By Anna Shank-Root, Land Use Strategist and Policy Analyst, Port of The Dalles
When I first arrived in The Dalles in September, my supervisor set up meetings with many with people involved in local planning and economic development in the community. One of the themes that emerged throughout those conversations was that there was extremely limited available land in the city. There was a consultancy hired to perform a Buildable Lands Inventory of The Dalles, but the products they presented to the city didn’t resonate with many local residents and professionals. One of my primary projects in my role as Land Use Strategist and Policy Analyst for the Port of The Dalles is to support local efforts to expand the Urban Growth Boundary of The Dalles, which requires demonstrations that land is being used as efficiently as possible.
Using data that had been prepared by contracted consultants, I had many conversations with co-workers, board members, and other local professionals to ascertain what adjustments they felt would reconcile their concerns. Their feedback allowed me to update the data with current land uses, and calculate additional statistics that has been useful in explaining numerically the realities that residents know from their experience. Through adapting this data for The Dalles, I was able to create a similar product for the city of Dufur, a small city in the Port district that otherwise would not have access to this content.
This story map will be a legacy I can leave to my community as a useful tool that can be updated in the future, allowing them to adapt a continual inventory of available land for community use.
In turn, this project allowed me to gain a more complete understanding of my own community’s geography and economic realities as I explored the property ownership data. After completing this project, I understood more readily which buildings and projects community partners were referencing, found it easier to navigate my community without directions, and discovered new local businesses. Working on this project also helped me learn and practice data collection, GIS and visual communication skills that will be useful to me throughout my RARE term and beyond.
Working my community to construct this map series has been a collaborative way for me to learn in grow in my skills and knowledge, while helping to tell my community’s story.
The full story map is available here, although it is being continually updated and expanded throughout my service term.
About the author, Anna Shank-Root: Anna graduated from the University of Oregon with a B.A. in Planning, Public Policy and Management and a minor in Spanish. Anna’s long-time interest in Service Learning has resulted in a passion for equitable and inclusive community engagement and economic development which she looks forward to applying to her work at the intersection of economic development and land use planning as a RARE AmeriCorps Member with the Port of the Dalles. A native Oregonian, Anna is excited to explore a new part of Oregon with her dog, Kiwi, during her service year in the Columbia River Gorge.
Interested in gaining community and economic development experience of your own? Are you looking for a life changing experience in rural Oregon? Learn more about serving with the RARE AmeriCorps Program. Applications for Year 28 (2021-22) due April 23, 2021.