|
|
|
|
|
Proximity to Social & Cultural Institutions
The presence of social and cultural institutions in a neighborhood contributes to residents’ quality of life by promoting social connections and providing access to important educational, cultural, and community resources. Research has shown that the social cohesion and sense of connection that these institutions foster can also contribute to better health.
This map series explores proximity to several types of social and cultural institutions: (a) arts and culture institutions; (b) public libraries; and (c) civic and community organizations. Comprehensive data are not available to enable us to map all of the social and cultural resources in the region. The available data are skewed towards the more formal, established institutions and do not include the entire range of ways in which communities express and experience arts, culture, and community connections. While the maps do not offer a complete inventory of the region’s social and cultural assets, they document several key components of civic life in neighborhoods and communities across the region.
Click on the thumbnails below to view the other maps in this series.
What the Maps Tell Us: Initial Findings
According to the Proximity to Social and Cultural Institutions Composite Neighborhood Map, the neighborhoods with the highest proximities to social and cultural institutions are scattered throughout the region but tend to be located in more urban and densely populated areas. This is predictable, given that many of these institutions serve a citywide or regional clientele, and therefore are more likely to be located in areas that are more densely populated and centrally located.
The Atlas mapping tool can be used to assign a proximity score to every neighborhood in the region based on the average proximity of every block in the neighborhood to social and cultural institutions. A score of “5” indicates proximities within ¼ mile, while a score of “1” or below indicates proximities greater than 1 mile. The table below lists the ten neighborhoods across the region with the highest proximity scores and shows how the three components of the “Proximity to Social and Cultural Institutions” composite contribute to these neighborhoods’ high scores.
|
Neighborhood |
Location |
Proximity to Arts and Culture Institutions |
Proximity to Civic and Community Organizations |
Proximity to Public Libraries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Portland |
5.00 |
5.00 |
4.80 |
|
|
Sabin/Irvington |
Portland |
4.93 |
4.91 |
4.57 |
|
Hollywood |
Portland |
4.93 |
4.91 |
4.51 |
|
Multnomah County Unclaimed #6 (west of the Hollywood District) |
Portland |
5.00 |
4.86 |
3.86 |
|
Humboldt |
Portland |
4.75 |
4.74 |
4.18 |
|
Sabin |
Portland |
4.64 |
4.59 |
4.01 |
|
Goose Hollow |
Portland |
4.99 |
4.99 |
3.27 |
|
Multnomah County Unclaimed #5 (north of Grant Park) |
Portland |
5.00 |
4.00 |
4.00 |
|
Evergreen |
Lake Oswego |
4.48 |
4.70 |
3.61 |
|
Gresham-City Central |
Gresham |
4.58 |
4.64 |
3.59 |
These neighborhoods are disproportionately located near downtown Portland. However, various neighborhoods in urban areas throughout the region also score high. Examples include:
|
Neighborhood |
Location |
Proximity to Arts and Culture Institutions |
Proximity to Civic and Community Organizations |
Proximity to Public Libraries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Arnada |
Vancouver |
4.53 |
4.88 |
3.00 |
|
McLoughlin |
Oregon City |
4.38 |
4.67 |
3.36 |
|
Foothills |
Lake Oswego |
4.57 |
4.23 |
3.32 |
|
Waverly-Downtown |
Milwaukie |
3.86 |
4.10 |
3.67 |
|
First Addition |
Lake Oswego |
4.08 |
3.68 |
3.77 |
|
Hudsons Bay |
Vancouver |
4.28 |
4.15 |
2.89 |
|
West Slope |
Beaverton |
4.43 |
3.36 |
3.00 |
It is important to note that mapping geographic proximity to social and cultural institutions is a limited lens through which to understand access to these amenities. Many arts and culture institutions have high admissions prices, creating barriers to access regardless of geographic proximity. In addition, not all arts and culture institutions offer content that is culturally relevant to all of the region’s diverse populations. Lack of geographic proximity also does not necessarily equal lack of access. People often access social and cultural institutions that are not located in close proximity to where they live. In fact, it may not be realistic or desirable to expect these institutions to be located in close proximity to all neighborhoods throughout the region. The Atlas mapping tool provides additional data that can be used to better explore these issues, such as data on population densities, transit access, demographics, and other relevant factors.
