When it comes to the topic of environmental sustainability, most of us will readily agree that we face a litany of local and global environmental threats in the twenty-first century. As such, we would largely agree that the need to address climate change and other issues is urgent. Where this agreement tends to end, however, is on the question of whether this urgency is so great that we need not address issues of inequality and environmental justice when organizing sustainability efforts. Some are convinced that, because sustainability efforts are "saving the world for everyone", so to speak, issues of environmental justice are secondary at best. On the other hand, "just sustainability" advocates argue that no such effort is truly sustainable unless it considers winners and losers from the onset. I will argue the latter and demonstrate the potential consequences of a sustainability effort that has failed thus far at engaging those who might benefit most from involvement. This study is an exploration of the City Soil Network (CSN), a community garden organization comprised of seventeen garden sites throughout Portland, Oregon. Thirteen of these sites are in Northeast Portland, an area with a history of racial and ethnic discrimination and both inequalities and boundaries that prevail across the same lines today. A significant number of these residents are food insecure or at risk of becoming food insecure. Furthermore, recent gentrification in Northeast Portland has disproportionately displaced African Americans and members of other historically marginalized communities. As such, these groups tend to view recent neighborhood changes as a new variation on a decades old theme of injustice. Previous research suggests that community gardens can play a role in addressing all of these problems to some degree. However, this body of research has yet to explicitly analyze the relationship between local historical context, gentrification, the conflicting rhetorics of environmental sustainability and environmental justice and outcomes for community garden organizations. This case study includes content analysis of organizational publications, participant observation from four of the CSN's garden sites in Northeast Portland. It also includes interviews with eleven members of the CSN, representing all three levels of involvement with the organization, and six interviews with representatives of community organizations that serve Northeast Portland in some capacity. This study finds that the CSN largely consists of members of a preexisting community of sustainable agriculture enthusiasts. As such, those involved tend not to live near their garden site(s) and are distinct in a number of ways from the diverse neighborhoods that surround many of the CSN's garden sites. The organization has made very few neighborhood-level outreach efforts thus far, and those that have been made have largely been unsuccessful. Understandings expressed by both groups of interviewees help to explain why this has been the case. They also compel me to introduce the potentially adverse impact of gentrification on understandings of neighborhood socioeconomic conditions into the just sustainability debate; we need to consider that unjust sustainability can be the result of not only a lack of concern for inequality, but also a simple lack of awareness of it. Interviewees also provide suggestions for how the CSN or other community garden organizations might be more successful in appealing to marginalized communities.

In 2011, representatives from the Multnomah County Health Departments and several Native-serving organizations came together to address substance-exposed pregnancies among urban Native Americans in Portland, Oregon. From these partnerships, the Future Generations Collaborative was formed representing a significant shift toward community-led maternal child health research and planning. Additionally, the Future Generations Collaborative adopted a historical trauma-informed community based participatory research and planning process. This is particularly significant considering government agencies' role in colonization within Native communities. The purpose of this case study is to explore partnerships between government agencies and the Portland Native community within the Future Generations Collaborative. Given the profound influence of historical trauma in Native communities, this paper addresses how the partnerships between government agencies and the Portland Native community pose distinct opportunities, challenges, and implications. Drawing from FGC members' lived experiences and an interdisciplinary body of research, I develop a theoretical model for explaining the government's role in creating and sustaining historical trauma within Native communities. This analysis provides critical context for examining the impact of historical trauma on the relationships between government agencies and the Portland Native community within the FGC. By entering methodological discussions of Native-specific community-based participatory research, this study also addresses how the use of a trauma-informed research and planning model affects the relationships between government agencies and the Portland Native community within the FGC.

Over the past five years, increased enrollment in student teaching at Portland State University has forced the School of Education to consider its current guidelines and policies for admitting student teachers. School of Education funding and faculty time are being taxed to meet the demands placed on them by increasing enrollment. This study was undertaken to provide data to determine if and how enrollment in student teaching could be limited. To do this, the study examined the existing guidelines for screening and selecting student teachers. The aim of the design was to determine if any of the existing criteria used in screening correlated with the student’s success in student teaching. If the screening criteria did correlate with the student’s success it would be strictly defined. This would then aid in limiting the number of students accepted by the School of Education to student teach. If the screening criteria did not correlate, research could begin from that point. This research could be directed toward finding criteria that did correlate. The sample selected for this study was made up of 1,409 student teachers at Portland State University from Fall Term 1966 to Spring Term 1969. The qualifications for each of these student teachers, at the time of their screening, were gathered and correlated with the scores each student received for his student teaching experience. The scores used to measure the student’s success were taken from the ratings made by the University Supervisor, who was assigned to the student teacher. These scores were concerned with four areas of the student’s experience: first, the student’s knowledge of his subject matter field, second, the student’s teaching ability, third, the student’s ability to get along with students and colleagues, fourth, the student’s professional and ethical attitudes. The data was gathered by reviewing and compiling each student’s qualifications from records on file in the School of Education. This data was transferred from the file to a data sheet which was specially designed for this study. From the data sheets the findings were grouped and tested. The general conclusion of the study was that of the current criteria used in screening, none correlated at a statistically significant level with the student’s success score. A secondary conclusion was that of the three grade point averages used in screening, the cumulative average correlated at a higher level than the other two. The interview rating used did not correlate at a significant level with the success score. Also, the interview rating did not correlate significantly when used to indicate an unacceptable or outstanding score in student teaching. From the findings and conclusions several recommendations were made in the study. One was that, the screening criteria used by the School of Education be deleted. In its place, an open enrollment policy should be adopted by the School of Education. To ease the funding and time difficulties, it was recommended that the one to sixteen ratio currently used in supervision be increased. To do this it was suggested that the clustering plan, now being considered by the School of Education be adopted as a plan of action.

