Metro is the regional government for the

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

portion of the

Portland metropolitan area The Portland metropolitan area is a metropolitan area, metro area with its urban area, core in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington (state), Washington. It has 5 principal cities, the largest being Portland, Oregon. The U.S. Office of Man ...

, covering portions of Clackamas, Multnomah, and

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

Counties. It is the only directly elected regional government and

metropolitan planning organization A metropolitan planning organization (MPO) is a federally mandated and federally funded transportation policy-making organization in the United States that is made up of representatives from local government and governmental transportation authorit ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Metro is responsible for overseeing the Portland region's solid waste system, general planning of land use and transportation, maintaining certain regional parks and natural areas, and operating the

Oregon Zoo The Oregon Zoo, originally the Portland Zoo and later the Washington Park Zoo, is a zoo in Portland, Oregon, United States. It is located in Washington Park, approximately southwest of downtown Portland. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest zoo ...

, Oregon Convention Center, Portland's Centers for the Arts, and the Portland Expo Center. It also distributes money from two voter-approved tax measures: one for homeless services and one for affordable housing.

History and evolution

Metro in its current form evolved from Columbia Region Association of Governments (CRAG) (1966–1978) and a predecessor Metropolitan Service District (MSD) (1957–1966). Measure 6, a 1978 statewide ballot measure established Metro, effective January 1, 1979. In 1992 voters approved a

home-rule Home rule is the government of a colony, dependent country, or region by its own citizens. It is thus the power of a part (administrative division) of a state or an external dependent country to exercise such of the state's powers of governance ...

charter that identified Metro's primary mission as

planning Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. Some researchers regard the evolution of forethought - the cap ...

and policy making to preserve and enhance the quality of life and the environment, and changed the agency's name to Metro. This charter was amended in November 2000 when Ballot Measure 26-10 was passed by voters, although the principal changes did not take effect until January 2003. The measure eliminated the Executive Office and reorganized executive staff. The position of Executive Officer, elected by voters, was merged with that of council presiding officer, chosen annually by fellow Metro councilors, creating the position of Metro Council President.Oppenheimer, Laura (November 20, 2002). "Bragdon to lead streamlined Metro". ''

The Oregonian ''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the West Coast of the United States, U.S. West Coast, founded as a weekly by Tho ...

'', p. C1. Metro's first president was David Bragdon, who served in the office from January 2003 until September 2010. Metro's scope has grown over time. It took over Glendoveer Golf Course, regional parks, pioneer cemeteries and the Expo Center from Multnomah County in 1994, and the City of Portland transferred management of its performing arts venues in 1989. In 2020, Metro placed a measure on the May ballot intended to raise $250 million for homeless services. It was approved and was enacted in January 2021. Under it, individuals with earnings of over $125,000 annually and couples with earnings over $200,000 are subject to 1% marginal income tax. Businesses with a gross revenue over $5 million are also subject to a 1% business tax.

Areas of responsibility

Planning

* Provides

land use planning Land use planning or ''Land-use regulation'' is the process of regulating the Land use, use of land by a central authority. Usually, this is done to promote more desirable social and environmental outcomes as well as a more efficient resource u ...

and is responsible for maintaining the Portland-area urban growth boundary, a legal boundary which separates urban from rural land, and is designed to reduce

urban sprawl Urban sprawl (also known as suburban sprawl or urban encroachment) is defined as "the spreading of urban developments (such as houses and shopping centers) on undeveloped land near a city". Urban sprawl has been described as the unrestricted ...

. It coordinates with the cities and counties in the area to ensure a 20-year supply of developable land. * Serves as the

for the area, responsible for the planning of the region's transportation system. It is a separate organization from

TriMet The Tri-County Metropolitan Transportation District of Oregon (TriMet) is a Transit district, transit agency that serves most of the Oregon part of the Portland metropolitan area. Created in 1969 by the Oregon Legislative Assembly, Oregon legi ...

, which operates most of the region's buses and the

MAX Light Rail The Metropolitan Area Express (MAX) is a light rail system serving the Portland metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Oregon. Owned and operated by TriMet, it consists of five lines connecting the Neighborhoods of Portland, Oregon, six sectio ...

system. * Responsible for the region's

Geographic Information System A geographic information system (GIS) consists of integrated computer hardware and Geographic information system software, software that store, manage, Spatial analysis, analyze, edit, output, and Cartographic design, visualize Geographic data ...

(GIS), maintains the Regional Land Information System (RLIS). * Oversees a $652.8 million regional bond for affordable housing.

Operations Management

*Manages more than 17,000 acres of natural areas and parks around the Portland region, including Blue Lake Regional Park, Chehalem Ridge Nature Park, Cooper Mountain Nature Park, Graham Oaks Nature Park, Oxbow Regional Park, Howell Territorial Park, Glendoveer

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, tee box, a #Fairway and rough, fairway, the #Fairway and rough, rough and other hazard (golf), hazards, and ...

, the

Sauvie Island Sauvie Island is in the U.S. state of Oregon, originally named as Wapato Island or Wappatoo Island. It is the largest island along the Columbia River, at , and one of the largest river islands in the United States. It lies approximately north ...

and M. James Gleason Memorial Boat Ramps, Chinook Landing Marine Park and the Smith and Bybee Wetlands Natural Area. *Maintains 14 pioneer cemeteries, including Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery, Lone Fir Cemetery, Gresham Pioneer Cemetery and Multnomah Park Cemetery. *Manages a closed

landfill A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials. It is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s. In the past, waste was ...

