Are there ANY "ghetto" areas near downtown? (Portland: to rent, neighborhoods)

[Homelessadvocate]

Just curious, eventually I may try to find an actual "space" of some type, so I can start some small businesses(cant run them from sleeping on the streets), and ive noticed that ALMOST every major city has "slums" where the REALLY poor people live, with dirt cheap rents! I say almost, because NYC doesn't seem to have them, the really poor people are always homeless there.. SO I'm wondering where the "bad" areas are? Where the minimal income people live? In a LOT of cities, these places ARE in or very close to downtown... So wheres the slums and ghettos located in Portland?

[Sherwoody]

I'm new to Portland myself so maybe the longtime Portlanders can elaborate. There seems to be an organized camp of some sort located on this corner. I guess I'm not surprised Google maps shows an empty lot, but IRL it appears to be a rather permanently established homeless community.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=portl...6.51,,0,-10.57

[Leisesturm]

To have a proper slum... "ghetto" to use your word, you need to have a significant population of African Americans. Not Hispanics, not Eastern Europeans, not Middle Eastern, not sub-Saharan African... African American. Black. Is that plain enough for you? Freed slaves traveled north out of the slave states along what are now the I-95 and I-75 corridors and ghetto's can be found in all the major cities through which those corridors pass. The I-5 corridor was not one of the Great Migration routes and to this day the Western States have lower black populations than their Eastern and Mid-Western counterparts. That includes California. Until relatively recently, North Portland functioned as the de facto "ghetto" area in Portland. Gentrification is changing that. Gentrification is changing Harlem in NYC, also Williamsburg and Crown Heights. In fact, NYC being an I-95 corridor city of extreme importance had and still has more African Americans and thus more slums and more ghetto's than all the other cities outside of the south combined: East New York, Brownsville, Bushwick, Bedford-Stuyvesant, Williamsburg, Far Rockaway, Fort Greene, and of course, Harlem and the South Bronx. The earlier towns I named are barely touched by gentrification and are still raw and untamed. The last named are very much changed from their earlier days but remain significant reservoirs of poverty. NYC has a COL of 216. That is more than double any other city except Hawaii. The rents in Bushwick seem high and unaffordable only until you compare them to rents in Park Slope or Chelsea.

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[Steve Pickering]

Wrong. Too be a true Ghetto you would need to have a significant Jewish Population living in oppression and poverty.

But as to the usual expectation of a ghetto, (not to be confused with a Barrio), Oregon doesn't really have them. Slums are very rare here too. Bad neighborhoods can be anywhere. Some are even somewhat upscale.

[Homelessadvocate]

Originally Posted by Steve Pickering

Wrong. Too be a true Ghetto you would need to have a significant Jewish Population living in oppression and poverty.

But as to the usual expectation of a ghetto, (not to be confused with a Barrio), Oregon doesn't really have them. Slums are very rare here too. Bad neighborhoods can be anywhere. Some are even somewhat upscale.

Ive been across the entire usa, many times, and i'm never seen a major city WITHOUT a ghetto, or even a slum!! first time for everything I suppose....

[urbanlife78]

No, there aren't any bad neighborhoods near downtown.

[Larry Caldwell]

I think this one is out by the airport.

Dignity Village - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[scottinpdx]

Originally Posted by Sherwoody

I'm new to Portland myself so maybe the longtime Portlanders can elaborate. There seems to be an organized camp of some sort located on this corner. I guess I'm not surprised Google maps shows an empty lot, but IRL it appears to be a rather permanently established homeless community.

https://maps.google.com/maps?q=portl...6.51,,0,-10.57

That group I am pretty sure is called "Right To Dream Too" but I could be wrong. I have not had any problem with the people staying there. I am in no way liberal, but they don't seem to brother anyone. I think there used to a porn shop there so at least it's somewhat an improvment. If I remember right, there is a battle between the owner of the property and the city.

[oldtintype]

Originally Posted by urbanlife78

No, there aren't any bad neighborhoods near downtown.

Old Town certainly has it's moments.

[turquoise1]

Yes - it is not too appealing, most of the time... also, it is too bad that we have no real Chinatown downtown.