A five-minute video funded by the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation tells the story of black communities struggling to preserve their traditions in what's been called the whitest city in the United States.
Oregon Humanities magazine recently debuted "Future: Portland," a short video produced by Ifanyi Bell and inspired by an essay Bell wrote for an earlier issue of Oregon Humanities about the challenges of growing up black in Portland (or as the essay puts it, growing up "tolerated and underestimated" in Portland). According to a post on the Oregon Humanities website, the five minute video includes "civic leaders [describing] the loss of Portland’s strong black communities and the hope of restoring them in the future."
Casey Parks reports on the video for The Oregonian, noting especially that no one in the video uses the word gentrification. "They don't have to. The stories African Americans tell of home in 'Future: Portland' do more to tell the story of this changing city than any buzzword can," writes Parks.
The article by Parks provides more of a backstory on Bell's process in creating the video but also the opportunity the video means to seize. Bell is quote directly in the article: "This is an opportunity for Portland to do what no other city has done, to really wrestle with these issues and come up with some kind of action….I no longer have to convince people there is a problem. We understand what's at stake. The most difficult part is finding out what to do with this knowledge."
FULL STORY: Loss and Hope for Portland’s Black Communities
Kids and Urbanization
The question of whether there is space for children in rapidly changing cities was under investigation in two recent studies with somewhat contradictory findings.
Portland's 'Community-Led Urbanism' Tackles Displacement and Sustainability
A grassroots plan seeks to cultivate a sustainable, affordable center of Black culture in the neighborhood of Albina.
10 U.S. Cities Launch Anti-Displacement Network
More than half of American tenants are rent-burdened, putting them at risk of displacement. A national collaboration with PolicyLink hopes to help.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
Healing Through Parks: Altadena’s Path to Recovery After the Eaton Fire
In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena is uniting to restore Loma Alta Park, creating a renewed space for recreation, community gathering, and resilience.
San Diego to Rescind Multi-Unit ADU Rule
The city wants to close a loophole that allowed developers to build apartment buildings on single-family lots as ADUs.
Electric Vehicles for All? Study Finds Disparities in Access and Incentives
A new UCLA study finds that while California has made progress in electric vehicle adoption, disadvantaged communities remain underserved in EV incentives, ownership, and charging access, requiring targeted policy changes to advance equity.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research