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Homes in Portland's Lents neighborhood.

(File photo)

By Mike Westling

This month, the City Club of Portland published a report recommending a set of solutions to address the region's affordable housing crisis. The research committee concluded that housing affordability is a regional challenge that requires swift action and a comprehensive set of solutions. In short, we need more tools in the toolkit.

The one tool that split the committee was a revision of Portland's zoning code and map to allow for more "missing middle" housing types in the city's residential neighborhoods. These are residential units that fill the gap between single-family homes and large, multifamily apartments--think duplexes, triplexes, townhomes and garden apartments. Under current zoning, these types of homes are banned from most residential neighborhoods. Updating the city's zoning code to expand the diversity of housing options available would help to combat rising rents and promote economic opportunity for families of all incomes.

In many ways, proximity has become the equivalent of opportunity in our city. The closer you are to good schools, active parks and well-paying jobs, the greater your chances for success. As such, the discussion about housing affordability can't just be about how much housing we have, but also where that housing is located. Recent research shows that kids from poor families who live in mixed-income neighborhoods do better in school and earn more money over their lifetimes than kids who live in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty. At the same time, kids from more affluent families acquire social and emotional skills like curiosity, collaboration and empathy that help them succeed later in life.

The benefits extend to the entire region--by reducing the need for people to commute long distances from places where housing costs less, mixed-income neighborhoods reduce traffic congestion and improve movement of freight through the region. And the best part about revising the zoning code is that, unlike the vast majority of other affordable housing solutions, it doesn't cost a dime.

If our goal is to preserve our neighborhoods exactly as they are for years to come, we can choose to do that. But we'll also have to accept the fact that these neighborhoods will continue to become more and more expensive and that large numbers of Portlanders won't be able to afford to live there.

Portland's residential zoning code was not brought down on stone tablets from Mt. Tabor. It can, and should, be revised and improved to reflect the type of city we have become and the type of city we want to be.

If we are serious about addressing the affordability crisis, we can't continue to restrict more affordable housing types from broad swaths of the city. Our amazing neighborhoods are at the heart of Portland's identity as a vibrant, livable place to live. If we want to keep those neighborhoods affordable for the future, we need to take action today.

Mike Westling is a member of the City Club of Portland's affordable housing research committee and a homeowner in Portland's Concordia neighborhood.