Walkable Portland neighborhoods

[Yankeemama]

Astoria in Queens, NYC still has storefronts that span miles in different parts of the neighborhood. I have several friends that live in Astoria and whenever I would spend the night we would walk the hood the next day. Mixed in with a Starbucks would be a real fish monger, several bodegas, a gazillion dollar stores, Ethiopian restaurants, Indian restaurants, Thai restaurants, places called Cafe/bars( espresso during the day and cocktails and smoking at night), bakeries, and of course Greek restaurants that I still dream about. Astoria, L.I.City, and Jackson Heights, Flushing are extremely diverse neighborhoods in Queens that makes it very desirable for the middle class. Compared to Manhattan, Brooklyn, and North Jersey... Queens is quite affordable. The ethnic food in Queens is the best in the city IMO. Trains to the mid town Manhattan are plentiful compared to Williamsburg, Brooklyn and you can still have a car in Queens pretty easily.

[Explorer Dave]

Originally Posted by skiffrace

This is a good observation that accurately reflects the reality. Portland is selling itself as the "walkable" city, but the meaning of that word is distorted, especially if you measure it by the European standards.


Downtown Portland is one of the very, very few truly walkable parts of PDX metro area. There is another "pseudo-walkable" area in Pearl and one near NW 23rd ave.
Why "pseudo-walkable?" What does the "walkable" really mean? To many Portlanders, including many posters here, "walkable" means there is a coffee shop, health-food cooperative and (perhaps) indie-bookstore within a few blocks. Walking is so little known and so despised in US, even in Portland, that places say, 15 minutes (less than a mile) away on foot are usually not deemed "walkable".

Finally, why everyone wants the "walkability". If it was measured in rational terms, people would say "I want to be able to walk to my job, and a supermarket". Those 2 places are where everybody (unless retired) has to visit many times a week.
Alas, that's not how they view it here. They pat themselves on the back if they can walk to coffee shop ("I live in a walkable neighborhood!"), even if they drive 30 minutes to\from work 10x per week.

I totally agree with you, sadly any USA city (except maybe NYC) will fall short when measured by European standards. Our cites have sadly been built for cars not people, that needs to change.

I think Portland is one of the few that is intentionally trying.

For me Grocery would be the number 1 thing to look for, but there had better be more than that. I plan to mostly work from home and with small businesses, so my work should be mostly walkable too. I agree that if Grocery and work aren't part of your walkable lifestyle you don't really have a walkable (or bike/public transit) lifestyle.

[Minervah]

Originally Posted by Explorer Dave

I totally agree with you, sadly any USA city (except maybe NYC) will fall short when measured by European standards. Our cites have sadly been built for cars not people, that needs to change.

I think Portland is one of the few that is intentionally trying.

For me Grocery would be the number 1 thing to look for, but there had better be more than that. I plan to mostly work from home and with small businesses, so my work should be mostly walkable too. I agree that if Grocery and work aren't part of your walkable lifestyle you don't really have a walkable (or bike/public transit) lifestyle.

Not ever having owned a car, this has always been the definition of walkable for me with the exception of walking to work being a priority although I have been able to do this at one time. But as long as I have good public transportation service to get to work, it isn't something I insist upon. So a grocery store and good public transit service within a reasonable amount of walking distance have always been what I looked for in a neighborhood. In Portland, the areas that have these features are the are becoming or have become the most expensive in which to live.

Not knowing the OP's situation, this might be fine for him but it's something of which he would want to be aware.

[oldtintype]

Go to Sellwood/East Moreland--SE Milwaukie and Bybee, and SE 13th and Tacoma and then travel around from there. As an example there's a grocery store on Tacoma right off of 13th, a library on SE 13th and Bidwell, then a park/community center/pool a few blocks from 13th and Bidwell.

Other strips would be the NE 28th and Burnside, others already mentioned, etc.

Places like Laurelhurst are mainly homes but they would walk over to Hollywood (NE Sandy and 40th area--lots of stores plus Whole foods and library) or to 28th and Burnside as an example. Portland is a series of neighborhoods most of which have their own little strips. Density is higher in NW--you can travel up and down NW 23rd starting at Burnside going north, as well as NW 21st starting at Burnside as an example, then W Burnside starting at NW 24th and then traveling east, all over the Pearl and parts of Goose Hollow, etc. Travel up NW Raleigh starting at NW 23rd and go west all the way up to Wallace Park which houses Chapman elementary at around NW 29th. You'll see the area that someone recommended to you way back.

[oldtintype]

Just looked at some of the areas I recommended you look at and it's a good reminder that Google is often out of date! NW 23rd and Raleigh as an example now has fancy apartments on the corner and several restaurants where "Rock Soft Futon" used to stand....the Google image doesn't look anything like it does now. Same with several of them--they look 1-2 years out of date.

[gypsydoc]

Originally Posted by dent_arthur_dent

I am curious to hear from people about neighborhoods that have nice stuff that you can walk to.

I've been 'driving' around Portland (mainly SE and NE) on Google Street View and it seems like there aren't many little hubs of nice local small businesses/cafes/grocery stores etc, or maybe a library/pool. What I've been seeing are mostly networks of residential streets and then wider artery streets that may have a gas station or strip mall at a major intersection. Obviously downtown has the kinds of things I am describing, but are there any other mini 'downtowns' dotted around the city?

Hope this makes sense.

The website "walkscore" might be useful as well as doing a search for "Portland, Oregon Neighborhoods" on youtube.

The historic downtown districts of Gresham and Troutdale are very walkable and include easy, free parking. Going south on 99E will take you to Milwaukie. A few blocks east and you'll find a walkable area in Downtown Milwaukie as well. Even further south will take you to the historic downtown of Oregon City has shops and restaurants to explore. There are two cute sections of Oregon city; One up on the hill and one on the level of the Willamette River.

In the summer, many of these neighborhoods feature live music and farmer's markets. Have fun.
Portland does have 95 recognized neighborhood associations. Most of them have a central area of a few concentrated blocks where coffee shops, stores and small businesses cluster.
http://www.portlandoregon.gov/oni/28386

[EnricoV]

Originally Posted by jjpop

Based on some of the definitions here, I think Ladd's Addition (built around the turn of the 20th century) would be considered not walkable. So, arguably, was any neighborhood in Portland ever built with European-style walkability in mind? To take it a step further, are there any neighborhoods anywhere in the US developed in the last 100 - 120 years that have European-style walkability? (Serious question! I don't know!). Would Tanasbourne count?

What's not walkable about Ladd's Addition? It's bounded on the south by Division and the north by Hawthorne, both of which teem with services, including a grocery store. And some of the best restaurants in town.