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2040 Growth Concept

Planning and conservation  ›  Plan library  ›  2040 Growth Concept

This region is admired across the nation for its innovative approach to planning for the future. Our enviable quality of life can be attributed in no small measure to our stubborn belief in the importance of thinking ahead.

One example of this foresight was the Metro Council’s adoption of the 2040 Growth Concept, a long-range plan designed with the participation of thousands of Oregonians in the 1990s. This innovative blueprint for the future, intended to guide growth and development for the next 50 years, is based on a set of shared values that continue to resonate throughout the region: thriving neighborhoods and communities, abundant economic opportunity, clean air and water, protecting streams and rivers, preserving farms and forestland, access to nature, and a sense of place. These are the reasons people love to live here.

A vision for the future

Policies in the region’s long-range plan encourage:

• safe and stable neighborhoods for families
• compact development, which uses both land and money more efficiently
• a healthy economy that generates jobs and business opportunities
• protection of farms, forests, rivers, streams and natural areas
• a balanced transportation system to move people and goods
• housing for people of all incomes in every community.

Challenge and opportunity

Since the adoption of the long-range plan in 1995, the region’s population has increased by 200,000 residents. More people, especially young adults, are moving to the region because it is a great place to live, work and play. This rapid growth brings jobs and opportunity, but it also creates new challenges. Our challenge is to serve as good stewards of the region and to build a foundation for fair, responsible growth.

We’re growing faster than anyone expected. New forecasts show that within the next 25 years, about a million more people will live in the five-county Portland metropolitan region. In addition, time has exposed some of the shortcomings in the implementation of the region’s long-range plan, as well as tensions and trade-offs between different objectives. We must make difficult choices if we want our neighborhoods and communities to continue to thrive.

Learn more about Metro's efforts to update the long-range plan

Need assistance?

Metro land-use planning
503-797-1562
2040@oregonmetro.gov

2040 maps and documents

Files that are downloadable from this page

• The Nature of 2040 - The region's 50-year strategy for managing growth 784K Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published June 1, 2000
• 2040 Growth Concept map 10.7M Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published November 4, 2008
• 2040 Growth Concept map - reduced file size 3.4M Adobe Acrobat PDF | Published November 4, 2008

Related Links

2040 Growth Concept at a glance

Read about the ten urban design types identified in the 2040 Growth Concept as the "building blocks" of the regional strategy for managing growth.

2040 performance measures

Read reports that measure the progress being made toward meeting the goals of the 2040 Growth Concept.

Making the Greatest Place

The Metro Council is working with local leaders and people throughout the region to create sustainable and prosperous communities for present and future generations. Learn about key decisions that will be made in 2009 and 2010.