The Prosperity in Health and Equity in the City of Portland - Case Study Example

Portland Plan Portland is Oregon’s largest employment center for business. The Portland plan is a 25-year vision of prosperity in health and equity in the City of Portland. This program constitutes of non-regional organizations, regional agencies, and more than twenty municipalities. This plan has been strategically formulated to address issues that affect the Portlanders. This paper will analyze the relations that are present in Portland today, the objectives of the plan by 2035, and the actions associated with the integrated strategy. This essay will also identify the most salient problems that ought to be addressed by the Portland plan among other issues as stated in the guidelines. Portland has made several efficient innovations in the energy sector. According to the recent condition of the Portland city, one can visibly identify the relationship between the problems, objectives, actions, and proposals that are associated with the Portland City. Portland is facing several problems today. Some of the common problems include lagging job growth, increased living cost, lack of vitality in the neighborhood business, lack of education and job training opportunities, economic insecurity, and cost-burdened households. An analysis of these problems depicts that up to 60 percent of the Portlanders are affected. Lagging job growth affects over 38% of the individuals in Portland, hence; this has led to increased poverty cases. Most of the Portlanders who have jobs earn an average salary, which contributes to lack of basic necessities. This is applicable considering the shrinking value of paychecks which is largely attributed by lack of education and skill. Moreover, the neighborhood of Portland, lost job opportunities and led to over 50% of unemployed people. Even jobs that required advanced skills were unavailable. In addition, most of the households in the region were economically self-insufficient even before the recession period (Sheila 25). In most circumstances, the Portlanders used their monetary ability on transport and housing expenses. In the Portland plan, there are three strategies that are considered as the foundation of success. The integrated strategies constitute of a healthy connected city, thriving education to the youth, and economic prosperity and affordability. The three elements of integrated strategies are of vital importance to the life of the Portlanders. According to the economic prosperity and affordability element, the problems addressed touch on the plan’s achievement by the year 2035. Some of the components of the element include urban innovation, business cluster growth, access to affordable housing, education and job training facilities, household economic security, trade gateway and freight mobility, and the growth of the employment districts. The thriving youth education element constitutes of strategies which include a culture of high expectations and achievement to the youth, shared ownership of success in students, promoting support of the youths in the neighboring communities, and facilitating programs that meet the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century. More so, the health connected city strategy entails vibrant neighborhood hubs, public decisions aimed at benefiting environmental and human health, and a coordinated inter-agency approach to the Portland plan. All these strategies form the Portland plan. The city of Portland plans to grow as a leader in the novelty of new technologies and sustainable businesses that will draw talent to the city. Business cluster growth focuses on meeting metrics for job growth, access to transport facilities, self-sufficient households, and retail market capture (Sheila 20). Furthermore, this includes access to affordable housing and job training. With this access, the citizens of Portland are able to project this metropolitan area to the top ten categories nationally. These strategies are viewed as resolutions to the problems that are faced by the Portlanders. The goal of the economic prosperity and affordability element comprises of expansion in the economic opportunities. The economic opportunities allow sustenance of a diverse population by prioritizing growth in the business arena and household prosperity. To achieve this goal, the plan focuses on implementing policies and actions that will promote the availability of job opportunities, regional job growth, and also improve access to affordable housing facilities and job training mechanisms. Furthermore, the strategy makes sure that every Portlander has basic needs. This prosperity depends on the robust supply of steady wages, competitive business environment, affordable living options, and well-trained workforce. However, the prosperity mechanisms are not spread all over the Portland City. The constituents of the economic prosperity and affordability strategy are also considered as Portland’s objectives of 2035. This strategy also achieves in the maintenance and sustainability of research, and commercialization and development of new technologies. In essence, they aim at producing an urban setting that promotes invention and creativity. The urban development scheme is referred to as the A2 urban innovation. This innovation in Portland is one of the sustainable developments in the United States. The innovation comprises of an extraordinarily productive workforce that aims at achieving the Portland plan by 2035. According to the urban setting in Portland, the competitive environment supports the promotion of partnerships among information technology systems, small businesses, and local universities among other institutions. Together with the 25-year policy of the city, the Portland plan has also formed proposals of the five-year plan actions with its partners. The five-year action plans are liable for evaluation of the city’s progress. According to the City’s Economic Development Strategy, the five year action plan stops in 2014. If the action plan notes a wrong direction in the execution of the Portland