Lack of housing affordable for working people is limiting our regions economic equality and growth. Our essential workers cannot build stable lives and generational wealth if they are burdened by the cost of housing every month. You can’t save what you had to spend on housing.
Oregon’s had a housing shortage for years, but our recent work in fire recovery allowed us to explore some of the questions and challenges surrounding the attainable housing issue.
Out of our commitment to looking at innovative solutions to local challenges, I worked with a student intern from Southern Oregon University to pull together data and ideas that may help us cut this Gordian knot of housing development challenges.
The paper is available as a pdf.
Our thought paper doesn’t offer definitive answers, but seeks to bring ideas into close relationship so that experts and people with power might have the spark of an idea jump between elements we’ve pulled together in a way that inspires urgent new action in promising new directions.
In the coming months we will be working with our community to pull together a series of conversations to begin exploring and developing potential solutions.
Before we close, we must acknowledge the inspiration offered by our many associates in Reimagine and Rebuild Rogue Valley and around the state of Oregon who have sparked our thinking on housing. A special thank you to Katherine, the amazing student who was my partner in pulling this paper together.
Thank you for all you do in our community,
