Analyzing How the City of Portland’s Policies Can Better Facilitate Continuous Affordable Housing Development
In this thesis, I ask: What policies should the City of Portland, Oregon, enact to increase the supply of affordable housing? To answer this question, I first outline the current state of housing in Portland and the current policies affecting housing in Portland. I then provide a review of scholars’ findings on effective housing policies in the United States, Europe, Australia, and Thailand. Finally, I compare these recommendations to the current policies in Portland to determine what policies the City of Portland should maintain, how policies can be improved, and what policies should be considered for new implementation. I find that the City of Portland is practicing many policies that are in line with scholars’ recommendations, but also has room to improve.
Primarily, Portland’s mandatory Inclusionary Housing program, which is a crucial component of its affordable housing programs, follows scholars’ recommendations by offering various options with multiple incentives to provide choice to housing developers. The City offers density bonuses, tax incentives, and parking mandate exemptions as part of its Inclusionary Housing program and separate from it. However, Portland should also consider implementing other policies, such as land subsidies, joint ventures, expanding land banking practices, and more. I also recommend further analysis of the Inclusionary Housing program’s effect on housing production rates, Oregon’s statewide rent cap, and Portland’s rental relocation assistance program overall.