Community psychology is concerned with the relationship between individuals and social systems in community contexts, but the field has under-explored the role of religious organizations in the lives of individuals with intellectual disabilities. Worldwide, most people identify with a religion, and congregations serve as important mediating structure that creates a sense of community and provides linkages between individuals and society. There may be significant benefits to religious participation, including greater life satisfaction, health, and quality of life. Such benefits may be especially important to individuals with intellectual disability who generally experience poorer outcomes. However, we know very little about the inclusion of persons with intellectual disability in faith communities, particularly from the perspective of faith leaders who play pivotal roles in transmitting values and making decisions for their community. The present dissertation aimed to address gaps in knowledge about how religious leaders make meaning of intellectual disabilities and their perspectives toward individuals with intellectual disabilities. Catholic priests, parochial vicars, and deacons were interviewed to address three overarching research questions, viz. (a) What types of experiences, in and outside of faith communities, do religious leaders have with individuals with intellectual disabilities?; (b) What are the beliefs of religious leaders toward the involvement of individuals with intellectual disabilities within faith communities?; and (c) How does religion inform the understanding of intellectual disabilities among religious leaders? Participation was limited to religious leaders who are part of the U.S. Roman Catholic Archdiocese in Portland, Oregon. Participation was only sought from religious leaders who are assigned to parishes that either host adaptive liturgies or were identified as having at least one parishioner with developmental disabilities participating in the mainstream mass. A total of 12 religious leaders (pastors, parochial vicars, and deacons) participated in the present study. Semi-structured interviews illuminated the perspectives of religious leaders toward individuals with intellectual disabilities such as the type of involvement individuals with intellectual disabilities are encouraged to engage in within the congregation. Additionally, participants were also asked about how they made meaning of intellectual disabilities. Using grounded theory analysis, I identified five models of intellectual disability that organize the complex relationships among the focal research questions. These five models include (1) Close to God, (2) Conformity, (3) Unfortunate Innocent Children, (4) Deficient, and (5) Human Diversity. Among the five models, Human Diversity viewed intellectual disability as a natural part of human variation while the rest focused on negative or positive stereotypes of intellectual disabilities. Each model yields a different definition which results in varying determinations of the needs of people with intellectual disabilities. However, each definition is one dimensional and bound in culture. Most of these models suggest that the construction and categorization of intellectual disability may perpetuate inequality. Additional research is needed to explore the boundaries of models of intellectual disabilities constructed within a religious context. The present dissertation is one step in exploring meanings of intellectual disabilities and factors that impact their participation in faith communities

This work on Marquam Hill area in Portland, a relatively undeveloped urban hillside area, is a pilot study in which environmental factors are evaluated quantitatively in order to delineate limitations on development. The study was undertaken at the request of and in cooperation with the City of Portland Planning Commission and with the State of Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries. Factors considered include various aspects of the land, vegetation and attitudes of inhabitants. Findings are not intended to satisfy need for individual site studies by qualified experts but should show where that expertise is needed. Field data were collected on site by observations, borings, personal interviews and by geophysical surveys; laboratory tests were made on soil samples; studies were compiled of topographic maps and aerial photographs; and pertinent data from available previous works were incorporated. Data were integrated into a series of environmental factor maps including ground slope, bedrock and soil, bedrock structure, soil thickness, ground stability, hydrology, and vegetation. Land use constraints and environmental limitations were defined using u.s. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service, soil suitability and limitations criteria as a guide. Mapped geologic and environmental constraints were overlayed with the mapped soil criteria to identify areas by limitations. An interpretive map and chart show that most of the study area is moderately to severly limited for most land uses. Some small areas can be considered as slightly limited, but the majority of these are already developed. The constraints are so severe that most of the area should be left in open space. The major recommendation is that any development must be carefully controlled, utilizing stringent grading codes (such as Chapter 70 of the Uniform Building Code) and professional expertise to assure the safety and environmental compatibility of the site. It is suggested that planned unit development, in the form of clustered or low- to medium-rise structures would optimize design for natural conditions, siting locations, and residential density least affecting the surrounding, naturally vegetated, hazardous slopes.

