Luke McCullough toured suburbs around Portland, Oregon to find a place to live within 20 miles of his job in downtown Portland. He liked Gresham, Tualatin, and Vancouver, WA because they provided affordable housing in good neighborhoods relatively close to work. Ultimately, he chose to live in Vancouver because it best fit his needs for single-family housing within his commuting radius.

1. Portland, Oregon
Narrative
Luke McCullough

2. Day 1
Goal: Find a place to live
Several different factors impact my choice of where I want to live in the Portland urban
area. A first factor is that I want to live close to my occupation, but not extremely close
either. My job is located in the Central Business District, but there are no houses in this
area because it is filled with office and retail buildings. However, I do not want to live far
away from my job either, preferably within a twenty mile radius. I toured the inner
suburbs of Portland, because they are close, but not too close to my work. My favorite
three suburbs were Gresham, Tualatin, and Vancouver (Vancouver, WA). These were my
favorite because they provided affordable, but still decently high quality housing in good
neighborhoods relatively close to my work. Single family housing is what I was
particularly looking for, and these three cities provided the type of housing that fitted my
needs while still being within the twenty mile radius of Portland’s CBD.

3. Day 2
Goal: Choose where to live
Out of the three cities that I previously mentioned, I felt that Vancouver best fit my
housing needs so I have decided to choose it as the city where I will live. The
neighborhood in which I chose to live in is shown in the picture below. The neighborhood
is located in the eastern side of Vancouver, along with many other areas of single family
housing. Once again, the house is within twenty miles of my occupation, making my
commuting time relatively low, saving me both time and money. The neighborhood
consists of middle class single families who most of which commute to Portland for work.

4. Day 3
Goal: Identify areas of sprawl
Before I had for sure decided that I wanted to live within twenty miles of my job, I had
visited housing developments in the outer suburbs of Portland. These areas are newly
developed, and a very practical example of urban sprawl. In the pictures below are single
family homes that I saw when I was visiting the outer suburbs. These homes have been
newly constructed in recent years.

5. Day 4
Goal: Identify smart growth in the city
In recent years, Portland has started to support smart growth in its city and suburbs. For
example, Portland has one of the largest light rail systems in the country and is very
supportive of public transportation. The downtown area of the city has a green area by the
river for people to congregate, an asset that many American CBDs do not have. In both
Portland and the suburbs there are bike lanes that promote cycling along the city streets.
On the interstate on the way into Portland, there is a carpool lane, something that makes
travelling very efficient for those with multiple passengers.

6. Day 5
Goal: Identify entertainment venues in the city
There is much to do in the city of Portland in regards to venues for entertainment. One
example is the Moda Center, home to the Portland Trailblazers of the NBA and many
concerts and events. Another venue is Providence Park, this is where the Portland Timbers
soccer team plays. As far as theatres go, the two most popular ones in Portland are the
Keller Auditorium and the Lincoln Recital Hall. The long list of museums include the
Portland Art Museum, Wells Fargo History Museum, Oregon Historical Society, Oregon
Maritime Museum, Hat Museum, and the Portland Children’s Museum. When I toured and
viewed these places, I realized how they represent the city of Portland, and what they
mean to the City of Roses.

7. Venue Images