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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 6, 2012)
4 W HITE, fro m page 3 M .W .: Well, one of the things we need to do is look at the different programs that are out there. For instance there is the home ownership opportunity area. And a lot of it includes the David Douglas School District. Part of the problem with that is twofold: It gives incentives for people to buy new homes, so it encompasses an area that’s divided by 122nd Avenue, and both sides of 122nd are zip codes that are the first and second with the highest number of foreclosures in the area. So if folks are trying to sell their homes and buyers are getting incentives to buy new homes, then there’s tons of foreclosures. The ability for them to sell their homes is almost non existent. I know a couple of people who lost their homes and moved into foreclosure because of that. So we need to make sure that there’s not unintented consequences of our programs. The other incentives that the city has used in the past that I’m pretty sure of is to build three-, four- and five-bedroom units, and that is one of the reasons why the complex I mentioned has so many children, because there’s lots of really big units with three to five bedrooms. And every single school within the David Douglas School District is either at, or over capacity. I think a large part of that is because of incentive programs done by the city, and I don’t think there’s any discussion about changing those. It’s really seriously damaging the David Douglas School District’s ability to do its job well. I have to say I’ve been to a number of school board meetings andThese are incredibly passionate people who embrace the diversity that exists in the community and are doing a tremendous job doing the best they can with what’s there, but I think it would be better if the economic situation was a little bit more blended, and it wasn’t just so many folks who were on free or reduced-price lunch. For example, in David Douglas High School there’s over 2,250 kids on free or reduced lunch. If we can’t do things to help rectify those challenges, it doesn’t help anyone in the city, because eventually, what’s going to happen is, areas like this that become so incredibly blighted and overwhelmed, it’s going to start sucking resources from the rest of the city. It’s really important for us to have blended and balanced communities, and if we can’t achieve that, we need to reevaluate who we are. J.T.: What do you think the city’s doing right or wrong with urban renewal? M .W .: I have to really think about what’s being done right. Obviously what’s happened in the Pearl District, some would say has been a good thing; it’s changed that area quite a bit. It creates tons of tax revenue, which unfortunately stays in the urban renewal area. I think others would say that there are a lot of folks who live there who were pushed out, and I think that’s the case in North and Northeast Portland, obviously. I think if things don’t change with the strategy, if there is one, on the east side of the river with urban renewal, we’re going to see the same kinds of things. Part of the problem is that Portland has a tendency, I think, to apply inner Portland codes and zoning to East Portland, and it doesn’t work. The same thing with urban renewal. What worked in downtown just doesn’t work outside of downtown. For example, in downtown there are lots of street roots Jan. 6, 2012 buildings and activity. You can buy a building, and someone in a short period of time is going to want to develop it. In the Lents Town Center Urban Area there are properties; some have been owned for a decade or more, and nothing has happened with them. We also need to focus on employment and infrastructure, particularly transportation infrastructure. J.T.: You’ve been outspoken on the lack of transit in East Portland. In the past you’ve said that the way the city has invested in the street car has created “two Portlands” What would you do to make transit more equitable in East Portland? of their homes if they wanted to do that. It becomes really important for there to be this beginning of a renaissance of communities out here, because before, when there wasn’t a lot of folks out here, it didn’t matter as much, but now we just have so many children it’s mind boggling. Coming up with the money to do it is hard, but coming up with civil engineers to do it is one of the most expensive parts of putting in sidewalks. So if that part of the component is already done for residents, then they might be able to band together and come up with a way to pay for the concrete and the other stuff on their own and reduce the amount of cost to them personally and make it happen a lot more quickly than the city would be able to. problem with urban renewal, is that all of a sudden there’s almost no urban renewal money. With the housing levy, each year you know how much you’re going to have for very targeted projects that give you serious return on investment. What I’d look to do is combine money from the housing levy with money from urban renewal to further supplement it and make sure there’s an economic development component as part of it. J.T.: Do you have ideas on how the city can collaborate with the county to address the needs o f its neediest citizens? M .W .: Off the top of my head, I’d say that we should probably play to our strengths. Portland is really good at capital projects. The county is really good at social services. If we have respect for those things and work toward a common goal, that’s our best course of action. As far as specifics, I don’t know. I’d have to talk to the county in order to really have some specific answers. M .W .: Well, I think if you were to look at a map of transit activities and investment J.T.: On your website, you write about a within the city of Portland — I’m pretty sure plan to champion a nonprofit food-processing I’ve seen this map — it would show that the facility that would vast majority of this employ marginalized activity is in and communities. I ’d like around downtown. to hear more about And while I think a lo t ©I folks who that and how it would that’s a good thing — J.T .: I wanted to get your thoughts on the l i w there (the Pearl B lstrlct) work. downtown is creation of the Office o f Equity and Human who were p a s lie i ontr and I beautiful, it’s very Rights and i f there were and any issues you’d M.W .: My dream important to the city th in k th a tfs the case lit Worth like to see it take up. would be that folks as a whole — it and Northeast Portland? M .W .: I would say that my only