Figure 12 - Territorial Governance of Portland city

Figure 12 - Territorial Governance of Portland city (Source: Portland Plan, 2012)

In terms of amenities provisions in the city, the inner neighbourhoods are provided with most quality services, the downtown city centre being the densest and highly liveability index. The high liveability index is reflected in the real estate values of properties being high in both the areas, the inner neighbourhoods serve mainly residential purpose. (Bureau of Planning and Sustainability- City of Portland, 2014; City of Portland, 2012) On the other hand, the Eastern neighbourhoods, occupied by lower income groups and lacks proper street connectivity, poor pedestrian access to parks and gardens compared to the other neighbourhoods in the city. These neighbourhoods which have been urbanised in recent decades have a characteristic of urban-rural mix with relatively low household density, although population density is high. The urban blocks are large and are punctuated by malls and commercial centres. The streets are laid in the hierarchy of grid iron patterns to felicitate car-oriented street design over relatively flat terrain, which only changes in the hilly terrains of the western neighbourhoods following the contours and other natural features. These neighbourhoods lie in the region of high natural value. It should be noted that the city overall suffers through the deficit of green infrastructure.