Gentrification in Portland has become a reoccurring story using both mainstream local and new forms of media. In a story published on the Oregonian web page on April 30th 2011, a subjective point of view was taken from the perspective of a 31 year old woman noticing the changes her North Portland neighborhood has experienced over the years. This Portlander states that she has noticed that the upscale boutiques and shops in North Portland don't reach out to minorities. The rise of these shops has raised the rent in these neighborhoods that has pushed many who have lived there their whole lives. Oregonlive's coverage is great since it has a personal point of view on this change as well as the opportunity for readers of the story to comment on this.
Since the story of Portland's gentrification has been a running story throughout the past few years, I chose to look through the archives of Youtube for videos on Portlander's take on the gentrification. One stream of videos involved a group of people interviewing Portlander's on the gentrification of Portland and it's impact on those effected by the rising rent costs as well as the change in demographics for the shops and eateries around the North Portland area. This is considered a form of new media that has provided thorough coverage for it involves people to voice their opinions of gentrification much like how those reading Oregonlive.com readers can comment on stories.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OH2SWZx16mA&feature=relmfu
You give us a couple of good examples of how this story has been covered in both mainstream and citizen media, but you should also be giving us just a bit more meat on the assessment front. Do these media channels give us enough information to properly understand Portland’s trends in gentrification, and form a proper political response? Do we get a good picture of the complexities of the gentrification issue from the Oregonian or other sources, in addition to a sense of the local conversation?
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