concern would have the ability doesn’t really help obviously, I th in k If things to work within the about the Office of Equity has been that I other parts of the facility at whatever don’t think that it has the teeth in order to city. doart change w ith the capacity, but all the really seriously address the issues that are My neighborhood, strategy? W there is one? on before us. The institutionalized racism in profits would go I think, is a really the east side of the riv e r w ith towards folks to the city is actually quite profound, and to good example. In 10 nrban renewal? werre going establish themselves throw $1.5 million at it, I don’t want to say to 15 years it’s the within the social insulting, but I don’t think it addresses the most populated to see the same kinds of service network so issues. neighborhood in the things," they can connect to I think it’s really going to get down to the city, and it doesn’t different services like public pushing these issues rather than have a single major employment and allowing the city to drive them. I think it’s street with health care. I think important for folks to realize that before the contiguous sidewalks. it’s a way to build an economic base for the Office of Equity and Human Rights there It has more unpaved roadways than any entire city. was the Office of Human Relations, and other neighborhood in the city, and it has For example, in East Portland in there was something before that. I’ve heard six of the 15 most dangerous intersections in the city. So those are three^ftaB^portation particular, there are huge, huge amounts of -th a t over time these agencies get a little cultural new com ers. They have seven to tread and they’re retooled. It’s probably related things that clearly show that other eight months to learn a new language, learn something that needs to be independent and parts of the city aren’t benefiting from the a new culture, find a place to live, get their not dependent on the city to fund it for it to investment we’re making. kids in school, get a job and all that stuff really get going. The city leadership has a tendency to do before their government subsidies are cut. But one thing I try to convey to folks, what’s easiest instead of what’s right or It’s really, really hard to do that. So one of especially with Occupy Portland, is that the best. It’s not easy to try and fix the the things that would help is to use ability to make sweeping changes in transportation issues that exist in East Culturally inspired foods, that they bring government already exists, and it’s the Portland and other parts of the city, but I from their country of origin, in community Charter Commission. The Charter think it’s incumbent on us morally to at kitchens that are spread throughout the city Commission has the ability to do least try. One of the biggest issues that I that allow them to produce products that tremendous, tremendous things for our city, have is that there are always discussions they can bring to a farmers’ market. and City Hall has intentionally kind of bound about doing low-hanging fruit. And often Eventually, if their product becomes our hands. I talked to Occupy Portland what happens is that the city does the low- recognized and popular, this facility could organizers there and encouraged them to hanging fruit and then they kind of walk take it on and produce it and distribute it. participate in the process. away and say, we’ve done some stuff so I ’d also like to see a hybrid of the food cart we’re going to go do some other stuff. A lot There’s so many things that we could do, scene and Saturday Market, which is to kind of times, they don’t come back. The and my hope is that the Occupy Portland of retool the mall concept and shrink it problem with that is, if you look at a fruit folks will use that in a very bottom-up down so people can start small and move tree, the vast majority of the fruit is not low- approach and go out into the community up. Or it can be someone who just wants to hanging. It’s up at the top, and you don’t and work in places like East Portland and supplement their income, or it can be a pick it, it falls and rots and creates a big North Portland and Northeast Portland and haircutter or tattoo artist. Ultimately, I’d like mess, and I think that’s kind of what’s help people to find their voice and to to see this facility as an incubator for happening. You try and do the easy stuff, reclaim the power that they have over products once they reach a certain level. and we kind of just look the other way when government, because you do that, and you it comes to the hard stuff. If you want to start electing people who will effect the J.T.: I ’d like to get your thoughts on how to look at the hard stuff, drive down Powell change you’d like to see. Not because you’re Boulevard. I think it’s the single biggest sustain or even increase funding for affordable asking them, but because they know that’s housing. embarrassment to the city, and no one has what needs to be done. really done anything about it, until the last You start in Portland, and you show the M.W .: The housing commission has • year or so, and now things are such that the rest of the state that this can be done at a discussed ways to replicate what’s been money’s not really going to be there to do local municipality and then spread this done in Seattle with the housing levy that’s the things that are necessary. throughout the state and the country. I dedicated to affordable housing. It gives you One of the ideas I had was to try and use really truly believe that Portland can be a a definitive amount of money for a definitive the system and development charges for better template for better government, and amount of time, so there’s no scrambling to transportation to pay for the salaries of civil I’m really disappointed that we haven’t get things done or to know how much you’ll engineers who would do nothing but help really used the Charter Commission to that have this year or that year. That’s the residents work on putting sidewalks in front end. “Asperger s has real blessings. I am not focused on what most people seem to be focused on. I live a very interior life and it’s filled with joy. I have insatiable curiosity about things.” — Leska Emerald Adams, shown here with her service dog, Orka. LusKd tmeraia aaams story is part ot a series on people living with the controversial diaqnosis on Asperger s Syndrome by photojournalist Leah Nash. This remarkable project was sponsored by the Regional Arts and Culture Council and Street Roots. View the entire series can be seen at www.streetroots.wordpress.com.
