Urban Growth Boundary

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Illustration of a person with a hat and backpack overlooking a city with a bus, pedestrians and a cyclist, while another person with brown hair and a red shirt overlooks a forest.

Oregon’s unique growth rules have preserved open space but also led to new fights

Anyeley Hallovà chairs the commission that oversees Oregon's growth management system. She's passionate about developing compact neighborhoods that provide equitable and affordable housing — and that help combat climate change. But not everyone is happy about moving in this direction.


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Illustration of a deer standing in a forest on a south facing hill, overlooking the Oregon and California border. Dense suburbs populated the California side of the border.

Inside the fight between Oregon leaders to create a revolutionary growth management system

In the 1970s, Oregonians looked to California and didn't want the same fate for their state A new crop of young legislators in Salem saw an opportunity to advance an ambitious agenda. It took nearly a decade to put in place a system that has some of the strongest protections in the U.S. for farms, forests and other open spaces.


Illustration of a hand holding Willamette Valley soil with suburban construction, farmland and the face of Governor Tom McCall in the background.

Oregonians once feared their state would be wrecked by out-of-control sprawling development

Fifty years ago, Oregonians feared their farmlands and other open spaces would be overrun with urban sprawl. This eventually led to the state's unique land-use system. This is part one in a six-part series describing how this happened and explaining why it affects so many things you might not have thought about.


Urban Growth Boundary History.

Are African-Americans Really Leaving Portland?

A researcher says African-Americans are leaving Portland at high rates, and that 11.5 percent of the black community has left in the last four years. But a local expert disagrees.


Urban Growth Boundary History.

Metro Will Not Expand Urban Growth Boundary

For the first time since the 1970s, Metro has voted not to expand the region's Urban Growth Boundary, saying there is enough room for the projected 400,000 new residents set to arrive in the next 20 years.


City of Damascus sign.

Bills Could Lead To Damascus Disincorporation

A slate of bills passed by the Oregon Legislature could make it easier for one of the state's newest cities to go back to being an unincorporated part of Clackamas County.


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