Eastside crime rate rises with new housing
PORTLAND, Ore. - A longtime homeowner in the Argay neighborhood on Portland's east side says her husband wants her to get a concealed weapons permit and a handgun so she can safely walk her dog.
Once a bucolic neighborhood filled with older homes, the Argay neighborhood is now becoming cramped as apartment complexes, condos and row houses spring up.
Police say that along with the many new homes going up, the crime rate has kept pace. Many longtime residents have left the area.
The homeowner, who did not want to be identified, said friends ask her why she doesn't move away now that there is "a ghetto down the street."
She says the neighborhood has been taken over by drug dealers and prostitutes. Statistics show that drug crimes and prostitution have grown almost 300 percent in the Argay area between 2003 and 2007.
Police patrolling the area, often rolling down unpaved streets, said housing lots that used to hold one home now have over 20 homes crammed into the same space.
Police say the sharp increase in population has led to increases in traffic and crime while bringing down the livability of the area.
East Portland Police Commander Mike Crebs said the problem lies with the explosion of "affordable housing," which he thinks could turn into slums in the near future.
He said the new homes are poorly built and will not last. He also says much of the housing lacks "neighborhood" features such as sidewalks, outdoor lighting, fencing and landscaping.
Crebs said those features actually help reduce crime, while a lack of them invites criminals. "They [criminals] like disorder. They like graffiti," Crebs said.
Metro planner Robert Liberty told KATU that there is no relationship between crime and population density. He says the source of the crime is high-density poverty.
But Liberty does agree that slums are a possibility due to the lower quality "in-fill housing."
Meanwhile, Portland city officials have launched the "East Portland Action Plan" to deal with the issues brought about by the new housing developments. They meet once a month.
Housing developments similar to those in the east section of the city are also being considered for implementation along the newly constructed Interstate MAX line in north Portland.
Once a bucolic neighborhood filled with older homes, the Argay neighborhood is now becoming cramped as apartment complexes, condos and row houses spring up.
Police say that along with the many new homes going up, the crime rate has kept pace. Many longtime residents have left the area.
The homeowner, who did not want to be identified, said friends ask her why she doesn't move away now that there is "a ghetto down the street."
She says the neighborhood has been taken over by drug dealers and prostitutes. Statistics show that drug crimes and prostitution have grown almost 300 percent in the Argay area between 2003 and 2007.
Police patrolling the area, often rolling down unpaved streets, said housing lots that used to hold one home now have over 20 homes crammed into the same space.
Police say the sharp increase in population has led to increases in traffic and crime while bringing down the livability of the area.
East Portland Police Commander Mike Crebs said the problem lies with the explosion of "affordable housing," which he thinks could turn into slums in the near future.
He said the new homes are poorly built and will not last. He also says much of the housing lacks "neighborhood" features such as sidewalks, outdoor lighting, fencing and landscaping.
Crebs said those features actually help reduce crime, while a lack of them invites criminals. "They [criminals] like disorder. They like graffiti," Crebs said.
Metro planner Robert Liberty told KATU that there is no relationship between crime and population density. He says the source of the crime is high-density poverty.
But Liberty does agree that slums are a possibility due to the lower quality "in-fill housing."
Meanwhile, Portland city officials have launched the "East Portland Action Plan" to deal with the issues brought about by the new housing developments. They meet once a month.
Housing developments similar to those in the east section of the city are also being considered for implementation along the newly constructed Interstate MAX line in north Portland.