Washington County, OR
This article by Richard Florida will surely be used as further evidence of the wisdom of the Portland’s economic development trajectory for the past decade. Florida, after all, was the guru of the “young creative class” model.
Here’s the problem–just as a country as complex as the US consists of thousands of micro-economies, metropolitan areas themselves are far from uniform.
In the Portland/Vancouver metro area, for instance, the population and economic growth engines for the past decade have not been Multnomah County or the city core. It’s been Hillsborough, Beaverton, and suburban Washington County.
As Jeff Mapes recently reported in the Oregonian:
Thanks to its powerful economy, the county has been responsible for more than a fifth of the state’s population growth over the past 20 years, putting it on track to become the state’s most populous county by the mid-2030s.
Poverty is 13% below the state average and the county now accounts for more than a quarter of all wages paid statewide.
This creates some real challenges for our region. As the flap over fluoride demonstrated once again, Portland doesn’t play particularly well with the suburbs, even though our economic future is essentially being driven by Washington and Clackamas counties.
Hat tip to Clarice Cutler, Reed senior, for pointing out this article.
Micro Economies, Micro-Micro Economies, and the Political Challenges in Metro Portland
Washington County, OR
This article by Richard Florida will surely be used as further evidence of the wisdom of the Portland’s economic development trajectory for the past decade. Florida, after all, was the guru of the “young creative class” model.
Here’s the problem–just as a country as complex as the US consists of thousands of micro-economies, metropolitan areas themselves are far from uniform.
In the Portland/Vancouver metro area, for instance, the population and economic growth engines for the past decade have not been Multnomah County or the city core. It’s been Hillsborough, Beaverton, and suburban Washington County.
As Jeff Mapes recently reported in the Oregonian:
Poverty is 13% below the state average and the county now accounts for more than a quarter of all wages paid statewide.
This creates some real challenges for our region. As the flap over fluoride demonstrated once again, Portland doesn’t play particularly well with the suburbs, even though our economic future is essentially being driven by Washington and Clackamas counties.
Hat tip to Clarice Cutler, Reed senior, for pointing out this article.