(NewsNation) — The motto “Keep Portland Weird” has been wiped away by the Oregon city’s reputation for violent political unrest, homelessness and crime.
Two years after riots plagued the city, two years after a pandemic and the push for social justice collided, the model liberal enclave has turned into a social mess.
And these days, many Portlanders seem adjusted to that.
“Just look around, everyone’s just kind of used to it,” said Portland resident Axel Hernandez Diaz. “You can ask anyone over here, they’re used to being potentially mugged every night they go back from work, so who knows.”
Chet Orloff, adjunct professor of urban studies and planning at Portland State University, said, “It’s not good.”
Orloff said Portland’s mess is partly “because we’ve been so lax in how we’ve unfortunately treated criminals, and we’ve been lax in our support of the police.”
“That has simply allowed people to continue to damage the city,” he said.
The Portland of 2023 looks very different.
The downtown Apple Store is fenced in like a fortress, and customers seem unfazed about shopping inside a cage.
Just this week, Walmart announced the closing of its last two Portland stores, partly due to rampant and persistent retail theft.
Ongoing crime issues have many storefronts still empty, and some in the city are openly using illegal drugs.
The homeless are seemingly ever-present.
61-year-old William used to be among them.
“I had been on the street. I went into the shelter system, and they got me an apartment through (the Home Forward housing authority),” he told NewsNation. “I feel more secure, I can move on now because when you’re on the street, it’s hard to move on anywhere.”
The commercial real estate vacancy rate in downtown Portland is nearly 30%, more than double the rate pre-pandemic.
“Oregonians are actually people who have depended on each other much more than the myth that we like to create about the noble pioneer and all,” Orloff said.
While recent crime stats show a decline in downtown assaults, larceny is up by 13% compared to the same period last year, and burglaries are up by 9%.
As for Portland’s enormous homeless issue, there’s a long way to go.
Mayor Ted Wheeler is moving forward with a new plan to ban unsanctioned camping and open six mass homeless camps across the city.
“Maintaining the status quo is not a compassionate response,” Wheeler said. “Creating temporary alternative shelter sites is compassionate and the need is obvious to everyone.”
There are, however, signs that things appear to be getting better, slowly, but steadily.
Portland’s first five-star hotel is about to open, a Ritz-Carlton tower many view as a $600-million dollar gamble on the city’s future.
“With the weather changing, perhaps with spring we will begin to see it change,” Orloff said. “But I think it’s still too early to tell because all it will take is another incident to unfortunately restart the process.”
Portlanders are holding out hope for their city.
“Oh, I think there’s totally this hope,” said Portland resident Andy Miller. “Seems like it will take some time.”
That hope is countered by the thousands of residents who have already moved away.
