The Portland Exception
Sprawl, Smart Growth, and Rural Land Lost in 15 Cities
An analysis of how 15 US cities are doing at curbing urban sprawl, with a focus on Portland, Oregon.
October 25, 2004
Media contact:
- Elisa Murray
elisa@sightline.org
206-447-1880 ext. 111
A new analysis of growth compared Portland's record at curbing sprawl and protecting rural land with 14 other US cities, including Seattle and Boise. The study, which is part of Sightline's Cascadia Scorecard project, found that Oregon's land-use policies excel in protecting rural land and curbing low-density sprawl.
Person for person in the last decade, new development in metropolitan Portland consumed less than half as much land as the average city in the study.
Download the report (pdf, free registration required)
Press materials
Press release
Oregon's land use laws save rural land, study of 15 cities shows- Download the report (pdf, for registered users)
- Complete rankings and data for all 15 cities (pdf)
Note: The 15 cities in the study included Austin, Texas; Boise, Idaho; Charlotte, North Carolina; Denver, Colorado; Las Vegas, Nevada; Madison, Wisconsin; Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota; Nashville, Tennessee; Orlando, Florida; Phoenix, Arizona; Portland, Oregon; Riverside-San Bernardino, California; Sacramento, California; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Seattle, Washington.
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