The PITS Community Use Permitting program facilitates placemaking and community use initiatives within the public right-of-way. It plays a vital role in transforming our streets, sidewalks, and public spaces into vibrant areas that are accessible and enjoyable for all. Whether intended for events, community programs, or simply to foster a welcoming atmosphere, the Portland in the Streets initiative focuses on enhancing our public spaces to ensure they are inclusive and welcoming for individuals of all ages and abilities.
You can view a visual version of the report here:
2024 Highlights
- Play Streets Brought Safe Play Spaces to Communities Lacking Greenspace – 17 Play Street events provided safe, car-free spaces for around 1,500 Portlanders to play, gather, and build community.
- Block Parties Fostered Neighborly Connection – 835 Block Party permits were issued, empowering neighbors to come together and celebrate in their streets.
- Community Events Reached Nearly a Million People – 321 Community Event Permits supported over 500 events, bringing fun and connection to approximately 900,000 Portlanders.
- Stewardship Agreements Fostered Green Space Enhancements: Four new stewardship agreements were established in Northeast, Southeast, and Southwest Portland, enabling community partners to maintain and enhance underutilized green spaces.
- Special Encroachment Permits Supported Essential Services: Partnerships with organizations such as the Union Gospel Mission and The People’s Depot facilitated the provision of weekly shower services and waste disposal options for those in need.
- PARK(ing) Day Reimagined Urban Spaces: Held on the third Friday of September, PARK(ing) Day saw three locations in Portland's Central Eastside transformed into temporary parks and social spaces, fostering community engagement and dialogue about urban space utilization.
Play Streets
A Play Street transforms neighborhood streets into recurring pop-up community hubs for intergenerational socializing, play, and physical activity by closing the street to vehicle traffic. They create a fun, active space, especially in places where recreational areas are scarce. Play Streets are free and open to everyone.
Play Street Snapshot
Play Street Events: 17
Portlanders Served: ~1,500
Neighborhoods where Play Streets occurred: Lloyd, Hollywood, Cully, Division-Midway, Parkrose, and North Portland.
80% of organizations say they are likely to host a Play Street again
In 2024, after an application process, PBOT awarded $5,000 grants to six non-profit organizations to host Play Streets. Using City resources (including two amazing trailers!), organizations hosted Play Streets in locations across Portland. Read on for a snapshot of the fun that was had! Two of our participants were interviewed about their experience on Oregon Public Radio’s program Think Out Loud. Thank you to Kate and Sahar for their wonderful contributions.
Block Party
Block Parties are a fun and easy way to build community and get to know your neighbors. Street closures are limited to 8 hours per week between the hours of 9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. Block Parties are held on non-arterial streets and are completely free!
Block Party Snapshot
- 2024 Block Permits issued: 835
- BIPOC applicants: 96
Portlanders continue to inspire us with their unique and creative Block Parties. Block Parties events have been held for ping-pong tournaments, street paintings, and even neighborhood beautification, where kids on the block filled in cracks and potholes with eye-popping art.
Community Events
The Portland in the Streets team issues Community Event Permits allowing businesses, community organizations, and nonprofits to temporarily close streets for events like farmers markets, street fairs, and cultural celebrations. These permits support pop-up events lasting 1-2 days and help strengthen community connections, highlight local identity, promote economic growth, and support small businesses.
Community Events Snapshot
Community Event Permits issued in 2024: 321
Events: +500
BIPOC Events: 74
Attendance: ~900,000 attendees across all events
The Community Event Program had another successful year in 2024, issuing over 300 permits. Of these, a majority were hosted by nonprofit organizations. When accounting for recurring events, the total number of events across Portland reached 532 events! The program's growth follows a challenging period during the global pandemic, where only 15 permits were issued for open-air farmers markets between 2020 and 2021, to ensure social distancing and safety. We look forward to another year of growth in 2025!
Community Events Spotlights
Self Enhancement, Inc (SEI)- The Homecoming 8/10/2024
- 5,000+ attendees
- 7th annual event
- “It is a celebration of resilience, belonging, and keeping tradition alive.”
“The annual Homecoming Music Festival is an uplifting, inclusive space to unite families and community members, especially those displaced from Portland's historic Black neighborhoods in North and Northeast districts. This vibrant, free community event offers an opportunity for Black Portlanders across generations to come together in an environment of fellowship, cultural celebration, and joyful affirmation.” -SEI
Urban Art Network (UAN)- First Thursdays April-October
- 75,000 attendees August-October
- 24th year hosting event
- “Where art, culture and community meet!”
“The First Thursday Street Gallery is designed to create meaningful opportunities for self-representing artists and makers. We provide a dynamic platform for makers to showcase and sell their work as we foster community engagement. We welcome artists from diverse backgrounds to our inclusive vibrant event. A summertime evening can draw upwards of 10,000 people. The event is as much a local favorite as it is a tourist destination. Beyond its role as a creative showcase, the First Thursday Street Gallery brings recognition and tourism to our city.” -UAN
Community Use Encroachments and Special Permits
Stewardships
The Stewardship Program is a collaboration between PBOT and community partners aimed at maintaining and enhancing underutilized greenspaces. This work can include planting perennials, bulbs, and native plants. These spaces can range in size—from small traffic islands roundabouts, to larger overlooked public spaces.
