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ECONOMY:
Housing

  



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Portlanders desire an abundance of attractive, affordable housing in the future.

Section Summary

Affordable housing is incredibly important to Portlanders. Many people are concerned with the rising cost of property, and they worry about this trend's impact on renters and potential homeowners. Although some feel Portland is relatively affordable, there is still a strong collective voice that opposes new development projects that cater to people with high incomes, citing the Pearl, North/Northeast Portland and South Waterfront as examples.

Portlanders want to see an increase in homeownership opportunities for everyone and suggest more developments with mixed-income neighborhood housing. Many also value assistance programs for first time homebuyers. They firmly believe that affordable housing and homeownership should be made accessible to Portland’s many diverse groups.

A large number of respondents call for more environmentally sustainable housing. A common suggestion is for the city to help residents strive toward sustainability goals by building environmentally sound, "green" housing. People request that more care be taken to place housing near trees, community gardens and other amenities, such as public transportation, that make it easy for people to adopt more sustainable lifestyles.

Summary of Main Ideas

  1. All neighborhoods should have mixed-income housing.
  2. Affordable housing needs to be of high quality and in prime locations.
  3. The City should be responsible for increasing affordable housing.
  4. The City should promote environmentally sustainable housing that is also affordable.
  5. Gentrification has harmed many Portlanders and needs to be stopped.

MAIN IDEAS

  1. All neighborhoods should have mixed-income housing.
  • The newly developed Pearl and South Waterfront neighborhoods are viewed as not having enough mixed-income options.
  • Economic and ethnic diversity should be protected by blending neighborhoods with multiple types of housing.
  • Families with lower income levels should be able to live in desirable neighborhoods with access to good schools for their children.
  • High-density housing that caters to families and all income levels will become even more necessary as the population grows.
  • Portland Development Commission should reevaluate decisions on how and where to develop low-income, affordable housing projects.
“We need to have mixed income neighborhoods.”

“Low income families can live in better neighborhood due to lower housing costs, and thus creating better futures for their children, and not needing the extra policing."

“Develop mixed income housing. PDC tends to focus lower-income housing in places where it’s cheaper to build. This concentrates the poor in a few areas. They need to make more investments around the city.”

"[In 2030] We would be a city that has more affordable housing and an increase in programs helping first time home buyers.”

Sample Strategies:

  1. Use close-in land that is currently filled with above-ground parking lots for affordable, multi-use developments.
  2. “Tax developers and subsidize cohousing and coops.”
  3. Require all developers to designate a percentage of units low-income.
  1. Affordable housing needs to be of high quality and in prime locations.
  • Affordable housing should also mean quality housing.
  • Family-friendly affordable housing should be located near schools and not far from jobs or public transportation.
  • Inflation of rentals and other non-housing goods and services should be regulated in areas surrounding schools, so that these areas remain affordable for families with children who do not have the means to buy homes.
  • Expand programs and outreach efforts that inform people of their rights as renters.
  • People understand the need to look holistically at public policy, and that quality, affordable housing is linked to other basics like family wage jobs, health benefits, schools and safety.

“Another change would be more affordable housing. It is getting very hard for average working families to afford decent housing."

"…More affordable housing for all populations, eg. disabled accessible, low income with young children close to schools…”


  1. The City should be responsible for increasing affordable housing.
  • Working families are up against increasing challenges to afford decent housing.
  • Portlanders want to see policy that ensures more homeownership opportunities to people of all income levels within the central city and elsewhere.
  • Change the definition of "affordable housing" to more realistically meet the housing needs of Portlanders.
  • Specific populations that respondents believe should have more affordable housing options include:
    • Students;
    • People experiencing homelessness;
    • People in or leaving alcohol/drug recovery programs;
    • Working families;
    • Aging population;
    • Singles;
    • Artists;
    • People with disabilities;
    • Minorities; and
    • Working professionals.
  • Portland Development Commission should consider targeting affordable housing efforts at populations most in need or vulnerable, such as the aging population and people experiencing homelessness.
  • Current housing assistance programs are valued. Some people believe that more needs to be done to increase and build awareness of housing assistance.
“PDC funding and efforts should aim to provide housing for the homeless and for the elderly.”

"I consider myself very lucky to have become a homeowner, before Portland’s home prices skyrocketed out of working income reach. It is my understanding that median income in this area is still under $40,000 a year, and at that wage you can no longer own a home in most close in Portland neighborhoods…I know that it's all about market forces, but I can't help thinking that when the city cuts developers property tax cuts to build condos that sell for 1/2 a million a piece, that there is something really wrong with those priorities. Shouldn't high-profit development taxes support low-profit or even non-profit living wage homes? It would be a great crime if Portland turns its back on the working people who make it so wonderful and force all of them out into Gresham or Hillsboro to live in tract housing...”

“...Demand public development projects include affordable housing; and continue to build a vibrant flexible economy that is not dependant upon multinational corporations for our economic health; and of course, allow the inevitable growth to occur, but with as much planning as possible.”

  1. The City should promote environmentally sustainable housing that is also affordable.
  • There should be more environmentally sustainable housing, including incentives to retrofit current housing to become more environmentally sound.
  • The City should take leadership in promoting sustainable building practicies, for instance, within city buildings and when developing city-funded projects.
  • The City of Portland should become nationally/internationally known for its system of providing affordable, sustainable housing for all residents.
Sample Strategies:
  • “New sustainable buildings for low income people: composting toilets, organic gardens.”
  1. Gentrification has harmed many Portlanders and needs to be stopped.
  • Gentrification has had a disproportionately negative impact on people with lower incomes and people of color.
  • Gentrification is viewed as eroding the sense of connectedness and community for African Americans.
  • Respondents believe it is unjust for long-term residents of neighborhoods to suddenly be priced out of their homes or businesses when revitalization occurs.
  • Respondents want to counter gentrification by ensuring enough affordable housing remains in neighborhoods experiencing new development.
  • Affordable units should also be incorporated into new condominium developments to create mixed-income housing.
  • Portlanders are concerned that certain neighborhoods are becoming more segregated by class, less diverse and more homogenized, and fear that these trends will continue.
    • Housing around Foster in Southeast is perceived as attracting  low-income people.
    • The Pearl district and South Waterfront are seen as exclusively catering to the wealthy.
    • People want to see less gentrification in North and Northeast Portland. Many are disturbed by the displacement of African American families and people with lower income levels in these neighborhoods.
  • Subsidized condo development should be stopped because it is seen as directly contributing to the harmful effects of gentrification.
"I am concerned about the rapid changes that are happening in the N/NE neighborhoods. Housing costs are rising, pushing people out. I believe the correct term would be gentrification."

“Have more low income housing (too much gentrification seems to be happening).”

"Too many areas are becoming exclusive such as the Pearl and areas such as Foster have generally been used as a catch all for the ill and socially disadvantaged."

“While I appreciate the aesthetic rewards of gentrification I am concerned that housing costs are forcing people to move to the outskirts or to Vancouver…”

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