In the northwest corner of Gresham, a neighborhood is fighting to overturn years of instability and economic constraint.
Along East Burnside, street art and numerous local restaurants reflect the diverse communities that call Rockwood home, but empty storefronts bespeak a history of struggling economically. Now Rockwood Rising, a project of Gresham's urban renewal agency, aims to revitalize the Rockwood community by empowering the area and its inhabitants through a series of economic programs.
On Oct. 3, Rockwood Rising officials hosted a walking tour at the Rockwood Town Center where they shared upcoming development plans with the community and Strong Towns president Charles Marohn. In addition to taking a tour of Rockwood, Marohn gave a short presentation on ways Rockwood Rising could take equitable approaches to economic development.
“Metro is interested in opportunities to bring different perspectives and expertise to projects underway in the region,” said Metro planner Lake McTighe, who helped arrange Marohn's visit to the community. “Rockwood represents a diverse and vibrant community that is seeking to grow and prosper without displacing the people living there.”
In 2015, Rockwood Rising kicked off its project by picking a developer. Officials with the initiative hope to break ground by 2017 on a 5.5-acre property that will feature 100,000 square feet of commercial, office and retail space. Metro helped bring Marohn to provide another professional perspective to the project.
“I think he sees his role as a provocateur – to push communities to think critically about how they are approaching thorny issues,” McTighe said.
During the presentation, Marohn, whose published numerous articles and travels the country presenting on city development, gave his opinion on officials’ efforts in trying to improve the community.
“’The transportation work you’re doing – it’s fantastic,’” Marohn said. “‘You get off the stop here, you’ve got all the attention to detail, you’ve done all the things. It is better than 98 percent of what you’ll run into.’”
But, Marohn said, leaders in Rockwood and the region should think about different ways to avoid displacing community members. Additionally, Marohn warned of the dangers of gentrification and its repercussions in a place like Rockwood.
“‘We have created a massive distortion in our housing market and made things unaffordable for everybody,’” Marohn said. “‘You have the chance to create a ton of opportunities for people. However, this opportunity will be harder and messier.’”
While Rockwood Rising focuses on creating a town center for the neighborhood, complete with a public square, Gresham officials like senior planner Brian Martin are busy coordinating economic development and transportation plans.
“This project is all about understanding important destinations for people,” Martin said. “As well as trying to address any challenges they might have getting there.”
During the event, Martin unveiled an updated active transportation plan to improve the city’s sidewalks, crosswalks, bike lanes, trails and paths – an initiative funded by a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that's targeted to racially diverse communities. Martin said the plan will continue to be updated in the coming months to ensure as many voices as possible are heard and included.
“It’ll be a long term plan,” Martin said. “We won’t have the money to do all those things right away, but we’ll work on it over time.”
People interested in learning more about Rockwood Rising or the updates in Gresham are encouraged to attend the Walk, Talk and Eat event on Oct. 15 hosted by the City of Gresham. Community members will have the chance to contribute their thoughts and ideas on the active transportation plan as well as take a tour of all the places where officials have proposed change.