Stewardship Highlights
- Four New Stewardship Agreements in NE, SE, and SW Portland
- Ten new inquiries, with two of those currently in the final phases of Agreement completion
Stewardship Spotlights:
- Powell Ct. Island In 2024, we were able to enter into a new stewardship agreement at SE 116th Ave. and SE Powell Ct. Thanks to Green Lents, this once empty traffic median now features a 3,000 square foot pollinator garden and 8 beautiful, large-growing street trees. We can’t wait to see what the space looks like when the garden wakes in the spring!
- Jonesmore Stewardship: Several neighbors along this unimproved street teamed together to improve this neglected space along the freeway wall, working tirelessly to remove garbage and enhance the area with large boulders and native plants after entering into a Stewardship Agreement with our team. This is a great example of a few people making a big difference in their immediate community.
- Grover Triangle: Over the summer months, we worked with Westside Watershed Resource Center, in collaboration with the South Portland Neighborhood Association, to enter into a Stewardship Agreement at the Grover Triangle (large triangle shaped right-of-way bordered by two sidewalks originating from SW 1st Ave and Grover St). The organizations plan to improve the walkability and visibility at this section of the trail, creating a safer, more inviting walking experience. Invasive species will be replaced with various varieties of native plants. Progress on the space is in early phases, but in early December, the organization and volunteers removed about 200 sq ft of ivy and planted 23 native plants!
- Peace Memorial Park: Lloyd EcoDistrict has been holding monthly cleanups at Peace Memorial Park for many years, and has worked with our Community Use Permitting team for various projects. This year, Lloyd EcoDistrict entered into a formal Stewardship Agreement with us. The team continues to maintain the landscape at the site, but is also working on several other encroachment projects as well. One such project, involved an encroachment permit for a utility wrap on the traffic control box at Peace Memorial Park, just feet away from one of Portland’s busiest biking areas, eliminating graffiti. Collaborating with artist Irene Ramirez, Lloyd EcoDistrict is highlighting the importance of our local pollinators, one of the many goals of our Stewardship program!
Portland Pathways
Portland Pathways is a Portland Bureau of Transportation program. It allows community groups to propose, permit, build, and maintain trails with support from PBOT. Portland Pathways launched in 2014 to help communities make their neighborhoods better places to walk. Through the program residents can propose, permit, and build trails in undeveloped public right of way to provide key connections making it easier to get around their neighborhood.
Portland Pathways Highlights
This year, we worked with SW Trails PDX to permit a trail connector between two existing segments of trails, making it easier for pedestrians to safely walk through neighborhoods.
A permit for public-right-of way trail improvements along an approximately 100-foot-long section on SW Custer Street west to SW 37th Avenue. Each trail segment will be 10 feet wide or less.
Public Art
- Coraline’s Curious Cat Trail: This summer Downtown Portland Clean and Safe brought thirty almost six feet tall cats from the movie, Coraline, downtown to invite us all on a magical journey through the heart of Downtown Portland with Coraline’s Cat Trail, bringing the enchanting world of LAIKA Studios (acclaimed stop-motion movie studio in Portland) to life. Each cat became a canvas for local artists, and benefited OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital. We were lucky enough to help bring six of thirty Coraline’s cats to public right-of-way spaces through our Art Encroachment Permits, and helped celebrate the rich tapestry of Portland’s vibrant art scene.
- Native American Youth & Family Center (NAYA): Our team spent several months working with NAYA, RACC, and the Office of Arts & Culture to bring the artwork of Terresa White (Yup’ik) outside the Mamook Tokatee building in an effort to bring more Indigenous art and culture to the Cully Neighborhood. Our Art Encroachment permit allowed this installation in the public right-of-way, and it was unveiled in a celebration with community members and many City agencies, including Commissioner Rubio. The artwork, “Raven’s Welcome” is now an important cultural feature in the neighborhood for all to enjoy and appreciate.
Special Encroachment Permits
At times, our team works with local agencies to provide permitting for encroachment permits that provide basic services to those in need. In 2024 we worked with the following:
- The Union Gospel Mission: Providing weekly shower trucks in the right-of-way for those in need.
- The People’s Depot: Providing containers for waste and recycling for those on the street that may not have other means of proper disposal.
- The Homelessness and Urban Camping Impact Reduction Program: Providing portable toilets and hand washing stations in the public right-of-way for those that may not have access to such facilities.
Cross Street Banners
Although our Cross Street Banner program was slower than recent years, we did have the opportunity to permit a couple of cross street banners over the Montavilla and Belmont Street Fairs. These banners are such a great way to bring attention to these incredible neighborhood fairs!
PARK(ing) Day
Held on the third Friday of September each year, PARK(ing) Day is a fun, global event where people around the world repurpose curbside parking spots into temporary parks, social hangouts and vibrant public spaces. This year, there were three participating locations in Portland's Central Eastside. While the number of participants has dipped since Covid, there's been a rise in parking spot usage through other programs, like the Outdoor Dining.
PARK(ing) Day Highlights
Lloyd Eco District reimagines parking spaces as an E-Mobility & Resiliency Hub.
