Urban studies alumnus paves the way for an inclusive infrastructure future in Portland

Behind the hard work ethic and polite exterior of Arthur Pearce ’95 is an innovative man whose work with the Portland Bureau of Transportation led to significant city infrastructure change. Pearce credits his current success at the bureau to The College of Wooster, who brought him to Portland in the summer of 1993 for his urban semester as part of his urban studies major. 

“The urban semester was instrumental in my arrival to Portland,” said Pearce. The summer opportunity allowed Pearce to work hands-on with an organization in Portland that focused on urban planning and the environment, and he saw first-hand the detail that went into urban planning and supporting a changing city. “The organizer of the internship created opportunities for us to meet with representatives from all over the regional government: the transit groups, the environmental groups, the local advocacy groups, and much more,” said Pearce. “We conceptually saw what we learned in school and got the chance to see ourselves in those roles as actors of these cities.” 

Hearing about Wooster in high school from his lacrosse coach, Pearce felt drawn to the welcoming environment Wooster provided compared to other schools. “Even as a prospective student, Wooster felt immediately welcoming. I was looked in the eye and talked to directly there, while at some other schools, it felt closed off,” shared Pearce.  

Pearce’s senior Independent Study project provided a foundation for him to pursue urban planning while at the College and helped lead to his current position as a deputy director for planning, projects, and programs at the Portland Bureau of Transportation. Pearce’s urban studies I.S. focused on the inaccessibility of homeownership financing within low- and mid-income communities and presented an alternative solution through Neighborhood Development Organizations through case studies, such as Ithaca, New York’s NHS, to prove the applicability of alternative financial options within communities regarding homeownership. 

“In the urban studies frame, I was very interested in housing as a foundational human right for people to be able to live a prosperous life,” said Pearce about the focus of his research. “With that comes the production and retaining of generational wealth, so studying access to homeownership reveals a key public policy objective that cities should be pursuing, in terms of ensuring residents are able to sustain housing and afford a monthly mortgage.” 

While homeownership doesn’t directly relate to Pearce’s current work with Portland Bureau of Transportation, his I.S. background gave him the opportunity to gain his bearings as a board member of Portland’s REACH community development, which focused directly on homeownership and rental housing. The urban semester program also connected him with a job in fundraising and program support for Portland’s Ecumenical Ministries of Oregon, whose public policy campaigns and direct service programs advocated for marginalized groups in the area. 

While at Ecumenical Ministries, Pearce also ran Wooster’s urban semester program for three summers, which provided a continued connection with the Wooster community on a country-wide scale.  

Pearce praised the community-building orientation of the College, noting that it supported his success in the industry. His undergraduate degree was instrumental in his acceptance to a Master of Urban and Regional Planning program at Portland State University and his first transportation planning internship with the City of Portland in 1998. This background also supported his work on progressively complex planning and capital project initiatives, including multiple district wide transformations, regional light rail projects, and even constructing an aerial tram. 

After working with the organization for 16 years, Pearce became the director of planning, projects and programs for Portland’s Bureau of Transportation, allowing him to oversee the full breadth of physical urban projects and people-curated programs that have transformed Portland into a modern urban center. 

“The projects we work on make Portland a safer and climate-equitable city and set a vision for the future growth of the city,” said Pearce. These projects include increasing bicycle infrastructure and safe routes to school, creating high-capacity transit lines, and prioritizing public spaces and plazas within the city. “My job right now is essentially to oversee a changed management office; looking at the future of a city and how various types of interventions—physical and programmatic—shift the way Portland functions over time to be less reliant on the automobile and more centered on people walking, cycling, and taking transit,” Pearce said.  

The liberal arts curriculum at Wooster allowed Pearce to see the full picture when choosing a career in urban planning and provided a framework for his current role. “The multidisciplinary aspect of Wooster’s education really allowed me to have a deeper understanding of the importance of every actor and aspect within a city,” said Pearce. His experiences taking classes in the economics, political science, and sociology departments helped refine his interests while at Wooster, giving him the chance to communicate effectively with people of all different backgrounds in his current work. “The value of having a liberal arts degree, in terms of being curious and learning how to learn, helped me understand all the dynamic ingredients within an urban city,” Pearce said. 

Posted in Alumni on May 27, 2025.