2023 in Review: Bulletin board material for Portland’s inevitable recovery

Portland became the poster child for post-pandemic problems, but 2024 holds promise as the year a turnaround begins

This year ushered in the post pandemic era. The Covid-19 public health emergency officially ended on May 11^, 2023, and it was time to take stock.

As national reporters looked for stories of the era’s toll, few places were as compelling as Portland. The whimsical celebrity city of the 2010s had fallen on hard times, and reports came out in steady succession. “What’s a matter with Portland?,” “Portland, Seattle’s Cautionary Tale” and “Farewell, Portland” blared the Los Angeles Times, Seattle Times, and Wall Street Journal, respectively. All delivered similar themes of homelessness, open drug use, rampant retail theft and population decline.

But no article rivaled Eli Saslow’s October portrait of Michael Bock — the compassionate security guard who found himself navigating fentanyl overdoses, an attempted kidnapping, an overloaded 911 emergency system, and understaffed police force. The Sunday, front-page-above-the-fold, New York Times story wrapped Portland’s challenges into a concise, devastating package.

Earlier this month, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden told business leaders he was tired of “reporters flying in, enjoying a salmon dinner, and trashing our city.”

I share the senator’s sentiment, but their stories should remain front and center. These articles, and many more like them, are bulletin board material for the governor, the mayor, the county chair, and the dozens of candidates eagerly lining up to the lead the city under its new form of government. They are inspiration to press on when implementation seems vexing, collaboration frustrating, budgets impossible, and campaigns exhausting.

The good news is the story of Portland’s demise has largely run its course. Our struggles have been well documented. And even if other reporters try, they’d have a tough time outdoing Mr. Saslow’s “broken city” account.

So, now the question is, “what will we be writing next year at this time?”

An Inevitable Recovery, But When?

My mentor, ECOnorthwest founder Ed Whitelaw, declared Portland’s recovery inevitable. “If you can see Mount Hood and the downtown blocks are still short and walkable, Portland will recover,” he predicted. He saw our stunning natural setting and smart urban design as durable, comparative advantages that would outlast post-pandemic disruption. He was confident Portland’s recovery was a matter of when, not if.

Whether that recovery gains traction in 2024 is up to us. Thanks to the Central City Task Force* and other ongoing efforts, 2024 is filled with opportunities to flip the script. There are “known, knowns” and “known, unknowns.” Let’s start with the former.

The Legislature will almost certainly outlaw public drug use and lower the barriers to prosecuting drug dealers – two common sense moves that should reverberate on the streets. Early in the year, the city and county will maintain their steady expansion of the region’s underbuilt shelter system and accelerate aid to those suffering on our streets. The governor will secure state funding and private partners to clean up Portland’s highways, which double as gateways to the Willamette Valley, the Columbia Gorge, and beyond. Then in May, the Portland airport will unveil one of the most awe-inspiring public spaces in recent times. While unrelated to our most pressing challenges, it tells the nation that we can do big things.

The “known, unknowns” include the task force’s call for a tri-government fentanyl emergency and the developing, unified city-county strategy on a response to the homelessness crisis. The importance of these two initiatives can’t be overstated. Details are forthcoming on both, but if execution lives up to the promise of the early blueprints, Portland’s recovery will be well on its way.

So to borrow a phrase, 2024 is what we make it. Reporters across the country stand ready to tell the story of a Portland’s renaissance. Let’s give them something to write about.

John Tapogna is a periodic contributor to Oregon 360 and authored Don’t Bet Against Portland in December 2020. He provided staff support to the