|
“Missing Middle” housing stacks up
The Shortstack Mississippi project opened last week, providing 36 new units of mixed-income housing to the Boise Eliot neighborhood. The innovative construction uses cross-laminated timber, a greener alternative to concrete. About a third of the dollars used to build this project went to disadvantaged, minority, women, emerging or service-disabled veteran-owned firms. Prosper Portland helped provide funding for this project.
|
|
Taming a billion-dollar beast
Data analyst Gennie Nguyen leads the Portland Lift project, aimed at changing the way Portland manages bids, contracts, and vendors. The goal? A bigger pool of vendors, more bids, lower prices, better quality, and more equity.
|
|
|
The City of Portland has launched an ambitious project to strengthen accountability, trim costs and boost local businesses by reforming the procurement data systems that administers a billion dollars’ worth of contracts every year. The project is designed to make the City’s contract system more transparent and more accessible. That will save money and help local businesses -- which are more likely to be owned by women or minorities. Leading the project is data analyst Gennie Nguyen, a trained cultural anthropologist who’s passionate about solving difficult challenges. We caught up with her last week as she was getting ready to launch the new contracting data portal.
How did you get into procurement? After I finished my PhD, I wanted a break from the academic world and applied to the City as an administrative assistant. It happened to be in procurement. Once I started to learn about procurement, I found it fascinating. That was six years ago. Things just snowballed from there. There is a lot of possibility to help emerging small and medium businesses grow by improving systems and procedures in procurement. Doing so may have a ripple effect in the broader community by creating local jobs, improving how Portland operates, and boosting a sense of pride by participating in City contracts.
Procurement seems like an obscure subject. What do you find fascinating about it? The City contracts nearly $1 billion every year. Procurement has so much impact on people’s day-to-day lives and in emergencies, and yet it is often undervalued and underappreciated. A lot of my academic career was focused on how publicly funded systems and services work for some and not others. But I never realized how much impact procurement could have on those public systems and services for our City.
Why is that? Our public procurement system has been really confusing. It is difficult to navigate, not just at the City but most public agencies. That makes it harder for new suppliers to break in, which holds back a lot of small businesses. Everyone agrees that we need changes in procurement and is very supportive, but procurement reform is challenging because it touches on so many areas of the City. This made procurement reform difficult to lead under our old commissioner form of government.
Is your background in anthropology useful in your work for the City? Yes. I use my research skills to understand how things work. I use my teaching skills to share insights and guidance...
|
|
 |
|
Bring old, expired, or unwanted tablets, capsules, patches, and other solid forms of prescription drugs and over-the-counter medicines to the Portland Police Bureau's North Precinct to dispose of them safely. Sponsored by the Safe Blocks Program and Portland Police Bureau, with the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Saturday, April 26 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.
|
|
|
 |
|
Your spring gardening just got cheaper and easier, thanks to the Portland Bureau of Transportation. Every fall PBOT composts over 5,000 tons of leaves collected through the city's Leaf Day program. This effort helps keep streets safe by preventing clogged storm drains, flooded intersections, and slippery roads. The leaves are taken to a recycling yard, where they can "cook" and become compost. This year, we have so much, we're giving it away for free!
Saturday, April 26 and Sunday, April 27
|
|
|
 |
|
Get up to $10 off an Uber or Lyft ride from the Cinco de Mayo Festival on the waterfront with a digital coupon, courtesy of The Portland Bureau of Transportation. Rides must start in Portland city limits.
Valid from Friday, May 2 - Monday, May 5 between 5 p.m. -12:30 a.m. While supplies last.
|
|
|
New jobs at the City of Portland
- Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) Operations & Maintenance Student Internship (Community Service Aide II)
- BES Strategy & Integrated Planning Student Internship (Community Service Aide II)
- BES Technical Services Student Internship (Community Service Aide II)
- Chief Information Officer (Director II)
- Communications and Outreach Support Intern for Councilor Dunphy (Community Service Aide II)
- Council Operations Manager, Research and Policy Support Intern for Councilor Dunphy (Community Service Aide II)
|
|
Grants and funding
Do you have an idea for a project to help the city confront climate change, benefit frontline communities, and advance social justice? Apply for a community grant from the Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund.
