2040 Growth Concept at a glance
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Read about the ten urban design types identified in the 2040 Growth Concept as the "building blocks" of the regional strategy for managing growth.
Central city
Downtown Portland serves as the hub of business and cultural activity in the region. It has the most intensive form of development for both housing and employment, with high-rise development common in the central business district. Downtown Portland will continue to serve as the finance and commerce, government, retail, tourism, arts and entertainment center for the region.
Main streets
Similar to town centers, main streets have a traditional commercial
identity But are on a smaller scale with a strong sense of the
immediate neighborhood. Examples include Southeast Hawthorne in
Portland, the Lake Grove area in Lake Oswego and the main street in
Cornelius. Main streets feature good access to transit.
Regional centers
As centers of commerce and local government services serving a
market area of hundreds of thousands of people, regional centers become
the focus of transit and highway improvements. They are characterized
by two- to four- story compact employment and housing development
served by high-quality transit. In the growth concept, there are eight
regional centers – Gateway serves central Multnomah County; downtown
Hillsboro serves the western portion of Washington County; downtown
Beaverton and Washington Square serve Eastern Washington County;
downtown Oregon City and Clackamas Town Center serve Clackamas County;
downtown Gresham serves the eastside of Multnomah County; and downtown
Vancouver.
Town centers
Town centers provide localized services to tens of thousands of
people within a two- to three-mile radius. Examples include small city
centers such as Lake Oswego, Tualatin, West Linn, Forest Grove and
Milwaukie and large neighborhood centers such as Hillsdale, St. Johns,
Cedar Mill and Aloha. One-to three-story buildings for employment and
housing are characteristic. Town centers have a strong sense of
community identity and are well served by transit.
Station communities
Station communities are areas of development centered around a
light-rail or high-capacity-transit station that feature a variety of
shops and services that will remain accessible to bicyclists,
pedestrians and transit users as well as cars.
Neighborhoods
Under the 2040 Growth Concept, most existing neighborhoods will
remain largely the same. Some redevelopment can occur so that vacant
land or under-used buildings could be put to better use. New
neighborhoods are likely to have an emphasis on smaller single-family
lots, mixed uses and a mix of housing types including row houses and
accessory dwelling units. The growth concept distinguishes between
slightly more compact inner neighborhoods, and outer neighborhoods,
with slightly larger lots and fewer street connections.
Corridors
Corridors are major streets that serve as key transportation routes
for people and goods. Examples of corridors include the Tualatin Valley
Highway and 185th Avenue in Washington County, Powell Boulevard in
Portland and Gresham and McLoughlin Boulevard in Clackamas County.
Corridors are served extensively by transit.
Industrial areas and freight terminals
Serving as hubs for regional commerce, industrial land and freight
facilities for truck, marine, air and rail cargo provide the ability to
generate and move goods in and out of the region. Access to these areas
is centered on rail, the regional freeway system and key roadway
connections. Keeping these connections strong is critical to
maintaining a healthy regional economy.
Rural reserves/open spaces
An important component of the growth concept is the availability and
designation of lands that will remain undeveloped, both inside and
outside the urban growth boundary. Rural reserves are lands outside the
UGB that provide a visual and physical separation between urban areas
and farm and forest lands. Open spaces include parks, stream and trail
corridors, wetlands and floodplains.
Neighboring cities/green corridors
Communities such as Sandy, Canby, Newberg and North Plains have a signif- icant number of residents who work or shop in the metropolitan area. Cooperation between Metro and these communities is critical to address common transportation and land-use issues.
Need assistance?
Metro land-use planning
503-797-1562
2040@oregonmetro.gov