There are over 5000 people in Portland living on the streets (2022 Point in Time Count) . Many are suffering from mental illness or addiction. But this is only the tip of Portland’s housing crisis. Many more individuals and families teeter at the edge of homelessness, faced with housing costs far higher than they can afford. According to the State of Portland’s Housing report, nearly a quarter of Portland residents pay over 50% of their income in rent and over half pay over 30%. 

As housing costs rise, more Portlanders are faced with hard choices – bills to put off, moving out of Portland, or giving up their homes to impose on friends or family or live on the streets. (Check out this report from Harvard’s Kennedy School.)

Because housing production is below the rate of household formation, housing costs have been growing rapidly with  the average price of a home in Portland exceeding $400,000 in 2022. Rents have also gone up steadily, with average rent being $1600 in 2022. 

Our response needs to address all aspects of this crisis. Yes, we must get people off our streets and into a home. While Portland and Multnomah County have stumbled badly in recent years, cities such as Houston have reduced homelessness up to 60% through targeted and replicable programs. We need to expand outreach focused on individual situations by expanding Portland Street Response and Safe Rest Villages, for example. 

We have an incredible opportunity to create affordable housing opportunities throughout Portland with a few regulatory changes and creative use of public assets. More residents will boost our economy, send their children to the schools we’ve invested in upgrading, enjoy our parks, support local business, and bring vitality to our community. 

Indi Namkoong and Matt Tuckerbaum, volunteers with Portland: Neighbors Welcome  shared strategies for increasing housing production during a call on housing sponsored by Housing Oregon. I support their call to systematically review and remove the regulatory barriers that prevent housing production as well as to creatively use community assets.

1. Re-legalize a larger variety of homes, including apartments, throughout the city

   a. Support efforts like the Inner Eastside for All campaign to re-legalize mid-size multi-dwelling buildings

   b. Protect Historic Buildings instead of whole districts or neighborhoods

2. Reduce building costs and streamline permitting

   a. Reduce permit timelines and streamline process

   b. Re-evaluate infrastructure charges

3. Dedicate City / publicly-owned land for new housing

   a. Consider using assets like Water Bureau land or city golf courses for housing

   b. Partner with schools, churches, private landowners to turn parking lots into housing

4. Improve zoning, building code, and infrastructure plans to utilize scarce space

Portland also has four large areas in the Central City primed for redevelopment with eager partners that could house thousands of people: Lloyd Center, OMSI, Lower Albina, and the old downtown Post Office site. The City needs to be creative and flexible to take advantage of these opportunities.