Guide to equitable housing

Go to the main menu
Go to the search form

Through the Equitable Housing Initiative, Metro is committed to working with partners across the region to find opportunities for innovative approaches and policies that result in more people being able to find a home that meets their needs and income levels.

Brian and his family on the porch of their Tualatin house

Brian McCauley and his family found their unusual house in Southwest Portland getting too small with a kid. They ended up broadening their horizons to find a home in Tualatin.

Silvia Rodrigues has lived in a courtyard apartment in Beaverton for three years.

Moving off campus meant moving farther than expected for Portland State University student Jacob Mosiman.

Need an affordable home now?

It may take several years for new bond-funded affordable homes to be created in each community. Contact 211 to learn about other opportunities as well as housing and emergency assistance resources.

Dial 211 toll free, text your zip code to 898211, or email [email protected].

The Equitable Housing Initiative

develop a shared understanding among elected officials, jurisdictional staff, developers, funders and stakeholders regarding best practices, needs and opportunities for collaboration.
develop and provide technical assistance to support local implementation of best practices to overcome barriers to equitable housing development.
evaluate the feasibility of collaborative approaches and pursue partnerships opportunities to support capacity building, policy and resource development, and research to advance regional equitable housing efforts.

Regional affordable housing bond

On Nov. 6, 2018, Metro-area voters approved a $652.8 million general obligation bond to create affordable homes throughout the greater Portland region. Thanks to voters' support, Metro will now begin working with partners and the community to implement the bond.

Learn more about the affordable housing bond

Report: Opportunities and challenges for equitable housing

In January 2016, Metro released a report exploring the nature of the region's housing challenge and providing a four-part strategic framework to respond. Local partners are working to implement strategies in the framework that include:

maximize and optimize resources
leverage growth for affordablity
mitigate displacement and stabilize communities
increase and diversify market-rate housing.

Report summary

Regional affordable housing framework overview sheet — Different households have different housing needs, and need different affordable housing strategies. What do they look like? Get a glimpse of recommended actions in this graphic. (Click below to see larger.)

Equitable housing strategies overview384.98 KB Adobe Acrobat PDF Published Apr 19, 2018

Read the full report

Opportunities and challenges for equitable housing

A collaborative framework for creating and preserving housing affordability as the Portland metropolitan region grows

14.24 MB Adobe Acrobat PDF Published Jan 22, 2016

2016 housing summit

Leaders and staff from Portland-area government, nonprofits, developers, other businesses, labor and the philanthropic sector discussed the report's findings and recommended next steps at a summit on Feb. 1, 2016.

Read a recap and watch a video of the summit

Equitable housing grants

On Dec. 1, 2016, the Metro Council awarded $575,000 in grants to help seven communities around the region eliminate barriers to developing equitable housing. These grants were a subset of Metro's community planning and development grant program.

Learn more about planning and development grants