Portland – The City of Roses

Portland, the city of roses is one of the largest cities in the U.S. state of Oregon, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers. Its population of 583,776 according to the 2010 census is estimated to have reached 609,456 in the year 2013 thus making it the 29th most populous city in the United States as well as the third most populous city in the Pacific Northwest region.

Around 2,314,554 inhabitants live in the Portland metropolitan area MSA, the 19th most populous MSA in United States. Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County which was incorporated in 1851. It has a commission based government which is headed by a mayor with four other commissioners and Metro, a distinctive regional government.

 Moreover the city is known for its superior land use planning as well as investment in light rail. Portland is recognized for its great outdoors environment scenic beauty, a large amount of microbreweries together with its eco-friendly urban planning policies.

It is the largest city which lies between San Francisco and Seattle and on comparing with these cities, its environment is not as fast paced but it has a more laid back feel of smaller town to it.

Largest Collections of Zine and Independent Publishers

Being a city it has its own amenities which include great music as well as arts scene together with the largest collections of zine and independent publishers. Though the city has not developed yet, in recent years, Portland has grown tremendously and has started to catch up with the daily activities like having some of the worst traffic congestion in the West, a high cost of living relative to wages as well as chronic underemployment.

The city has an amazing blend of historic as well as modern architecture together with lush parks like Forest Park and the Washington Park in the hills towards the west area of Downtown offering a variety of plants, trails and wildlife near the city.The beautiful seasonal colour is the result of the Vistas of Mt. Hood and the Willamette River,stately Douglas fir trees together with roses and trees at every corner.

Besides, environmental friendly practices like recycling and extensive public transportation system have been part of the culture here, fuelling several progressive city panning practices like an urban growth boundary making Portland a relatively compact city.

Divided into Five Sections/Five Quadrants

Moving around in Portland is easy either by bike, public transport or even walking though there are topographical features which could affect how the streets and roads flow, hence planning and maps would be essential on a journey of over a few blocks.

Portland is divided into five sections and at times referred to oxymoronically as the `five quadrants’ which are divided by Burnside Street between north/south, the Willamette River between east/west, fifth sector – north between the Willamette River and Williams Avenue. Situated in the Marine west coast climate region, its climate has both warm dry summers and wet cool to chilly winters which is ideal for growing roses having many rose gardens, the prominent one being the International Rose Test Garden.

Portland is a home to several numbers of independent microbreweries, micro distilleries as well as food carts which contribute to the unofficial slogan – Keep Portland Weird.