Old Portland neighborhoods buzz with refurbished shops and galleries. Counties have saved millions, that otherwise might have been spent extending roads into sprawling suburbs. We're starting to realize, although we tout it nationally as we've, you know, developed a panacea for ills, we have problems and tradeoffs in Portland. Jerry Johnson advises developers on land use laws. He says the boundary is choking Portland.
Traffic congestion is as bad as New York City's.
Though the boundary has been expanded some, Johnson claims it's a sacred cow among Portland's slow growth leadership and is nearly impossible to move. I believe they've lost the ability to move it. Politically it's too much of a hot potato. Increased urban densities are unpopular in neighborhoods used to having elbow room. New single family lots are half the size they were 20 years ago.