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Part
of what makes Portland special is the
character of its people.
In this section, respondents state their
deep appreciation for their fellow Portlanders—for
their friendliness, their positive, “can-do”
attitude towards addressing community
problems, their individualism, creativity
and willingness to put beliefs into action.
They value the extent to which Portlanders
care — about each other, the environment,
and the well-being of the city. They also
admire and seek to preserve the progressive,
forward-thinking values and policies that
define the community’s political and social
life (see Government:
Policies).
They overwhelmingly agree that the community
should be accepting and open to different
lifestyles, groups and ideas. However,
there is significant disagreement over
the extent to which Portlanders demonstrate
appreciation for true diversity and difference.
Despite this disagreement, the vast majority
of respondents seek to promote an open,
tolerant community life wherein people
are valued and encouraged to share their
ideas openly and freely.
-
Portland is livable in part because
of its people.
-
Portlanders appreciate each other’s
progressive values.
- Portlanders
should strive for greater openness and
tolerance.
- Population
growth represents a challenge to “Portland
values.”
- Are Portlanders
really open-minded and tolerant of difference?
- Portland
is livable in part because of
its people.
- A large number of people mention
their fellow Portlanders when
describing what makes the city
livable.
- People who move to Portland
say they are attracted by the
city’s reputation of innovation,
creativity and progressive people
and values. They see these values
contributing to a quality of
life that is rare among American
cities.
- “Portland values” and “the
Portland way” of being and doing
things is frequently associated
with the following:
Friendly:
- Portlanders greet strangers
on the street, are easily approachable
and demonstrate a degree of
openness and friendliness that
is hard to find in big cities.
| “More
often than not, people—strangers
and acquaintances—are friendly
to each other.” |
Easy-Going:
- Portlanders are relaxed,
laid back, take things at a
slower pace and are seen as
opting out of “the mainstream
rat race.”
- They value and enjoy the “simple
pleasures in life” such as “books,
bikes, brew” and good food;
this trait of Portlanders helps
lend the city its “small town
feel.”
| “Laid
back culture. You can go
nice places without a dress
code.” |
Quirky and Unconventional:
- Portlanders are “funkily
functional” non-conformists
and individualists who are willing
to “do their own thing,” and
pursue strange, weird and original
styles and ways of living.
- They enjoy “Do It Yourself”
projects and reject one-size-fits-all
approaches.
| "Keep
Portland local. Keep Portland
green. Keep Portland humane.
Keep Portland weird.” |
| “[In
2030, Portland is] PDXcellent:
Still weird after all these
years.” |
Creative:
- Portlanders pursue many different
forms of artistic expression
and create many projects, pieces
and experiences for others to
enjoy.
- They have a sense of aesthetics
and support the arts and creativity
in the community.
Civic-Minded:
- Portlanders care about their
community and are actively involved
in civic life (see Social
Issues: Civic Engagement).
- They attend neighborhood meetings,
organize block parties and tell
the City what’s on their mind.
| “People
here care and are involved
in their communities.” |
Optimistic:
- Portlanders have a “can do”
attitude and believe they can
make a difference in their community.
- They start nonprofits, volunteer
and find creative solutions
to community problems. They
look to put their ideals into
action.
| “People
see opportunities and make
things happen.” |
| “The
way people feel empowered
to have an idea for their
community and realize it.
From bike commuters to public
music to schools to farmers
markets. Portland feels
like a ‘yes we can’ place.” |
Open-Minded:
- Many people praise Portlanders
for being open to different
kinds of people, ideas and lifestyles
(e.g. “gay friendly,” accepting
of “nontraditional lifestyles”).
| “[I
value the] relative openness
among Portlanders to experimenting,
trying new actions in politics,
the arts, schools, support
for libraries. Why? Why
not? Why should I not value
the ability to change in
an ever changing world to
tolerate, accept difference,
new viewpoints?” |
- Portlanders
appreciate each other’s progressive
values.
- Many respondents mention how
much they appreciate living
in a community that holds progressive
values similar to their own.
