|
Most of the construction projects around my town that remotely resemble suburbia have been canceled due to the economic downturn; one of the largest builders of such projects in Oregon, Legend Homes, is on the verge of bankruptcy (this is due to taking out too much credit and then not being able to pay it all back when the market went south and no one was interested in another development). I can't say I'm unhappy about that turn of events; we need to redevelop more than we need to expand in these parts. That said, property values here are still high, especially compared to the rest of Oregon, mostly because our town is compact and walkable. It's city living without a big city.
But as to the suburbs that surround the "big city", Portland: Suburbia in Oregon is different than elsewhere--we have strict land use laws in place to prevent overbuilding. Portland has an urban growth boundary, and it takes a great deal of finagling to prove to Metro (the government agency that oversees such things in the Portland area at large) that it needs to be expanded. This means that more often than not, there is extensive redevelopment of areas that have gone downhill versus just building more and more. It minimizes sprawl quite nicely. Other cities in Oregon also have urban growth boundaries to encourage smart growth; however, some expand theirs more often than they should (I'm looking at you, Deschutes County). But these land use laws have done us a lot of good with the recent downturn, as property prices in PDX and elsewhere in Oregon have remained stable and we have fewer foreclosures than elsewhere in the nation.
Here, suburbia is still attractive--it's connected to public transportation via Trimet (MAX trains, buses, the streetcar downtown) and city planners have been smart about making sure major roadways have bike lanes. The recent trend in suburbia in Oregon has been mixed-use development. We're looking at moving to Hillsboro, a suburb of Portland I used to live in, after my SO graduates, because it's also the home of the Silicon Forest. There are a number of mixed-use developments there we're interested in living in or near, and most of them are close to the MAX line. So here, suburbia isn't bad, and I don't think it'll be a slum any time soon.
__________________
If I am not better, at least I am different. --Jean-Jacques Rousseau
|