SFist: San Francisco, Not as Sustainable as Portland?

AGinSanFran

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:28:43 -0800

Portlandian? Huh? Are you really from Clackamas County? Maybe you'd better stick with the telemarketing gig.

oskarv

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:01:52 -0800

mcgordonliddy: i don't know how much I buy the whole "everyone's rich in San Francisco" argument. It's true that's there's a helluva a lot of million/billionaires here, but we also have a helluva lot of middleclass and even a few working class neighborhoods. SOMA, much Potrero, Tenderloin, The MIssion, Excelsior, and Bayview are all what I would call "working class."...and then you've got Sunset and the Richmond which is mostly middle class. I'm SUPER poor (by SF standards) and I have my own studio with a bathroom and eat-in kitchen. I really can't complain :). Also, peole make more money here......There's nothing wrong with Portland though. It's a different type of pace, and comparing it to SF is just kind of silly. Different cities for different people.

alimeander

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 11:46:07 -0800

Been living in Portland for 2 yrs now, lived in SF for 3. I prefer SF hands down, but Portland (PDX) ain't bad. PDX is definitely white as hell, plus you have a considerable redneck population in the adjoining burbs (reminds me of Tulsa, OK). However, oskary is right about it being very friendly to other races now (surprisingly so, I'd say). It is also quite progressive -- in fact, not just in talk: GLBT billboards and ads are common (most common late-night phone sex TV ad is for Interactive Male), good renewable / reusable awareness and options, genuine move toward mass transit (but there are many cars still), very bike-friendly, great eco-conscious food options (check out www.burgerville.com for an interesting fast-food chain example). There are stark class divisions, though, made more irritating by the wealthy group's progressive rhetoric and their control of the nonprofit sector. I would say that PDX is a friendlier city for the avg American, but SF is a friendlier city for the avg world citizen. That's what I miss most here -- walking down the street surrounded by signs and conversations in numerous different languages.

polymergirl

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 11:37:44 -0800

As a native Portlandian, I object to this website. They refer to us and "Portlanders." Who the hell is a "Portlander?" Anyone who has bothered to meet anyone who is actually from Oregon knows we are Portlandians. Also, there are unfortunately no jobs in Portland. All of my friends who stayed where we grew up are now telemarketers. Everyone else had to move away for a job.

mcgordonliddy

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 11:10:05 -0800

Portland also has a middle class, and families and children. SF may be diverse (segregated) but it's a rich kids playground. Give me true economic diversity over fake ethnic diversity anyday.

oskarv

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:20:19 -0800

that all being said, there aren't that many brown people in Portland either, so it's pretty darn white. If you look at cities with the whitest populations NOT including latino people, then I'd venture to say Portland would climb the ranks. It's pretty damn white. Portland actually has a pretty racist history, but from what I understand it's pretty friendly to other races now.

oskarv

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:11:54 -0800

mysterhie: that list may be a bit misleading. it's clear that they count white latinos as "white."....so the percentage they came up with is really all white people and latino people put together. i know this because there's no way in HELL MIami is 70% White, because I'm from Miami and it's about 50% Cuban alone, and then a mixed bag of a whole bunch of other latinos and then some white and black people thrown in for good measure.

oskarv

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 10:00:19 -0800

somehow i think a lot more people drive in portland.

bluecanary

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 17:50:57 -0800

@SFX: I was laughing about that as well.

SFX

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 17:36:33 -0800

rachel ray terror scarf. i like that.

The Angry Young Man

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 17:23:48 -0800

San Juan, Puerto Rico is the 7th whitest city in the United States? C'man!

mysterhie

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 17:09:00 -0800

Portland may be the greenest city in the United States, but it's also one of the whitest: http://everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1425216 Portland's nice, but certainly not for my style. Or ethnic group.

mpantone

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:44:29 -0800

It's all the greenhouse gases we generate, which emanates primarily from the San Francisco Board of Supervisors -- the most dysfunctional elected governing body of any major city in America.

zippy_monster

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:32:29 -0800

aj: ten thousand babies are not sustainable.

AGinSanFran

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 16:20:57 -0800

Silly Brock, of course Portlanders flush. Twice. It's a long way to your grin.

fizzandpop

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:57:50 -0800

They have loads of rose bushes too.

aj

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:57:40 -0800

Make sure to do that sustainably, TAYM.

The Angry Young Man

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:49:23 -0800

I love Portland, I'm going to marry it and have 10,000 of its babies.

The Angry Young Man

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:48:07 -0800

Portland is like the best city in the known universe. While they're busy revamping entire neighborhoods into sustainable Green wonderlands, we're building yet even more overpriced luxury condos for strange people with millions of American dollars to waste on such nonsense. While they're tossing down light rail and streetcar lines like there's no tomorrow, we're building more rides for tourists (i.e., the ill conceived Central Subway - Moscone to Union Square to Chinatown - no connection to the Market Street lines - useless to anyone who actually lives here). While they wander their half sized blocks comfortably clad in Pendleton shirts, we're tossing attitude while riding around on our track bikes, wearing too tight jeans, Rachel Ray Terror scarves and pretending like we're somehow original or interesting. Portland is like the Finland of North America, whereas San Francisco is like it's own private Bulgaria.

Generic

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:37:24 -0800

Yet another slander from Brock's anti-Portland agenda.

fizzandpop

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:07:22 -0800

We can never beat Portland because Portland is where San Franciscans go to get recycled. Did that make any sense?

Leanne

Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:00:05 -0800

From the SFGate article: "Where'd we lose points? Affordable housing - San Francisco came in dead last, actually - and traffic congestion." Seems like valid arguments!