respect to elders, both past and present, who have stewarded this land throughout generations, through today.

This analysis is meant to highlight the decisions made by local government that have led to the inequitable city we currently live in. While we often contrast the east and west sides of the city, this analysis shows that a simple dichotomy does not tell the whole story. There are clear differences in the inequities faced on either side of the river, however this distinction is only really evident between Southeast and Southwest Portland and the far west and east sides of the city. 

North, Northeast, and Northwest Portland tell similar stories of displacement, generational poverty, and environmental harm. North and Northwest Portland have contended with a polluted river, a designated EPA Superfund site, for decades. This chronic environmental hazard presented by the Superfund impacts indigenous water rights, subsistence fishing, the health of pets and people who recreate in the river, the health of adults and children alike, the functioning of pollinators, and so on. The CEI Hub, located on the northwest banks of the Willamette, threatens an even more desperate environmental catastrophe in the North Reach of the Willamette. Sitting atop a fault line, the state’s largest fossil fuel hub, is poised to pollute the river beyond repair in the event and endangers nearby residents in the event of an explosion. 

Air pollution, insufficient tree canopy, and food apartheid impact East Portland neighborhoods almost ubiquitously. East Portland was hit especially hard by the heat wave due to lack of canopy. In East Portland and throughout the city, insufficient tree canopy can be found alongside industrial zoning. Despite covering 20% of the city’s land, industrial zones only contain about 6% of the city’s urban canopy (PPR, 2018). Furthermore, heavy industrial zones along with a variety of industrial uses (including rail, waste, and mining uses) are exempt from on-site tree density standards contributing to greater urban heat in those surrounding areas (Title 11.50.050.B). While industry and industrial zoning is essential to Portland’s prosperity, it is clear that regulations that cater to industry can put surrounding communities at risk.

While this may all feel too big and hard to deal with, the current inequities are the results of past decisions and addressing them can also begin with community, environment, and equity-informed decisions. These neighborhood scores are intended to spark discussion about future planning decisions in Portland. The question is not where’s the best place to live, but rather how did Portland get here and how can we shift to creating more equitable neighborhoods. Our vision demands equitable neighborhoods, where all residents have opportunity, health, and access to our city’s natural resources. We see a future where there is no better neighborhood that has less pollution and more amenities, but rather one where every neighborhood meets residents’ basic needs.  

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