This transportation network played a large role in the residential dispersal of the population. Real estate interest figured prominently in the construction and destinations of the rails. The destination of choice for the land developers was on the east side of the Willamette. A new middle-class city was created on the east side of the Willamette. A topographical map illustrates the advantages of the area.
Foothills rise abruptly directly to the west of Portland.
The east side, however, is flatter and lower in elevation. Home and homeowners followed streetcar lines north to Woodlawn and University Park, east to Montavilla, Mount Tabor, Mount Scott and Woodstock. The old west-side neighborhoods grew from 58,000 to 86,000 residents between 1900 and 1910, then began to lose population. On the open land of the east side the price of building lots tripled between 1900 and 1910. Population on the east side passed the west side total in 1906 and climbed from 32,000 to 120,000 during the decade.