, St. Johns Landfill, and owns the two public garbage, hazardous waste and

recycling Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. This concept often includes the recovery of energy from waste materials. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the propert ...

transfer stations in the region. Metro also has responsibility for the ultimate disposal of the region's solid waste and regulates private transfer stations. *Operates the Oregon Convention Center,

, Portland's Centers for the Arts, and Portland Expo Center. *It has the (so far, un-exercised) authority to take over operation of the regional transportation authority, known as

Regional Illegal Dumping Patrol

* Regional Illegal Dumping Patrol or RID Patrol cleans up illegal dumping and it is the designated contact for the public to report

illegal dumping Illegal dumping, also called fly dumping or fly tipping ( UK), is the dumping of waste illegally instead of using an authorised method such as curbside collection or using an authorised rubbish dump. It is the illegal deposit of any waste onto ...

on public property, such as furniture,

hazardous waste Hazardous waste is waste that must be handled properly to avoid damaging human health or the environment. Waste can be hazardous because it is Toxicity, toxic, Chemical reaction, reacts violently with other chemicals, or is Corrosion, corrosive, ...

and construction debris.

Jurisdiction, leadership

Metro serves 24 cities, including Portland, in Clackamas, Multnomah, and

counties in Oregon, as well as unincorporated parts of those counties. The Metro Council consists of a president and six councilors, all directly elected by their districts, and nonpartisan. The incumbent president is Lynn Peterson, who assumed office January 7, 2019. According to the 2020 census, the average district population for the districts used from 2011 to 2021 was 248,362 and the current population of the old districts is as follows (the populations for the newly drawn districts are yet to be determined): Metro's approved 2020-21 Budget is $1.4 billion, with 979 FTE.

Regional plan

Metro is also the Portland

regional planning organization A Regional Planning Organization is a government body that guides the development of public and private resources in a manner that ensures public safety, well being and livability. Regional planning organizations take different forms and may also in ...

and develops a regional master plan to coordinate future development. Metro's master plan for the region includes

transit-oriented development In urban planning, transit-oriented development (TOD) is a type of Real estate development, urban development that maximizes the amount of Residential area, residential, business and leisure space within Pedestrian, walking distance of public t ...

: this approach, part of the

new urbanism New Urbanism is an urban design movement that promotes environmentally friendly habits by creating Walkability, walkable neighbourhoods containing a wide range of housing and job types. It arose in the United States in the early 1980s, and has ...

, promotes

mixed-use Mixed use is a type of urban development, urban design, urban planning and/or a zoning classification that blends multiple uses, such as residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or entertainment, into one space, where those functions ...

and high-density development around

light rail Light rail (or light rail transit, abbreviated to LRT) is a form of passenger urban rail transit that uses rolling stock derived from tram technology National Conference of the Transportation Research Board while also having some features from ...

stops and transit centers, and the investment of the metropolitan area's share of federal tax dollars into multiple modes of

transport Transport (in British English) or transportation (in American English) is the intentional Motion, movement of humans, animals, and cargo, goods from one location to another. Mode of transport, Modes of transport include aviation, air, land tr ...

ation. Metro's master plan also includes multiple town centers, smaller versions of the

city center A city centre, also known as an urban core, is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms that exist in ...

, scattered throughout the metropolitan area. In 1995 Metro introduced the 2040 plan as a way to define long term growth planning. The 2040 Growth Concept is designed to accommodate 780,000 additional people and 350,000 jobs by 2040. This plan has created some criticism from

environmentalist Environmentalism is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of Green politics, g ...

s, but few consider it a threat to Portland's legacy of urban

growth management Growth management, in the United States, is a set of techniques used by the government to ensure that as the population grows that there are services available to meet their demands. Growth management goes beyond traditional land use planning ...

. An April 2004 study in the ''Journal of the

American Planning Association The American Planning Association (APA) is a professional organization representing the field of urban planning in the United States. APA was formed in 1978, when two separate professional planning organizations, the American Institute of Pla ...

'' tried to quantify the effects of Metro's plans on Portland's urban form. While the report cautioned against finding a direct link between any one policy and a specific improvement in Portland's urban form, it showed strong correlation between Metro's 2040 plan and various west-side changes in Portland. Changes cited include increased density and mixed-use development as well as improved pedestrian/non-automobile accessibility.

References

External links

*
Ridpatrol portal for submitting illegal dumping complaints in the Portland Metropolitan area

Official websiteMetro Council districts map

Metro
entry in the

Oregon Blue Book The ''Oregon Blue Book'' is the official directory and fact book for the U.S. state of Oregon prepared by the Oregon Secretary of State and published by the Office of the Secretary's Archives Division. The ''Blue Book'' comes in both print and o ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Metro (Oregon Regional Government) Local government in Oregon Regional government in the United States Transportation in Portland, Oregon Transportation planning Urban planning in the United States Metropolitan planning organizations Government agencies established in 1993 1993 establishments in Oregon