Historical Context of Racist Planning in Portland

Planning and Sustainability Commission 09-17-2019, YouTube

Buried in a Planning and Sustainability Commission meeting from September 2019 is this excellent presentation from BDS planning assistant Jena Hughes on the “Historical Context of Racist Planning in Portland”. (Hughes’ presentation begins around the 48:57 mark.)

It’s a great primer on how we’ve historically used city planning mechanisms like zoning to continually prevent communities of color from buying homes and anchoring themselves to neighborhoods—methods well practiced in every major city in the United States.

Related: The report this presentation is based on, this 2010 presentation from planner Steve Dotterrer on the history of transportation in Portland, and a new plan from PBOT to stitch back together the South Portland neighborhoods of Lair Hill and Corbett (which, similar to the Albina neighborhood, were also carved up to make way for highway expansion).