Best Practices

Greater Portland Inc Board Member Randy Miller leads the annual best practices trips and encourages all with an interest in making Greater Portland a better place to attend. Past attendees include public officials, both elected and support managers, business leaders, non-profit leaders, and education professionals. All are welcome, and Greater Portland champions are encouraged to attend. To edit a trip you can open that trip and then select edit or edit with form from the tabs. To add a new trip open this form and fill it out.

		Milwaukee
		Milwaukee “has its swagger on.” It’s time Portland got its swagger on, too. Milwaukee, after many years of de-industrialization, population loss and civic problems (violent crime, inequality gap among residents, poorly performing public schools, many lead water pipes), etc. seems to be coming back.
		Portland Area
		Best practices trip to five municipalities in the Portland Metro Area.
		Trip to Nashville
		The past year has been challenging for Oregonians as we came together to face the intersecting crises of the COVID pandemic, the racial justice reckoning of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the climate crisis, including wildfires in our state. For Nashville, these crises were compounded by natural disasters and even a Christmas morning bombing that shook their downtown.
		Trip to Buffalo
		Buffalo has had a history that basically has put them at the top and the bottom of the prosperity scale. Once thriving, with a population of 580,000, the city now has just 250,000 residents. The metro population of 1.1 million is less than half the size of metro Portland (2.6 million)
		Trip to the United Kingdom
		Portland-region leaders from business, government and non-profit sectors traveled to England and Scotland in October 2019 to explore the way cities and urban regions—in various stages of economic development and transition—are addressing issues common to the Portland.
		Trip to San Francisco Bay Area
		For more than 100 years, the San Francisco Bay Area has been defined as the nine counties that surround greater San Francisco Bay. People living in the Bay Area, however, have not always acted as though they lived in a single region.
		Trip to Colombia
		With over 50 million inhabitants Colombia is the third-most-populous country in Latin America, and the world’s third-most populous Spanish-speaking country. Its population is ethnically and linguistically diverse, with its rich multicultural heritage reflecting influences by several Amerindian civilizations, Spanish settlement, forced African labor, and immigration from Europe and the greater Middle East. Urban centers are concentrated in the Andean highlands and the Caribbean coast.
		Trip to Brooklyn
		Elements of Brooklyn’s revival – lower crime rates, public planning and investment, extensive existing transit system, existing housing stock proximity to the jobs and wealth of Manhattan – are unique to the area, but familiar variations on stories of urban revival in many other cities including Portland.
		Trip to Japan
		Japan is the 11th most populous country in the world, as well as one of the most densely populated and urbanized. About three-fourths of the country’s terrain is mountainous, concentrating its population of 126.2 million on narrow coastal plains. Japan is administratively divided into 47 prefectures and traditionally divided into eight regions. The Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous metropolitan area in the world, with more than 37.4 million residents.
		Trip to Denver
		Denver, the capital of Colorado, is an American metropolis dating to the Old West era. Larimer Square, the city’s oldest block, features landmark 19th-century buildings. Museums include the Denver Art Museum, an ultramodern complex known for its collection of indigenous works, and the mansion of famed Titanic survivor Molly Brown. Denver is also a jumping-off point for ski resorts in the nearby Rocky Mountains.
		Trip to Toronto
		Toronto, the capital of the province of Ontario, is a major Canadian city along Lake Ontario’s northwestern shore. It’s a dynamic metropolis with a core of soaring skyscrapers, all dwarfed by the iconic, free-standing CN Tower. Toronto also has many green spaces, from the orderly oval of Queen’s Park to 400-acre High Park and its trails, sports facilities and zoo.
		Trip to Houston
		Houston is a large metropolis in Texas, extending to Galveston Bay. It’s closely linked with the Space Center Houston, the coastal visitor center at NASA’s astronaut training and flight control complex. The city’s relatively compact Downtown includes the Theater District, home to the renowned Houston Grand Opera, and the Historic District, with 19th-century architecture and upscale restaurants.
