Orenco Station residents like the high-density life

A new survey finds social cohesion and above average use of transit among residents in the Hillsboro, Oregon, community. The lots are smaller and the prices generally higher than in conventional Portland suburbs, but residents of Orenco Station, located on the city’s West Side MAX light rail line, like what they get in return. That’s the conclusion sociologist Bruce Podobnik of Lewis and Clark College in Portland draws from a recent survey of residents, in which 94 percent of respondents say they now consider the organization and design of the project to be superior to conventional suburbs, and 78 percent report finding a greater sense of community than in their previous neighborhood. While three-fourths of respondents continue to commute by car only, 22 percent use public transportation to get to work and school — 69 percent higher than the regional average. The survey responses were collected in face-to-face interviews with residents, carried out by students trained in scientific survey methods. The survey is the second part of a larger effort called the Portland Neighborhood Survey, in which Podobnik is collecting information on health, resident attitudes, and social activities in four neighborhoods. The Orenco study includes comparisons with an identical survey conducted in a pre-World War II neighborhood in Northeast Portland. Podobnik notes that the juxtaposition of these two communities is a bit like comparing apples and oranges, but a survey in a contemporary, conventional subdivision — the results of which will be in later this spring — should provide a more meaningful basis for comparison. When the survey was conducted in the summer of 2001, Orenco Station had 297 occupied units, all of which were approached twice by the survey takers. A total of 114 households, representing 234 residents, took part — a response rate of 38 percent. It’s noteworthy that residents did not respond to direct questions on urban form or the quality of the public realm. Instead, the survey asked open-ended questions that allowed respondents to identify up to three factors that they liked and disliked about their community. In the positive column, the most common answer was that residents liked the overall design of the project, closely followed by references to the parks and greenspaces, the community orientation, the town center, the alley parking and garage design, and the design of homes. In response to the question about Orenco Station’s most serious problems, respondents most frequently listed “none.” Next on the list were “dog problems,” “traffic problems outside Orenco Station,” and “small lots and yards” was mentioned as a problem by 7 percent of respondents. Significantly, only one resident stated that lack of privacy was a concern. Social cohesion Podobnik emphasizes that the homogeneity of Orenco Station — the community is 95 percent white and most residents are over 40 — is a significant factor in the high level of social cohesion that residents report. In contrast, the Northeast Portland neighborhood is considerably more ethnically diverse and has an average monthly income $3,000 lower than that in Orenco Station. In that context, it may be less surprising that 40 percent of Orenco Station respondents said they take part in formal or informal neighborhood group activities, while 30 percent in Northeast Portland reported doing so. But whereas the most frequently cited activity in Northeast Portland was participation on the neighborhood watch program, Orenco residents said they took part in block parties, barbecues, book clubs, and other communal activities sponsored by the neighborhood association. “Clearly the key new urbanist objective of fostering social interaction is being achieved in the community,” Podobnik concludes. Transit use Since Orenco Station was conceived as a transit-oriented development, the survey’s probing of residents’ travel habits are of particular interest. The emerging picture is mixed. Podobnik writes that “though the average respondent from Orenco Station reports having increased their use of mass transit for occasional trips since moving into the neighborhood, the community as a whole has not made the more fundamental shift toward primary reliance on mass transit for commuting.” Yet, in light of the estimate that 13 percent of commuters in the Portland region use mass transit — according to the transit agency Tri-Met’s annual Attitude and Awareness Survey — Orenco Station’s 22 percent figure is an encouraging achievement (Future results from a comparable conventional subdivision should put these figures in a more appropriate context). Moreover, 69 percent of respondents said they use mass transit more frequently than where they lived before. Just 27 percent of Orenco Station respondents reported relying exclusively on cars for all transportation. A summary of the survey findings and the complete questionnaire is available for download at www.lclark.edu/~podobnik/orenco02.pdf.