Transportation and Land Use Patterns: Monitoring Urban Change Using Aerial Photography, Portland, Oregon 1925-1945

Abstract

Special thanks go to Brian Johnson of the Stanley Parr Archives and Records Center and Elizabeth Winroth of the Oregon Historical Society for breaking with policy, and taking the time to personally transport the aerial photographs used in this thesis to my workplace, the BLM Oregon State Office, for scanning on a large format scanner, and waiting patiently. Henry Wolter, Jim Rounds and Greg Chan of the BLM all assisted in the process of acquiring and working with these images. Dr. Robert Johnston's research into the political history of Portland's eastside demonstrated to me the value of understanding past processes. What began as a notso-straightforward cartographic commission for his recently published book, and our voluminous correspondence as he explained the forces behind the patterns I was mapping, sparked an interest in the development of the city that has become my home. Of course, my greatest appreciation is reserved for my wife, Dr. Margie Fyfield, for her support as I worked towards this degree. Our promise to help one another complete our educations has taken nearly twenty years to come to fruition, but like many things that do not happen easily, it has been a worthy pursuit.

The "ADaM Cube" : Categorizing Portland, Oregon's Urbanization Using GIS and Spatial Statistics

“…Urban theorists of the early to mid-20 th century noted mechanization as among the greatest influences on the growth and form of North American cities (Mumford 1961, Mueller 1995, Hanson and Giuliano 2004. Their observations describe rapid suburbanization due to space/time compression aided by rapid, long distance travel in streetcars and later the automobiles (Fyfield 2003, Rodrigue 2016. Authors note how cities were intentionally designed with the understanding that urban form reinforces travel patterns (Crane 2000).…”

“…These neighborhoods are more openly spaced, built off of main thoroughfares on narrower but less frequent and less intensely developed side streets (figure 5.6, and figure 5.7). Together, groups 6, 7, and 8 developed as streetcar suburbs, taking advantage of rapid overland travel unavailable generations earlier (Fyfield 2003, Abbott 2011. These groups concentrate closely to arterial roadways, generally within a half mile of a former streetcar line.…”