Beth Nakamura/The Oregonian

A walk through downtown Portland offers two starkly different views of a city that has seen rapid economic change. An influx of young skilled workers to the region has boosted the region's economy, evident in the shiny new towers and trendy boutiques popping up throughout the city.

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Rising housing costs

But this wave of new residents – coupled with a nationwide market recovery – has pushed housing prices up, up and up.

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Multnomah County

Homelessness

The high housing costs have forced many poorer Portlanders farther from the city's center, or out of their homes and onto the streets.

Though Multnomah County has added more than 650 year-around shelter beds in the last two years, and the city's Housing Bureau plans to complete 283 units of affordable housing this year, the progress hasn't kept up with the county's growing homeless population.

Every two years, the county conducts a point-in-time count of those in the area experiencing homelessness. As of Feb. 22, while the total number of people experiencing homelessness was down from its recent high point in 2011, the number of those unsheltered or in an emergency shelter (not including those in transitional housing) was at its highest point in the last eight years.

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A lack of social services

Downtown business owners say Portland needs more services to help those who are homeless or struggling with mental health issues. This need is growing, according to recent Clean & Safe surveys of downtown shop owners.

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More needles, garbage collected

Meanwhile, though they're careful to differentiate those who are homeless from those who are committing crimes, downtown Portland retailers say they've reached a breaking point after facing theft, break-ins, human waste and the detritus of the opioid epidemic on a regular basis.

According to Downtown Clean & Safe, which is managed by the Portland Business Association, its sanitation workers collected and cleaned up more garbage, needles, graffiti and biohazards in 2016 than in past years.

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A shortage of police

While downtown retailers emphasize the need for additional social services and affordable housing, they have little patience for those who rob them. At its current size, the police force isn't able to satisfactorily respond to these types of calls, they say. Today's authorized staffing levels for Portland officers are about what they were in 1994. Since then, Portland's population has grown by nearly 30 percent.

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Some crime on the rise

Reports of certain types of crime have jumped in downtown, Old Town/Chinatown and the Pearl District in recent years. Some of the increases can be explained by an influx of residents and visitors, but not all.

Assaults other than sexual assaults jumped considerably in the downtown neighborhoods from 2015 to 2017, and reports of burglary have nearly doubled.

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Feeling unsafe

Some retailers say people aren't coming downtown because they don't feel safe. A 2016 survey by the city auditor shows that the percentage of Portlanders who felt safe walking alone at night downtown was at its lowest level in a decade.

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More workers downtown

But these statistics don't show the whole picture. Though shoppers may be avoiding certain parts of town, or staying away at night, downtown still attracts plenty of workers, shoppers and tourists. Last year's Christmas tree lighting in Pioneer Courthouse Square drew an estimated crowd of 30,000, roughly twice the 15,000 or 17,000 of previous ceremonies.

More people work downtown now, and these people likely spend money at other downtown businesses.

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More businesses downtown

Clean & Safe surveys show an increasing number of businesses downtown.

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Solutions hard to find

But some business owners have said they'll be forced to move or close if problems with break-ins, harassment and public defecation continue.

So far, solutions that are both effective and compassionate have evaded city leaders.

Read the full story here.

-- Anna Marum

amarum@oregonian.com

503-294-5911

@annamarum