Elizabeth:

"Would you agree that much credit for the lower crime rate downtown & better safety reputation is due at least in part to the good work of former PDX Police Chief Charles Moose?"

Why is it necessary to apportion credit? Is there a tote board somewhere for brownie points?

I think it has to do with the nature of our tri-county planning which so many take exception to. Downtown Portland was developed as a center to the metro region and everything from transportation planning to urban density objectives have added to it.

I have been in many other domestic and urban city centers, although not frequently enough to make a comparison with Portland. Phoenix comes to mind.

There is no city center there... there are little pods of "downtown" here and there, but no where have I found the kind of all-hours foot traffic that we have in Portland.

The killing? Not gonna change my habits at all... it is an anomoly.

Holy cow! Are you lobbying for a green-jacket job?

I would think that the stigma of the “big-city is a violence den of sin” is something that cannot be totally erased by the media spinning how safe and secure overnight or a year or two; especially, after years and decades of media focusing on these issues on the 5 o’clock news nightly. Yes, Portland is by far and wide the cleanest and friendliest city by size; with Syracuse, Montpellier and Albuquerque getting a lot of kudos.
Detroit is as bad as Chicago, Houston, New Orleans, Baltimore, DC, New York and Los Angeles; at one level or another, especially when you have millions of individuals “interconnecting” on a daily basis—eventually you will have a random act of violence and tragedy; and premeditative ones, as well. The “heat saturated and radiated” super-sized cities, I do not care for going to because of the shorter tempers. However, some of the super-sized cities that have chronic urban blight and decay issues were kept in this way because of the chronic crime and illicit activities that went on in those areas. Detroit is a lot better today than 10 and 20 years ago, but it still has a long journey ahead of itself to remove the stigma of its past. Portland and Oregon has a long journey ahead to get “adequate funding” for its schools, helping the mentally disabled and homelessnes. These issues are going to have a direct impact on the progress and/or the regress of all of us citizens that live here.

Actually one of the nicer "downtown's" these days is Manhattan. At least the part of it that lies south of Harlem. New York has plenty of grimy urban neighborhoods but Manhattan is pretty decent and safe, even at night.

As for Portland, I used to work a weird graveyard shift in a bagel bakery downtown in the early 80s when I was going to school. I would get off around 2 or 3 a.m. I'd bike back and forth between my my house in SE because TriMet had no routes going the right direction at that time of night and I didn't own a car. It was always the inner SE neighborhoods that were a little more hair-raising to bike through at night. Especially right across Burnside and Morrison. Downtown was just dead quiet during the witching hours. But I was never hassled.

Today the downtown area has a lot more lights and glass. But I'm not sure all that much has changed. Portland in my memory has always been a fairly staid and safe place.

How about a comment from someone who doesn't live in Portland, enjoys the satisfaction that my nearest neighbor is 1/4 mile away and loves the country.

I love Portland and enjoy the visits, day or night. I've never felt unsafe at anytime. Even west Burnside after dark.

Hell, all of my neighbors have guns and most of them know how to use them.

Merry Christmas to all the Oregon bloggeratti. My Rx is running low and if I don't get a bong hit soon, I fear I'll slip into voting conservative and offering divorces to metrosexuals and sending the National Guard after Canada's hidden WMDs.

You can prevent this with a small amount of Christmas stash or a Terminator microbrew.

Keep Oregon blue & green with little purple hairs!

8-)~

(Okay, okay, have a happy holiday, even if your depraved liberal passions can't be talked about in proper society. I promise to tell no-one about your Kobe Bryant fan letters.)

""""""""""My Rx is running low and if I don't get a bong hit soon,"""""""""""""

The path to clear thinking.

I moved around during my years as a reporter. I've lived in four cities as an adult, not counting college and post-grad education. In each of those cities downtown versus the suburbs was an issue. That included a city in the Midwest with a really low crime rate. So, I think the distrust is kind of built-in. But, that isn't to say there is no basis for it anywhere. Downtown does have the highest rate of intrusive and stranger crime in Portland.

My take on the shooting (which I need to update) is that it highlights the problems of homelessness and failure of the mental health system. But, it also is an economic matter because perceptions of saftey impact business. Downtown stores are less successful than suburban ones in most cities throughout the country. If people believe downtown is significantly less safe that has repercussions that effect the city in many ways.

I did read and grasp the whole thing. That 71 percent not feeling safe walking alone at night is troubling, to me, anyhow. And, I would have to count myself among them. I'm not saying I tremble in my socks, but I do feel apprehensive. And, if I need to catch a bus or trolley, I make sure not to do it on Burnside or the adjacent blocks. Too much petty crime that can spill over to involve bystanders there.

Next, let's take a closer look at the research. The auditor polled Portland residents. But, the fear factor is usually stronger among suburbanites. It is not clear who the business alliance talked to, but again, it sounds as if the respondents are from Portland. So, I think we would need to see additional data to determine whether fear of downtown being unsafe is keeping folks from the suburbs and exurbs away.

I have to laugh when I hear people describe Portland as unsafe. I lived in a small SE city with a population under 80,000 and an annual murder number (not rate, actual total) exceeding Portland's.

As someone who grew up in large cities and spent the last decade in the SE, the major difference I've noticed between Portland and other cities I'm familiar with is it's homogeneity, on both racial and income grounds. I think this has a lot to do with the low crime rate.

I'd also attribute part of it to foot traffic, although the amount of that to be credited to planners is uncertain.

But to take this in a more constructive direction: what can be done, or what has been done, to continue to invigorate downtown and to battle perceptions (false or not) of an unsafe environment or a place inhospitable to businesses or to shopping?

From my own perspective, I'd like to hear something about the panhandlers.

I have been working downtown for the first time since I moved here five years ago. When i take my daily walk to Pioneer Square, I'm continually accosted by aggressive panhandlers, particularly groups of youth with large dogs.

I don't know how much this contributes to the perception of an unsafe downtown, but it sure can't help.

The shooting downtown has had little affect on how I feel about downtown. It definitely seems like a freak occurence.

That said, I'm slightly bothered by the equation that many posters seem to be making -- that feeling unsafe means somehow that you don't view Portland as not a great city with a low crime rate. These feelings are not mutually exclusive.

I live in northwest, in the most dense part of the city. I love my neighborhood, I love this city, but I sometimes feel unsafe. Because probably sometimes I am. That just goes with living in a big city. That is part of the risk we take with living here. We don't have garages where we can keep our cars safe. We walk the streets late at night, where sometimes unsavory characters do unsavory things.

In particular, in my neighborhood, I have been quite alarmed recently at an upsurge in prostitution and overly aggressive pimps who stand about, stare, make rude -- sometimes threatening --- comments and YES, make me feel unsafe. Now, I know how to handle myself, how to present myself, but that doesn't mean that I feel completely and utterly comfortable and confident when approached by these type of men late at night. I'm not going to move. I'm not saying that living in another city would make me feel any better. I imagine that Portland is as safe as big cities go. But I hate that posture that somehow acknowledging the crime and sometimes sketchiness of the city is something that only scard suburbanites who hate Portland do.

whoops, should have read:

that feeling unsafe means somehow that you don't view Portland as a great city with a low crime rate.

In the spirit of reviving old threads rather than starting new ones, what did people think of this story in Sunday's Oregonian:

click here for story

Do any of the various development folks from the City have a comment?

I have lots of reactions, but my main one is a sense of irony. While we malign the suburbs for creating one-dimensional communities (one income, one race, sleep eat and drive to work), it seems that development in the N. River district has gone in the same direction.