Downtown Portland isn't recovering from the pandemic and the reasons will not surprise you
JOHN SEXTON Aug 25, 2022 1:20 PM ET
(AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Stephen Miller highlighted this tweet by Nicholas Kristof:
If you’re a regular HotAir reader then this news will not come as a surprise. Earlier this month, Willamette Week reported on researchers at UC Berkeley who used cellphone GPS data to see how various cities were recovering from the pandemic, i.e. has foot traffic returned to downtown areas. What it found was that out of 62 cities in the US and Canada, Portland was near the very bottom of the pile.
City Hall asked DHM Research to assess attitudes about downtown, city services in neighborhoods, homelessness, policing, and housing prices. DHM surveyed 500 Portland adults from May 2 to 16, asking them to complete a 12-minute survey.
The results? Almost 60% of respondents had a negative impression of downtown. Top reasons for avoiding visits downtown were homelessness (66%), trash and graffiti (60%), vandalism and property crime (51%), and violent crime (50%). Parking was next at 29%.
https://hotair.com/john-s-2/2022/08/25/downtown-portland-isnt-recovering-from-the-pandemic-and-the-reasons-will-not-surprise-you-n492275