		Trip to Pittsburgh
		The Pittsburgh of today ranks among the top places to live, work, and visit in the United States – consistently recognized with accolades from major travel and financial organizations as one of the most livable cities with one of the most viable economies. The city has ‘re-imagined and re-worked’ itself into a model urban success story. Moving from down and out to ‘rock star’ didn’t happen overnight…in fact it took 30 years!
		Trip to Israel
		On October 15th a delegation of over 30 from the greater Portland area arrived in Israel to undertake a one-of-a-kind international Best Practices Business Mission. The group was comprised of a diverse representation of political leaders, public sector decision makers, academia, and broad private sector interests.
		Trip to Atlanta
		The capital and most populous city of the state of Georgia. With an estimated 2019 population of 506,811 it is also the 37th most populous city in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, home to more than 6 million people and the ninth-largest metropolitan area in the nation. Atlanta is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia. Portions of the city extend eastward into neighboring DeKalb County. The city is situated among the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and has one of the highest elevations among major cities east of the Mississippi River.
		Cleveland
		Cleveland…a city that has reinvented itself from a dying rust belt town, to a world innovator in healthcare, bioscience, manufacturing and leveraging human capital through intergenerational leadership. Greater Cleveland is home to 24 fortune 1000 companies and currently has over $7 billion in construction in its urban core. Cleveland is an innovative city that fosters entrepreneurship and has developed a network of partners to develop and excel in the areas most critical to urban success – talent, connections, innovation and distinctiveness.
		Trip to Spain
		On April 2nd, a 20+ person delegation from the Portland region traveled to Spain for its annual Best Practices trip. During the mission, delegates examined the challenges, issues, opportunities and accomplishments for two of Europe’s most fascinating cities…Madrid and Barcelona. Result – an invigorated appreciation for what can be accomplished when a region’s diverse communities and agendas work together for the benefit of all parties.
		Trip to Detroit
		On October 24th, a 50+ person delegation from the Portland region traveled to Detroit for its annual Best Practices trip. Detroit is engaged in a multi-faceted, complex plan to reinvent itself. During the trip, delegates examined the challenges, issues, and opportunities facing Detroit.
		Trip to Minneapolis–Saint Paul
		Primary international markets: Canada, Scandinavia, UK/Germany, Japan
		Trip to Scandinavia
		The trip’s focus was on sustainability, in which Scandinavia is a world’s leader
		Trip to Chicago
		Chicago presenters had passion and commitment to city’s agenda
		Trip to Philadelphia
		Philadelphia has a long rich history. The Philadelphia story is no longer just about its proud past, but more and more it’s about the present and the future. The public and private sectors have committed to regaining Philadelphia’s prominence as a Great City — the results to date are impressive: claiming the resources of the rivers for jobs, housing and amenities; leveraging resources to undertake signature development projects; conducting private sector-led fundraising campaigns to embark on major global marketing and economic development campaigns; working in regional collaboration.
		Trip to Vancouver BC
		The Vancouver best practices trip explored a wide range of topics – from tourism to urban design; from workforce to competitive business costs; from infrastructure to quality of life – this region continues to set high standards on how to grow a great city.
		Trip to Charlotte NC
		Charlotte is a major city and commercial hub in North Carolina. Its modern city center (Uptown) is home to the Levine Museum of the New South, which explores post–Civil War history in the South, and hands-on science displays at Discovery Place. Uptown is also known for the NASCAR Hall of Fame, which celebrates the sport of auto racing through interactive exhibits and films.
		Trip to Austin TX
		Best Practices Trip to Austin TX (March 2001)
		Trip to Boston
		Boston is a unique city, in that historic preservation is extremely important in its development .
		Trip to Washington DC and Baltimore
		Best Practices trip in 1991 to Washington, D.C. and Baltimore MD
		Trip to New York City
		A promotional trip, aimed primarily at business attraction, using the occasion of the inaugural Portland - NYC direct Delta Airlines flight to send a group of Portland “ambassadors” to meet with East Coast business executives.