OPB Politics Now

Oregon’s revolutionary system for managing growth has done a lot of what its creators envisioned. Vast parts of the state remain pristine, and even suburban communities feel more urban – more walkable and environmentally friendly – than in other states. But the rules that have kept Oregon so special have also led to many of the land use fights we’re waging today – political battles over how dense town and cities should be, how much of an influence tight growth laws have on housing prices and where all these people moving into Oregon over the next half century are going to live and work. In the final part of this special OPB Politics Now series, senior political reporter Jeff Mapes shows us how the quality of life debates of the 1960s and ‘70s led to the different, but no less heated, debates over how we live today.

Property owners and developers have been fighting Oregon’s unique – and unique restrictive – land use laws since their inception almost a half century ago. In the fifth part of this special OPB Politics Now series, senior political reporter Jeff Mapes tells the story of the closest opponents ever came to gutting the system – and the little old lady who became that effort’s champion.

Oregon’s initial rules for growth governed where we should live and work, but they didn’t say much about how we should get from one place to another. In the fourth part of this special OPB Politics Now series, senior political reporter looks at the state’s complicated relationship with roads and the fight that helped state leaders figure out how they should manage freeways: Washington County’s proposed Westside Bypass.

Political giants like Tom McCall built Oregon’s land use system. But it took several generations of unlikely advocates – neighborhood activists, planners, property owners and lawyers – to figure out how it would actually work. In the third part of this special OPB Politics Now series, senior political reporter Jeff Mapes tells the story of a Eugene homemaker and a Connecticut reporter and how they helped ensure housing access for everyone.

On this special election preview episode of OPB Politics Now, Washington reporters Austin Jenkins and Troy Brynelson tell you what you need to know to vote in the Aug. 2 primary, which includes races for secretary of state, the U.S. House and a slew of legislative seats.

As the rest of America boomed into suburbia in the 1960s and '70s, Oregonians worried. State leaders saw the problem -- without tighter controls on where and how development could occur, Oregon risked losing its forests and farmland. But coming up with a plan to limit sprawl was controversial. Oregonians love their land. And they hate being told what they can and can't do with it. In this second part of a special OPB Politics Now series, senior political reporter Jeff Mapes tells the story of Senate Bill 100, the law that made Oregon different from everywhere else.

If you think Oregon looks and feels different from other parts of the United States, you’re right. Over the past 50 years, we’ve managed to maintain a comparatively stunning amount of farmland and open space despite rapid population growth. And that’s largely because of our strict controls on where new homes, businesses and roads can go. In the first part of this special OPB Politics Now series, senior political reporter Jeff Mapes takes us back to the moment when Oregon leaders saw the threat suburban sprawl and unchecked growth posed -- but realized they were powerless to stop it.

On this week’s show, OPB political reporters Dirk VanderHart and Rebecca Ellis look at ballot measures that would expand who can vote in Multnomah County and make GOP state legislators pay for walking out of Salem.

Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has overturned Roe vs. Wade, advocates and state leaders in Oregon and Washington are scrambling to figure out a response. OPB political reporters Dirk VanderHart and Lauren Dake and health reporter Amelia Templeton examine what the decision means and what fights are coming next.

On this week's show, OPB journalists Dirk VanderHart, Rebecca Ellis and Anna Griffin dive deep on Portland's unique commission form of government. Voters will consider whether to scrap the controversial system in November. But they've refused to do that seven times in a century. So is this year different?