The City of Gresham seeks to improve the walkability of its downtown to create
a vibrant, pedestrian-oriented city center. Through the University of Oregon’s
Sustainable City Year Program, an Advanced GIS class of undergraduate and
graduate students from the Community and Regional Planning program and the
Planning, Public Policy, and Management department conducted a walkability
study analyzing the built and urban design environment for pedestrians and
bicyclists. This report synthesizes the research and analysis conducted by five
student teams. It contains a description of the class methods, analysis of each
study group, overall findings and recommendations.
Students used Census data and shapefiles provided by the Regional Land
Information System to analyze Downtown Gresham’s land use, transportation
infrastructure, and population density in ArcGIS. Students used a network
analyst tool to further analyze the level of street connectivity around 17
locations of interest. After this analysis, five student teams conducted on-site
walkability assessments of sub-regions in Downtown Gresham. The walkability
assessments measured factors for the built environment and urban design and
included gathering surveys of pedestrians and bicyclists along the route.
To analyze this entire region, five study areas were identified:
• Gresham Town Fair
• Downtown Gresham
• East Powell Boulevard
• Main City Park
• NE Burnside Road
Each team provided analysis and recommendations for each region based on
the spatial analysis and walkability assessments. Key recommendations that
emerged from the findings include:
• Enhance urban design elements with street trees, landscaping, public
street art, and outdoor dining to create an interesting and enjoyable
pedestrian experience
• Increase accessibility and safety with additional wayfinding signage,
pedestrian crosswalks, well-marked and continuous bike lanes, and
traffic calming techniques to high traffic streets
• Improve MAX transit station experiences with additional lighting,
landscaping, and wayfinding signage
• Encourage mixed land uses/density including additional park or public
space in vacant lots
This report addresses the findings of the walkability assessments by study
area and provides recommendations for specific street improvements to add to
pedestrian and bicyclist accessibility. Suggestions for possible next steps for the
City of Gresham are provided, however, further analysis would be needed to
identify feasibility and priority for the city.
Read the final student report delivered to the local gov/community partner.
Sustainable City Year Program Contact Info
Megan Banks
Sustainable City Year Program Manager
mbanks@uoregon.edu
(541) 346-6395
University Faculty Contact
Taylor Eidt
Planning, Public Policy and Management
Local Government / Community Contact
Stacy Humphrey
Senior Planner