A Tale of Two Oregons Bruce Weber, Director, Rural Studies Program. Oregon State University Sheila Martin, Director, Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies
A Tale of Two Oregons: Common Aspirations, Different Contexts, and Critical Interdependencies in Urban & Rural Oregon Sheila Martin, Director, Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies, Portland State University Bruce Weber, Director, Rural Studies Program, Oregon State University
Urban and rural Oregonians hope for the same things… Good jobs, food and shelter Strong friendships and families Good health and healthy environment Vibrant communities and neighborhoods
How are we different? Density and distance How we make our money (and how much of it we make) How fast our populations grow The faces we see around us What we do with our land Who owns the land Access to services
Defining Urban and Rural “Arugula is how I define cities. I go to a grocery store, and either you can get arugula or you can’t.” --Cindy Crawford
Oregon’s Metropolitan Areas
Population Density
Oregon’s Core and Periphery
Metro population grew faster since 1969
Core population stagnant since 1969
Metro jobs grew faster since 1969
Core job growth stagnant since 1969
Commute times high in metro /non-metro Map: Average commute times (census)
Metro jobs more specialized in services, non-metro in natural resources and government Source: OR Employment Dept, QCEW
But farm production highest in some metro counties
Per Capita Income higher and grew faster in metro counties Source: BEA
Average Wage Per Job higher and grew faster in metro counties Source: BEA
Transfer payments critical to non-metro
Poverty rates higher in non-metro
Racial-ethnic diversity in metro/non-metro
More non-metro land owned by government
8th Grade Students Meeting Reading Standards in metro/non- metro
How are we Interdependent? population movements between urban and rural areas market-driven trade in goods and services, both across and within industry clusters public sector taxes and spending public and private infrastructure [finance, information, transportation, communications, utilities, healthcare, education, human services, administration of government] environmental goods and services
Operating Expenditures/Student
School Districts on 4-day Weeks
Freshman Participation Rates 2006* Community Colleges *As a percentage of Public High School Graduates Source: OUS Institutional Research and the Department of Community Colleges and Workforce Development
Freshman Participation Rates 2006* OUS University System *As a percentage of Public High School Graduates Source: OUS Institutional Research
Medically Underserved Areas/Populations
Non-metro Oregon generates most power
Terrestrial Carbon Sequestration Potential