Among the ten neighborhoods in the region with the least proximity to social and cultural institutions, most are located in unincorporated areas and areas with relatively low population densities. Interestingly, several are located in the cities of Portland and Vancouver, though generally in less populous sections of those cities. The table below shows how these neighborhoods score on each of the components of the Proximity to Social and Cultural Institutions composite:
|
Neighborhood |
Location |
Proximity to Arts and Culture Institutions |
Proximity to Civic and Community Organizations |
Proximity to Public Libraries |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Multnomah County Unclaimed #2 (on Columbia River east of Bridgeton) |
Portland |
0.00 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
|
West Hazel Dell |
Unincorporated Clark County |
0.73 |
0.90 |
0.47 |
|
Hayden Island |
Portland and unincorporated Multnomah County |
1.15 |
0.68 |
0.67 |
|
Riverview |
Vancouver |
1.29 |
0.73 |
0.62 |
|
Bridgeton |
Portland |
1.57 |
0.60 |
0.60 |
|
Fern Prairie |
Unincorporated Clark County |
0.89 |
0.94 |
0.89 |
|
Fruit Valley |
Vancouver and unincorporated, Clark County |
0.90 |
0.98 |
0.81 |
|
Washougal River |
Camas, Washougal, and unincorporated Clark County |
1.00 |
1.03 |
1.00 |
|
Ladd Hill |
Wilsonville and unincorporated Clackamas County |
0.98 |
1.00 |
0.98 |
|
Hazel Grove/Westling Farm |
Oregon City |
1.00 |
1.00 |
1.00 |
The Atlas online mapping tool can be used to generate similar data for every neighborhood in the region, enabling us to analyze how proximity to social and cultural institutions varies across all of the region’s neighborhoods. The mapping tool also enables us to analyze this data within the context of other relevant factors, such as population densities, demographics, and transit access. Combining this information with other Atlas data can help us to understand what these variations might mean from a regional equity perspective.
About the Maps
Proximity to Arts and Culture Institutions
This map shows proximity to a variety of different arts and cultural institutions. It includes theater companies and dinner theaters, dance companies, musical groups and artists, other performing arts companies, museums, historical sites, and zoos and botanical gardens based on NAICS (North American Industrial Classification System) categorization. These data also include a list of arts and culture organizations in Oregon provided by the Oregon Cultural Trust, a list of the locations of street art provided by the Regional Arts and Culture Council (RACC), and a list of arts and culture organizations in Clark County compiled by Arts of Clark County. For the most part, these data sources do not include informal arts and culture organizations, those without a physical location, and the numerous less-institutionalized ways in which communities experience arts, culture, heritage, and creative expression.
Data Source: ESRI Business Analyst (2010), Oregon Cultural Trust (2012), RACC (2012), Arts of Clark County (2012)
Proximity to Public Libraries
This map shows proximity to the region’s public libraries.
Data Source: Metro RLIS (2012)
Proximity to Civic and Community Organizations
This map shows proximity to the locations of various civic and community organizations based on NAICS (North American Industrial Classification System) categorization. It includes organizations classified as civic and social organizations, social advocacy groups, ethnic associations, granges, membership associations, social clubs, youth clubs, senior citizens associations, parent-teacher associations, tenants’ associations, and other similar types of organizations. These data sources do not capture the entire breadth of civic and community organizations across the region but rather the organizations for which address-level data are publicly available.
Data Source: ESRI Business Analyst (2010)
Proximity to Social and Cultural Institutions Composite Heatmap
This map combines the data from the Proximity to Arts and Culture Institutions, Proximity to Public Libraries, and Proximity to Civic and Community Organizations maps to create a composite heatmap. The proximity scores from the each of these maps were combined into a composite score that provides the basis for this heatmap.
Data Source: ESRI Business Analyst (2010), OR Cultural Trust (2012), RACC (2012), Arts of Clark County (2012), Metro RLIS (2012)
Proximity to Social and Cultural Institutions Composite Neighborhood Map
This map uses the same underlying data as the Proximity to Social and Cultural Institutions Composite Heatmap, but instead of showing the data as a heatmap, it aggregates the data by neighborhood. The darker the neighborhood, the greater the proximity to social and cultural institutions.
Data Source: ESRI Business Analyst (2010), Oregon Cultural Trust (2012), RACC (2012), Arts of Clark County (2012), Metro RLIS (2012)
*Some neighborhood boundaries overlap. The Atlas refers to the areas within the overlapping boundaries by the names of both neighborhoods.