Portland metropolitan area
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Portland metropolitan area is an urban area in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington centered around the city of Portland, Oregon. In Oregon it includes Multnomah and most of Washington counties, and western parts of Clackamas County. The area extends across the Columbia River to include southern parts of Clark and Skamania counties in Washington state.
The Oregon portion of the metropolitan area is the state's largest urban center, with about 2 million people and about 550 to 600 sq. mi. of urbanized land area, and the state's hub for trade, transportation, and business. Most is under the jurisdiction of Metro, a directly-elected regional government which, among other things, is responsible for land use planning in the region. Recently Metro's boundaries were extended to include Yamhill and Columbia counties,[citation needed] traditionally considered outside of the metropolitan area.
[edit] Cities and other communities
Major cities in the region in addition to Portland include Beaverton, Gresham, Hillsboro in Oregon, and Vancouver in Washington. The area also includes the smaller cities of Clackamas, Damascus, Gladstone, King City, Lake Oswego, Milwaukie, Oregon City, Tigard, Tualatin, West Linn, Wilsonville in Oregon, as well as Battle Ground, Camas, and Washougal in Washington.
It includes the unincorporated suburban communities in Oregon of Aloha, Beavercreek, Dunthorpe, Garden Home, Raleigh Hills, and West Slope.
Categorized lists of cities, neighborhoods, and communities are also available:
[edit] Metropolitan statistical area
The Portland–Vancouver–Beaverton Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), the 24th largest in the United States, has a population of 2,095,861 (2005 estimate). It consists of Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas, and parts of Columbia and Yamhill counties in Oregon, as well as Clark County, Washington and Skamania County, Washington. The area includes Portland and the neighboring cities of Beaverton, Gresham, Hillsboro, Milwaukie, Lake Oswego, Oregon City, Fairview, Wood Village, Troutdale, Tualatin and Tigard, as well as Vancouver, Washington.
[edit] Transportation
Portland is where Interstate 84 ends at Interstate 5, both major highways in the Pacific Northwest. Other primary roads include Interstate 205, an eastern bypass of the urban core, U.S. Highway 26, which heads west and southeast, U.S. Highway 30, which goes to the northwest, and Oregon Highway 217, which connects US 26 with I-5 in the south, travelling through Beaverton. Both US 26 and US 30 go to the Oregon Coast. Also, Washington State Route 14 travels along the northern banks of the Columbia River from downtown Vancouver east to Camas and Washougal.
Transit service on the Oregon side is generally provided by TriMet and Sandy Area Metro around Sandy. Service in Clark County is provided by C-TRAN.
[edit] External links
- Metro government website
- Oregon Sustainable Community Digital Library of key urban planning documents on the Portland Metropolitan area, at Portland State University
