Charles Hilu writes:
Each year, Time releases a list of the world’s “Greatest Places” to explore on vacation. Among the 50 featured this year were the expected beautiful getaways: the Galapagos Islands, Greenland, Jamaica, etc. But there were five American cities on the list, and those choices ranged from entirely appropriate to puzzling to just wrong.
One of those cities happens to be my forlorn hometown of Portland, Ore. Time lauded Rose City “for the hotels that will soon grace the city, as well as its biking infrastructure,” Charles notes. “Highly praised in the description was the city’s inclusivity. In Portland, ‘All are welcome,’ the magazine said.”
While the folks over at Time might not see anything wrong with the Portland model of governance, developers — you know, the people who actually have an economic stake in such determinations — don’t feel the same. I wrote an elegy for my city back in December, where I pointed out:
The adverse effects of Portland’s less-than-competitive economic policies have long been mitigated by the city’s crunchy charm: Set against the backdrop of snowcapped Mount Hood, populated by lovable kombucha-brewing oddballs and eccentrics, and repeatedly ranked as the top city in America for food and drink alike, the unique allure of Portland’s happy-go-lucky grunge on either side of the Willamette River has made it a target for investors and a magnet for tourists. But the Rose City’s culture and natural assets are no longer enough to balance out the effects of lockdowns, runaway homelessness, crime spikes, and general civic breakdown.
In 2021, Portland was downgraded from third to 66th out of the 80 most desirable cities for prospective investors and developers — the direct result of the reputational damage that the city has suffered over the past year and a half. While the riots that rocked Stumptown in 2020 were mostly confined to a few blocks surrounding the Multnomah County Courthouse downtown, their consequences are felt across — and beyond — the city. Large-scale demonstrations began to peter out by the end of August, but only after months of breathless coverage in the national media and an untold amount of economic damage. (The first four weeks of rioting alone cost the city some $30 million.) At the same time, Portland’s partially defunded and thoroughly demoralized police force seems unable to prevent the vandalism and destruction that a smaller posse of determined Antifa-style anarchists have continued to carry out in the months since. The city is gripped by a sense of helplessness — as if disorder and breakdown are an inevitability.
Maybe Time’s approbations will make potential investors change their minds about Portland. But “inclusivity” doesn’t put bread on the table; and welcoming atmospheres don’t stop your business from being looted. So I won’t be holding my breath.