Learn more and apply online by May 27, 2025.
|
|
Serve on a board or committee
|
|
Give us your feedback
Join us for a virtual open house to learn more about the Public Infrastructure Environmental Code Project and how to give feedback on the Discussion Draft.
- Virtual open house over Microsoft Teams on Apr. 23, 2025 at 12 p.m.
- Submit public comments by Friday May 9, 2025 to ezone@portlandoregon.gov
This session continues the exploration of how potential highway cover uses relate to public spaces and the surrounding street network, building on visioning work previously done by Albina Vision Trust in collaboration with HAAB, COAC, and community stakeholders. There will an opportunity to provide public comment online and in-person.
|
|
Watch a moving clip of Giovanni returning home safe to Brooklyn, New York, after living on the streets of Portland for three years. Alone and struggling with a learning disability, Giovanni told outreach workers he couldn’t go home because his Mom was mad at him. “We must embrace a ‘no wrong door’ strategy to help those in need,” Mayor Wilson says. “We must end unsheltered homelessness in Portland... Giovanni is home safe tonight, and we’ve only just begun.”
Our partners at Multnomah County's Homeless Services Department released a comprehensive data dashboard which tracks the number of people experiencing homelessness. Some 14,361 people in the county were homeless in January 2025, higher than the previous count. The dashboard shows that thousands of people are getting off the street, but other people are losing their homes faster. The data will help decision-makers determine the most effective solutions to solving the homelessness crisis.
No, that little green box isn’t a cable box—it’s a water quality sampling station. They may not look like much, but these stations play a key role in keeping your drinking water safe. And if that’s not reason enough to say yes to a date with one of these cuties, check out five more.
Portland Parks & Recreation celebrates National Volunteer Week by spotlighting the incredible individuals who give their time, energy, and support to Portland’s parks and community spaces. Last year, volunteers contributed 388,995 hours to PP&R—a powerful reminder of what we can achieve when we work together.
The Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability's Community Technology Program announced three awardees for the Small Business Digital Navigator Grant. This grant aims to increase digital skills among underrepresented small business owners and entrepreneurs; enhance the competitiveness of Portland's small businesses; and establish long-term digital equity capacity. Projects will run from June 2025 to June 2027.
Bias crimes and incidents motivated by hate and prejudice can leave lasting scars on individuals and entire communities. In the latest episode of our Talking Beat podcast, a member of the Portland Police Bureau's Bias Crimes Unit offers a candid look into their work, shedding light on the challenges they face, the support they provide, and the collaborative approach taken with community and state partners. The discussion emphasizes the importance of encouraging victims and witnesses to report bias incidents and crimes.
|
|
|
Take a bike tour with Portland By Cycle focusing on showing off new greenways in the SE neighborhoods of Brentwood Darlington, Woodstock, and Mt. Scott-Arleta.
|
|
Request an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for any City of Portland program, service, event, or activity. To ensure the best response, please make your request at least five business days before the program or event, if possible. |
|
Free events
-
April 27: Urban Nature: The cataclysmic floods that shaped Portland.
|
|
Community events in Portland parks
Volunteer events
Admission pricing
|
|
The project added 15 new trees in January along SE Duke Street, from SE 82nd Avenue to SE 94th Avenue in the Lents neighborhood, an area noted for its lack of street trees and limited green space. Urban trees play a crucial role in climate resilience by mitigating heat, managing stormwater and reducing flooding, and improving air quality.
The Trees in the Curb Zone initiative was driven by the Portland Bureau of Transportation with support from Environmental Services’ Percent for Green grant program. Portland Parks & Recreation’s Urban Forestry Division has been an active partner throughout this project, planting and maintaining the new street trees as part of a special agreement for this pilot project, ensuring they thrive in the coming years. This includes watering and ongoing care and maintenance.
|
|
|
Traducción e Interpretación | Biên Dịch và Thông Dịch | अनुवादन तथा व्याख्या
口笔译服务 | Устный и письменный перевод | Turjumaad iyo Fasiraad
Письмовий і усний переклад | Traducere și interpretariat | Chiaku me
Awewen Kapas
Translation and Interpretation: 3-1-1
The City of Portland ensures meaningful access and reasonably provides: translation, interpretation, modifications, accommodations, alternative formats, auxiliary aids and services. To request these services, call 311 for Relay Service or TTY: 711.
|
|
|
|
|
