Population densities

I visited the Greek city of Thessaloniki last spring. There are 360,000 Thessalonians, living on 18 square kilometers of land. Most streets in the city are lined with six-story apartment buildings.

Compare that to 540,000 Portlanders, living on 350 square kilometers of land. Most streets in the city are lined with single-family houses.

Thessalonians live 20,000 to the square kilometer. Portlanders live 1,550 to the square kilometer. That's barely more dense than Houston's 1,350.

Remember that statistic the next time you hear how dense Portland is.