Portlanders Love Their City

Results from a new survey by Portland's city auditor show that we like our city.... a lot. 83-percent of Portlanders feel positive about the city's livability, up 7-percent from five years ago. And despite what would seem to be an anti-government mood, nearly two-thirds say that overall city government is doing a good or very good job. That's also up from five years ago. The only category where we fall short is traffic congestion.

There is, however, a troubling discrepancy between how people east of I-205 feel and how the rest of Portlanders feel. Just 48-percent of folks in East Portland are happy with government services compared with say, 74-percent in close in Northeast neighborhoods. East Portlanders are farther from a park, farther from a bus, closer to a crook. There is a different level of services.

There is also a perception problem. For example, people in East Portland are less fond of the quality of their tap water, even though everyone in the city gets the same water. Also, some East Portlanders have been pushed out of close-in neigborhoods due to rising rents and building more communities such as the mixed-income New Columbia Villa would be just and good for the City.

City officials do recognize the discrepancy. New MAX service has just started along I-205, a gem of a new swimming pool recently opened, police have become more visible. That kind of thing should continue---hard as it is with limited resources--but just as important, City Hall needs to reassure East Portland residents that they are being listened to and their problems recognized.