plan, then adjustments are made to the plan. Portland has also proposed local and citywide strategizes to benchmark themselves with other international cities to get inspiration on achievement of ambitious goals. The main citywide measures set include equity and inclusion, safer city, job creation, growing business, and education. On the other hand, the local measures include 3rd grade reading, crime rate, poverty, employment growth, walk ability and access rating and tree canopy among others (Oregon Public Health Institute 1). The benchmark inspiration helps in stirring the planners of the project to accomplish the goals set by the plan. Portland also claims to measure equitable outcomes from the benchmarks. This ensures that the city keeps track of all their partners through data collection schemes. The national and international connections of Portland continue to widen significantly thereby, contributing to more innovations in the city’s plan. All these factors are built upon the advancement of equity in Portland (Oregon Public Health Institute 1). Equity is simply defined as access to necessary opportunities that aid in satisfaction and achievement of the potential and well-being of a plan. This can be defined as change in how Portland engages with its Portlanders in decision-making mechanisms that are forged for success. For this to be successful, the plan should include a tailored criterion that will meet their specified conditions. This can be coupled by working towards the understanding of active investment in social structures and also the understanding of historical contexts to ensure success. The equity framework of the plan strives to increase Portland’s internal accountability, build partnerships with other neighboring cities, launch ethnic and racial justice initiatives, slot in the community, and deliver equitable public services (Hammond 1). In an overall view, this Portland plan will increase equity and inclusion among the Portlanders, provide resident satisfaction, promote the educated youth, enhance prosperous households, facilitate business growth, create more jobs and active transit facilities, reduce carbon emissions, and enhance a healthy population. From this context, the most essential tribulations that the Portland plan addresses includes establishing growing businesses and job opportunities, education, transit facilities and prosperous households. These problems are the main tribulations that should be discussed in the strategy to ensure that the Portland plan is achievable by 2035. This is because the factors stated are core to the success of any city. Education is adequate in creating a skilled workforce in Portland. Any city that has educated individuals is subject to opulence. This is no exception to the city of Portland. Most of the unemployed individuals in the city are those who lack basic needs, since; most of the jobs require individuals with a four-year degree and advanced training. In addition, transit facilities are vital to individuals of the Portland city. The green development and transportation innovations attract national recognition. In Portland, the main transport mode is the road. With the development of the Portland plan, carbon emissions will be significantly reduced. This is in line with the advocacy of alternative modes of transport that do not produce harmful emissions to the atmosphere. An excellent example is the use of bicycles. Lastly, prosperous households are enhanced by the availability of basic needs and a considerable income. Basing on the most vital problems that have been stated, the 2035 objectives are largely represented in addressing the issues. The objectives include provision of education and job training, household economic security and export growth. Provision of education facilities is resourceful in enabling the people acquire skills that enable them to work in the job industry. The problems can also be addressed by maintaining household economic security. This strategy includes being self-sufficient in order to get basic needs. The other objective is the export growth strategy that enables the metropolitan to grow nationally in terms of trade (Sheila 43). The equity framework identifies some actions and ensures that the Portland plan solves the problems faced by the municipality of Portland. Through assistance from other agencies, the Portland plan will develop to the 21st century economy. Further research shows that the Portland plan embraces federal laws like the Civil Rights Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act (Aaron 1). This promotes fairness in services and activities performed by the public entities. Equity can also be presented in the workplace, educational facilities, in the household and other businesslike areas. In conclusion, the measures that have been proposed for the Portland plan are reliable and valid. In the evaluation of the 2035 objectives that have been set forward, one can clearly note that the actions that have been proposed will eradicate the problems that are faced in the city of Portland. Additionally, the plan is also set on an equity framework which measures the success strategies in the region. This will also help the city to achieve its 2035 goals and objectives. In general, the plan was proposed from over 20,000 dwellers in the region. Analysis presents that most of the individuals addressed the issue of job opportunities, while others stated education, health and social equity. With the 5-year action plan that also entails the development, the Portland plan is achievable. This has also attracted help from other potential partners which are ready to help the city in achieving their objectives. Works Cited Aaron, Renn. The White City. 13 Jul. 2011. Web. 19 May. 2012. Hammond, Betsy. In a changing world, Portland remains overwhelmingly white. 13 Jul. 2011. Web. 19 May. 2012. Oregon Public Health Institute: Healthy Portland Plan. 2012. Web. Sheila, Martin. Where the Ends Dont Meet: Measuring poverty and self-sufficiency among Oregons families. Portland: Portland State University Press, 2010. Print. Read More