- Portlanders value the mainstream
environmental consciousness
present among community members
and favor a social/political
agenda that incorporates sustainability
principles (see Environment:
Sustainability).
- Portlanders seek to preserve
the progressive, forward-thinking
values/policies that they feel
define the community’s political
and social life.
| “I
see a community that puts
priority on its public services,
including its schools and
green space. I see a community
that supports and favors
its small, local business
sector. I see a community
that continues to be known
throughout the country as
the city that pushes the
envelopes and raises the
standards of political,
economic, and social progress.” |
- Portlanders
should strive for greater openness
and tolerance.
- Portlanders agree that it
is important to cultivate a
social environment in which
diverse perspectives, beliefs
and lifestyles are recognized
and respected.
- Portlanders also support the
creation of an open, tolerant
civic environment, in which
people are encouraged to share
their ideas freely, even when
they are at odds with the majority
opinion.
| “Tolerance
of diverse perspectives
is what I value greatly
about Portland, although
I see increasing intolerance
and divisiveness.” |
| “[In
2030] Portland is a city
where anyone is welcome
and respected who contributes
to the economic base and
promotes peace and safety." |
| "[In
2030] we are all walking
safely on the streets, with
a deep background feeling
of family…that we are all
in this together and that
we belong…The bounds of
what is thought to be ‘normal’
and ‘right’ are dissolved
so people spend less time
trying to fit in or ‘fix’
others and more time giving
creative expression to their
true natures.” |
- Population
growth represents a challenge
to “Portland values.”
- Many Portlanders fear that
as the population grows, the
overall social climate in Portland
will change.
- Some people are unsure if
newcomers will adopt the “Portland
way,” or if they will try to
impose their own values and
traits on the city.
- Particular concern is stated
over the in-migration of wealthier
residents, who are believed
to hold a different set of values
from those that currently predominate
in Portland.
| “We
are also losing our sense
of difference as more people
move here. The very attributes
that attract many to Portland
and the metro areas are
being swamped or simply
let go as incomers try to
recreate the communities
they were comfortable with
back home. How to incorporate
the strengths and diversity
of the new while retaining
the core values of the old
is an ongoing issue.” |
| “I’d
like to see Portland remain
somewhat a ‘secret’…there
is a certain type of money
that comes into a place
which contributes little
culturally, it mostly consumes…to
hide from that.” |
- Educate newcomers
to Portland on what makes Portland
unique, so that “Portland values”
are not lost as the population
grows.
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- Are
Portlanders really open-minded and tolerant
of difference?
While many respondents in this section
cite with pride Portland’s tolerance
for different ideas and lifestyles,
many others feel that Portlanders
do not actually demonstrate an appreciation
for true diversity and difference.
These respondents see racism and a
lack of diversity in the city as enduring
problems that affect the quality of
life for minority residents (for more,
see Social
Issues: Diversity).
Similarly, Portlanders with conservative
views feel excluded and marginalized
from the city’s civic and cultural
life. These respondents perceive the
liberal claim of valuing an open/free-thinking
environment as hypocritical and meaningless,
given the level of contempt and intolerance
often shown towards conservative views
and lifestyles.
The following quotes represent these
conflicting views:
| “I
value the tolerance people have
for diverse points of view, ethnicities,
and the healthy social and political
debate that occurs between different
city members.” |
| “The
thing I value most about Portland
is the social culture of tolerance.
I love living in a city where people
are accepted regardless of their
gender, race, religion, nationality,
etc… and where open conversations
can happen about our differences.” |
| “I
would like to see more diversity.
I feel the negative thing about
Portland is the intolerance of ethnicities
other than Caucasian.” |
| “Portland
does not value its diversity in
the way that it should. Racism is
here, but many Portlanders do not
acknowledge it.” |
| “I
would really like to see people
become truly more accepting of all
people…If you have any belief outside
of ‘free love, hate Christians,
eat vegetarian,’ you are not acceptable,
tolerated, given any dignity, or
even listening time. This is not
diversity, it is a change in who
is acceptable, and it is even more
narrow minded than the …intolerance
of the ‘30s and ‘40s!” |
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