Promoting Affordable Housing Through Land Use Planning

Metropolitan Portland lies between the Coast Range and Cascade mountains of northwestern Oregon, at the head of the fertile Willamette Valley. Bordered to the north by the Columbia River, and divided geographically by the south-north running Willamette River, the three-county metro area covers 3,026 square miles. As home to nearly 1.2 million people, metropolitan Portland contains 43 percent of Oregon's total population. This area puts to the test the state's innovative land use policies, which range from natural resource conservation and historic preservation to economic development, urban design, and housing