Portland's 20-Minute Neighborhoods after Ten Years: How a Planning Initiative Impacted Accessibility

Abstract

The city of Portland, Oregon set a goal for ninety percent of its residents to live within a twenty-minute neighborhood in 2009. This goal was a part of a broader effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate climate change. This study aimed to find how much of this goal was accomplished over a decade. A twenty-minute neighborhood is a neighborhood which is walkable and has access to several services. Eight built environmental variables are selected: access to grocery stores, convenience stores, parks, elementary schools, frequent transit stops, retail stores, sidewalks, and the street connectivity. Accessibility was calculated by creating walksheds and density clusters. The variables were measured in 2020 and compared to a 2010 baseline. The comparison showed that Portland became more accessible due to an increase in transit service, retail, convenience stores and sidewalks. However, these changes did not lower vehicle miles traveled within the city. More efforts need to be done to reduce car use now that Portland is more accessible for travel without a car.