In order to assess political activity levels of Portland social workers, thirty Master of Social Work (M.S.W.) social workers were interviewed according to a structured questionnaire. The members of the sample were selected from National Association of Social Workers, Oregon Chapter membership and from selected public social service agencies. The results showed, in comparison to previous research findings of Lester Milbrath and Julian Woodward, that Portland social workers are more politically active and knowledgeable than hypothesized. Portland social workers were found to be largely Democrats. The most politically active social workers were found to be those who are employed in private social service agencies, those at agencies employing fifteen people or fewer, those who received their M.S.W. degree prior to 1975, and those age thirty or older. With regard to attitudes, Portland social workers tend to prefer low visibility political tactics and view the political system as being related to client needs or agency functioning only in respect to funding and the provision of services.

One aspect of reality that professional social workers are experiencing in the course of performing social work is what the authors will refer to as natural service delivery systems. We use this particular term for clarity, yet there are questions that still remain. Are there, in fact, measurable phenomena that we can call natural service delivery systems? If these systems exist, what kind of services do they deliver or what types of services do they imply? If these services do exist and if we recognize them, what are the implications for professional social workers? How does our knowledge base allow for us to intervene in these systems with minimal danger of destroying or changing their character and still use them as resources? These questions arose after both authors had worked within communities where, because, of the nature and composition of the populations, it was apparent that natural services were being provided by one neighbor to another or by one friend to another. It was difficult to explain those services in relation to our own roles as social workers. Often it seemed as if there was in existence a procedure that we did not understand in terms of a worker-client relationship. It is from this history of interest and with these questions in mind that we began our research into the area of natural service delivery systems.

This research focuses on the measurement of monetary benefits and costs associated with tourism in metropolitan areas. Most studies on the impact of tourism have been at the national or state level and are not directly appropriate to more limited geographic units. The planning agencies and Chambers of Commerce that are normally involved in promoting tourism work with the metropolitan area, a jurisdiction which is different from that on which most previous studies have been done. In this study, an answer to the following research question is sought: Do public expenditures attributable to tourism outweigh the revenue benefits derived from tourism in a metropolitan area, or is the taxpayer subsidizing the tourism industry? The Portland metropolitan area was selected as a case on which to develop a methodology for ascertaining the economic impact of tourism. Since the tourism industry is extensively fragmented, data were collected from several sources to measure its impact. Using these data, a methodology for weighing monetary costs against benefits attributable to tourism was developed. Three methodological sequences were carried out in the study. The first two were models to compute income and employment multiplier effects. These models helped in the development of intermediate inputs applied in executing the last methodological sequence--the monetary benefit-cost model. The analytical findings strongly support the following two hypotheses: (1) Tourism provides significant employment creation and income generation possibilities. (2) Tourism creates more benefits than it causes service costs to the metropolitan area. For example, it was found that the income and employment multiplier effects from tourists' spendings in the area were 1.1024 during the study period. Also, while the metropolitan area spent $27,873,133.80 in providing services to tourists, it realized $33,516,481.17 in monetary benefits from tourists' spendings. when monetary costs were subtracted from benefits, the metropolitan area realized a net monetary benefit of $5.6 million from tourists' spendings in the area.

The implementation of neoliberal economic and political policies is often touted as a way to increase overall individual well-being and freedom. While these policies may benefit those already wielding economic security and political power, marginalized populations often bear the negative cost associated with such policies. As deregulation and privatization increases, social safety nets and social spending are dramatically reduced. At the local level, liberalization has resulted in increased surveillance and regulation of public space. Organized resistance to global corporatization and increased economic and political marginalization has occurred across the globe. Resisting neoliberalism is complex as the adaptability of the state and capital requires an adaptive form of resistance. Portland Food Not Bombs provides an empirical example of an oppositional social movement organization that resists neoliberal logic and reclaims public space for collective use by serving free meals. This case study includes participant observation of both Portland FNB chapters conducted at chapter specific meal preparation and serving sites. It also includes ten interviews with individuals who are heavily involved with the SMO. Publicly available documents such as Facebook pages, chapter specific websites, and the FNB website provided important contextual information as well. This study finds that the organizational structure of Portland FNB lends itself to more democratic practices and ideals, coinciding with the values of the respondents. Through transparent, consensus decision-making and a resistance to formal leadership, Portland FNB facilitates a different form of political engagement. By using public space, Portland FNB temporarily alters the physical urban environment by socially constructing a more inclusive space, emphasizing that collectively using public space, is indeed a human right. Portland FNB seeks to create a more just society within the existing institutional framework, while rejecting practices associated with 501(c)(3) organizations and other mainstream SMOs.

The thesis is an examination of the history of the Chinese community in Portland, Oregon, with special emphasis on the mutual support organizations developed by this community. The study is primarily descriptive in nature. It includes background information on social, economic, and political conditions in China in the nineteenth century; an account of the history of the Chinese and Chinese organizations in Portland, and an examination of the issues involved in providing social services to Asian communities.