"Keeping Portland Weird": Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest, is one of the USA's most distinctive cities. Anthony Denselow examines what makes its character so special.

"Keeping Portland Weird": Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest, is one of the USA's youngest yet most distinctive cities. Anthony Denselow traces its frontier history and examines what makes its character so special. From radical chic to naked bike-riding, innovative coffee shops to artisanal entrepreneurs, its particular flavour has sometimes been satirised - but is often envied elsewhere. How does the place manage to stay so different to much of the rest of the country?

Photo: a cyclist passes a branch of one of Portland's best-known businesses, October 2015. (Getty Images)