Today Damascus, Oregon is a wide spot on Highway 212 about 12 miles southeast of Portland. This rural community is a mix of nurseries, small farms and the hint of urban sprawl. The two lower images show pasture and fields that are slated to be the future urban center of Damascus.

 

In 2002 12,000 acres surrounding the small rural Damascus was added inside the Portland Metro region's urban growth boundary. Suddenly this unincorporated part of Clackamas County was faced with the realities of imminent urbanization. What at first seemed unthinkable to many Damascus residents has been turned into an opportunity to create a something good. First the area residents voted to incorporate as a new city so that they would have control over their own planning destiny. Now the new city of Damascus is facing the challenge of how to create a new community from scratch that embodies many principles of good urban design and protects of the important natural resources within its boundaries.

This December 28, 2005 panel discussion includes two Damascus residents, Diana Lobo and Dean Apostl and consultant Stephen Metzler, an urban planner working with the Metro Council, the Portland area's regional government.