Do People Have The Wrong Perception of Your Neighborhood?

This is the first article in a series about neighborhood branding. We'll explore how to change the perception of your neighborhood or business district, including assessment and planning as well as the steps to create a brand and make it live.

How do people react when you reveal which Portland neighborhood you live in?

Cully neighbor Justin Houk has been told that he lives in the "hillbilly part of Portland by people that live one street over in Beaumont," while University Park neighbor Christa Stephanie Denise relates that someone "straight up has said to my face where I live sucks." And who hasn't heard about the childless Pearl, gang-infested NE Portland, or crime-ridden Felony Flats?

Or worse yet, what if the mention of your neighborhood or business district garners no reaction at all, or people ask, “where’s that?”

Whether you live in a neighborhood known by its stereotype or not, many Portland neighbors and business owners are seeking to create an identity for their community or to change a negative perception of their neighborhood—to outsiders and insiders.

Although the area considered Felony Flats in Portland may not have defined boundaries, the Lents neighborhood has often been considered smack dab in the middle of this “undesirable” area.

“There are a lot of really pervasive false perceptions about Lents that are perpetuated citywide, mostly by people who've never been to the area,” Lents neighbor and community leader Cora Potter says, “and their reason for not coming is usually one of the incorrect assumptions or perceptions that they heard from another person or persons—so it's just a vicious cycle.”

Lents Neighborhood Association board member Jess Laventall echos Potter’s sentiments. “Often the only brands that have been applied to Lents have been labels from people who do not live here, or have only driven past Lents, or have only read about certain events in the news. It's unfortunate some people unfairly label Lents in the media where it often has high visibility, thus affecting even more underinformed perceptions.”

Thinking about your neighborhood or business district as a brand can give community members and business leaders the opportunity to assess the realities of their areas before determining which positive aspects to highlight for the city to see. 

So, where do you begin the process?

Assessing Reality: The Facts

In St. Johns, a neighborhood that's struggled with identity and perceptions, the St. Johns Bridge has been a unifying symbol.

The first step is to “assess the reality,” says communications consultant Brooke Preston of The Word Brewery. “What is the neighborhood’s reality, from insiders’ perspectives? Be honest—every neighborhood has assets and drawbacks.”

Business owners may have slightly different strategies and goals than neighbors for branding their sector, but on the whole, graphic designer Jeff Fisher of LogoMotives believes both “feel a need to brand a neighborhood to create a sense of community, give the area a recognized identity within the city, and convey and instill pride in that neighborhood.” Business districts may add the “desired results of bringing business traffic to the district and producing an economic impact,” Fisher says.

In an ideal world, the perspectives of both neighbors and business owners would align to establish a vibrant brand and community that everyone desires to stand behind. Recognize the positive aspects of your community, whether that’s history or nascent culture, to create a new brand that speaks to the spirit of neighbors and business owners alike.

In St. Johns, a neighborhood that's struggled with identity and perceptions, the St. Johns Bridge has been a unifying symbol, according to Josh Guerra, the design chair for the St. Johns Main Street Coalition.

Not every neighborhood has such an obvious emblem, but before we discuss choosing your iconography, we need to continue the evaluation of your neighborhood.

Assessing Reality: The Perceptions

Assessing the causes of outside perceptions of your neighborhood is an important step in addressing those perceptions.

Perceptions might just be a nice way to say stereotypes, but “it’s important to explore which negative perceptions exist about the neighborhood in question, and ask why these are commonly held assumptions,” Preston says. 

To identify the problem, Preston questions: “What is the widely held outside perception? Is it valid? Is it a perception that neighbors, merchants or business associations can readily impact?”

Both Potter and Laventall of Lents point to community-organized events, like summer street fairs and the weekly Lents International Farmers Market, as tools to help change outsiders’ perceptions, because these activities physically get people in the neighborhood and allow them to experience what it has to offer.

Potter explains that Lents may be “a little ‘gap-toothed’ at the moment and some of the buildings look a little rough,” but “the style and core of our neighborhood always surprises people from other parts of the city who visit for the first time. What they find is a business district that in its form looks pretty much like other successful business districts in Portland, except some of the businesses and buildings are missing. Lents Town Center has small blocks and nice period buildings similar to what you'd see in Kenton or on Alberta or Mississippi.”

Getting people in the neighborhood also helps to correct a lot of misconceptions as visitors can see the “scrappy, community-oriented businesses” and experience that “Lents is a safe and active neighborhood that serves as the entry point to a lot of really great activities like biking the Springwater Corridor, hiking in natural areas like Beggars Tick, Brookside Wetlands, Leach Botanical Garden, and the soon-to-be-accessible East Lents Floodplain,” Potter says.

Festivals can draw people into your neighborhood to experience all it has to offer.

But before you focus a ton of energy on event planning, Preston encourages you to pinpoint the causes for outside perceptions, because “identifying potential root causes makes it possible to tailor effective solutions.”

“Sometimes opinions trump reality,” Laventall says. “The reality is the level of crime in Lents is essentially no different than the rest of the city, and in fact is much safer than downtown and some inner east neighborhoods. Demographically Lents is quite different than neighborhoods closer to the downtown core, which is what I believe the majority of those who say negative things about Lents base their opinions on.” 

It may be effective to embrace outsider opinions to demonstrate that the perceived “problems” are not really problems for residents, but rather assets.

“I love Lents because of the fact it is not homogeneous, which is what a lot of Portland has become these days,” Laventall continues. “Lents has developed its character in large part because of the diversity it embraces.”

Once reality and perceptions have been assessed, it’s time to decide what you want to change.

Do people have the wrong perception of your neighborhood? Are you branding your neighborhood/business district? Share your story and questions about branding in the comment section.