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Rows of homes just off of U.S. 26 in Hillsboro.

(Torsten Kjellstrand/The Oregonian)

At first blush,

seems to suggest the Portland region's pride in its land-use planning might be misplaced. The report ranked the Portland area at a middle-of-the-road 80 out of 221 metros, where a lower rank indicates less sprawl.

But a closer look at the study shows that perhaps the back-patting can continue. The Portland area may have gotten short shrift in part due to its urban growth area, which limits development to preserve rural land.

"It might be more appropriate to look at the individual counties' scores in your area," said Ilana Preuss, vice president and chief of staff at

.

The land-use advocacy group and the

compared development in 221 metro areas, looking for compact development, a mix of land uses, proximity between homes and employment centers and street accessibility.

A study scored more than 200 metro areas and nearly 1,000 counties by their propensity for urban sprawl. The Portland area's urban counties fared well, though the region suffered in the rankings because much of the Census-designated metropolitan statistical area is outside the regional urban growth boundary. Darker coloring indicates less sprawl.

(Elliot Njus/The Oregonian)

Multnomah County comes out as a nationwide leader in density, ranked No. 21 of nearly 1,000 counties included in the survey. It ranks especially high in density and road connectivity.

Washington County scored solidly above average, ranking No. 232. Clark County, which is not subject to Oregon's stringent land-use laws, and Clackamas County scored just slightly above average. They ranked No. 341 and No. 387.

The suburban counties scored below average for "activity centering," suggesting jobs and homes are more evenly distributed rather than concentrated in a core.

The most compact major metro areas identified in the study were New York, San Francisco and Miami. The most sprawling were Houston, Richmond, Va., and Rochester, N.Y.

-- Elliot Njus

This story has been updated to reflect to the following correction:

Clackamas County scored only slightly above average -- closer to Clark County than to Washington County. An earlier version mischaracterized its score.