Eugene Grid

The Eugene Grid Project first started in 2008. A map of the city’s metro area including Springfield was divided into almost 40 equal grids, each about 1.4 miles by 1.4 miles. Once a month a specific grid was selected to be the subject of photographic examination. Photographs were taken and shared at regular monthly meetings.

Grid Map Full view sm

The city of Eugene occupies about 41.5 square miles in an informal metropolis of several small towns, all within easy commuting distance to the jobs, learning centers, and multiple cultural offerings, creating a complex of communities that includes Springfield, Coburg, Junction City, Creswell, Cottage Grove, Pleasant Hill and small settlements along the McKenzie River and Highway 126 heading west toward Florence.

Through the landscape of Eugene the southern Willamette River flows as it grows into the state’s major river being fed by the Coast Fork and Middle Forks right before entering Eugene. And just northeast of the city limits flows the fish-rich McKenzie River.

Looking at the many different sections of Eugene’s city scape is one of the goals of the Eugene Grid Project. While many photographs currently exist that document Eugene’s historical events and the city’s physical change caused by population growth and economic development related to the land’s resources, there have been few visual documents of the neighborhoods of the city.

The grid project is not a new concept, but an offshoot of an original project begun in October 1995 by photographer Christopher Rauschenberg in Portland. That project, with 98 grid squares and 12 Portland photographers originally, is now in its third iteration. Each round has shared over 20,000 photographs.