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Heather Flint Chatto

Founder and coordinator

Division Design Initiative, New Buildings Institute

Heather Flint Chatto has tapped into her 20 years of experience as an urban planner and designer to champion a healthy and prosperous approach to redevelopment in East Portland鈥檚 Division Street neighborhoods.

鈥淲hen they say, 鈥榊ou can鈥檛,鈥� 鈥� she said, 鈥淚 instantly go into a mode of 鈥楬ow can we?鈥� 鈥�

Chatto now heads an organization that for the past two years has worked within the communities along Division Street to find fair solutions to the growing problem of livability in a changing environment.

Chatto鈥檚 undergraduate degree is in environmental studies from San Jose State University, and her master鈥檚 is in urban planning and design from the University of Washington School of Architecture.

鈥淚 grew up all over 鈥� Oregon, California, Hawaii, Paris 鈥� so I got to see a wide range of urban designs,鈥� she said. 鈥淕rowing up in those places has influenced me in a lot of ways. I think the most important is that I鈥檝e seen that there are different ways to approach the same problem.鈥�

After working with the city of Santa Barbara on long-range urban planning, Chatto and her husband, an architect, moved to Portland.

Chatto鈥檚 current position as project manager for the New Buildings Institute dovetails well with her work as a volunteer advocate. She founded the Division Design Initiative two years ago and has since worked tirelessly to find solutions to problems that affect seven neighborhoods along the Division Street corridor.

鈥淭here are so many issues: gentrification, sustainability, affordable housing, practical applications for space for commercial as well as residential concerns, single-family dwellings,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 believe it鈥檚 the challenge of our time 鈥� how to diversify and maintain balance. To find those solutions, the neighborhoods have to have a voice.鈥�

Chatto鈥檚 past experience writing design guidelines for revitalization of the Old Town district in Goleta, California, led to her suggesting similar solutions for the Division Street corridor. In partnering with the Richmond Neighborhood Association, Chatto helped form an inter-neighborhood committee in 2013 to address design, notification and related issues. Through the efforts of the Division Design Initiative, money was raised to assist in analysis and research to create design guidelines for the Southeast Division Street area. The group selected a woman- owned urban design firm to work on the project, and Chatto served as a mentor.

As new construction and remodeling continue in the area, Chatto and the Division Design Initiative continue to work proactively on art, outreach, comprehensive zoning and planning through collaborative efforts with Portland State University, the city of Portland and several associated neighborhood organizations.