Springfield has pushed through another coup. They are targeting lower class sizes, on average, than Eugene.

Another bold approach for a City that is doing its best to climb out of, and make the best of the Simpsons (ironically, a source of pride)/Anti-anyone-different reputation their community leaders and citizenry helped to cultivate for over a decade.

A magnificent new hospital that Eugene lost, street repairs (in contrast to potholes EVERYWHERE in Eugene), fresh downtown development, a new community policing approach…Springfield is becoming all things innovative while Eugene is behaving like grandpa in the easy chair. Nothing wrong with grandpa’s easy chair; if all you want to do is look in the rear view mirror.

Popularity: 49% [?]

Back in December 2006 the results from a community survey came out. You can read it here.

First, this was a very methodical survey. I remember very little from my statistics class in college, however, I recognize the variance elements, beta, etc. It’s solid information.

Secondly, the results of this survey paint a far different picture of Eugene than what you see via some of the elected officials. Cats, sustainability, and downtown are not the public’s #1 priority. Important, but not #1. Security (fighting crime), jobs, and education are.

To put it succinctly, here are the concerns showing the largest growth in interest, consistently, every year, since 1998 (or 2001).

• Is Eugene’s population growing too fast?

  56% said yes in 1998, 31% in 2006. Either this means people think Eugene is slowing down, or they’re more accepting of the pop. growth needed to maintain a vibrant community. Probably the latter. Eugene doesn’t seem to be slowing down.

• In 1998, 45% of people surveyed believed their economic opportunities were getting better.

  That % fell by nearly 40% to only 25% who believed the same in 2006. This is significant. Obviously people feel that the city gov’t is not doing enough to encourage job growth, especially in the form of “living wages.”

  And yet..about 45% of Eugenians for almost eight years have believed that the City shouldn’t provide businesses with tax incentives. I feel for the Mayor here. But then that’s what leadership is about - telling people what they sometimes don’t want to hear.

  Springfield is dominant in the area of job and economic growth. As Springfield house prices catch up with Eugene’s, providing a larger taxable base for the City of Springfield, Eugene city leaders will discover that you can’t just opt-out of competition for resources. Eugene doesn’t “deserve” economic benefits any more than Springfield, right? That’s got to be earned.

• Safety - Business areas vs. neighborhoods.

  60-65% of people on average, over the last five years have felt very safe in their neighborhoods. Only about 27% on average say the same about business areas - hitting a five year low of 18% in 2006.

  Safety is a real issue for many, and especially women (it says so in the report). I would not feel comfortable having my wife walk alone at night to meet me downtown. I would rather walk to her. Suburbia, with all its bourgeois hubris and “Desperate Housewives” mythology, is safe. Suburbia is also an enormous asset to the city.

Everyone is aware of the successes of Eugene city government - good parks, decent schools, a great library system. What we don’t have very often in this town however is an open debate where people refuse to offend easily. Where conflict leads to resolution and a better city.

Ironically, most Eugenians with a thick skin simply hope the pollsters call them once a year. They’re too busy for the other nonsense.

Popularity: 16% [?]

It looks like the Pacific Northwest real estate prices continued to grow in Q4 2006, or at least Portland and Seattle did. Portland median home prices grew 12.3% in Q4, according to Forbes.

Below is a chart showing the Eugene-Springfield growth rate for the last couple years. Unfortunately the Q4 2006 OBM Eugene data wasn’t available on the OBM website.

Popularity: 30% [?]

Redfin’s stories are great. They raise the real estate marketing bar.

You can tell from that post that these agents know their neighborhoods. Is there an equivalent neighborhood in Eugene?

What about some areas of Springfield? Is it unfair to exclude Springfield from this blog? No longer.

Springfield is full of lively parks where kids can play. New businesses. A new hospital or two. A new regional kids sports center.

So in the coming months look for a few posts about Springfield properties. Like this one.

Subscribe to the feed and you won’t miss a thing..

Popularity: 8% [?]