Regenerative Urbanism Vanport

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Regenerative Urbanism Vanport
Vanport1947.jpg
Vanport Residence 1947
Team Organizations Green Urban Design
Urban.Systems
Point of Contact Wilfred Pinfold
Participating Municipalities Vanport OR
Sectors Wellbeing
Resilience
Initiative
Status Concept only Stage
Last Updated December 10, 2024

Summary

Vanport, Oregon was a temporary housing project built in 1942 to address a wartime housing shortage in Portland.
The city was built on 650 acres of Columbia River floodplain.

It was the largest World War II federal housing project in the United States. At its peak, Vanport was home to over 42,000 residents, making it the second largest population center in the state.

Vanport was destroyed on May 30, 1948, when a 200-foot section of a railroad berm holding back the Columbia River collapsed during a flood. The city was underwater by nightfall, leaving 17,500 of its inhabitants homeless.

During its short life, Vanport was called everything from a "Miracle City" to a "Masterpiece of Urban Planning".