Why Affordable Housing is Important to the Quality of Living for Communities

Have you ever lived in a city where you couldn’t imagine a day when you could afford permanent housing, whether a renting or owning a home? Is Portland, Oregon becoming that city?

Consider this quote submitted as part of Portland for Everyone’s “My Housing Story” initiative:

“I am a 26 year old renter who can’t imagine buying in Portland as it is currently zoned. I work for a non-profit. Can I even live here long term? My long-term stability and the health of my neighborhood will be strongly affected by the diversity of the neighborhood. I wish I knew I could stay here long-term. More diversity… more opportunity.”

As architects and designers, at Propel Studio we understand the cost and economics of profitable development, while at the same time we realize Portland is facing a housing shortage and an affordability crisis. Affordable housing is a vital aspect of the livability and vibrancy of our communities. This is why we’re committed to a triple bottom line approach to our business and to partnering with organizations that share a similar commitment.

We believe that balancing social, environmental and economic impacts are important to the sustainability of both our practice, the projects we work on, the communities we work with, and our city. This begins with housing, but spreads to all project types. 

Since we’re active members of our communities, we’re passionate about building community. Whether that means partnering with developers and organizations to design sculptures to satisfy 1% for art requirements, working with community groups on creative tactical urbanism installations, or designing multi-family housing that provide much-needed housing, we’re all in. 

A strong, diverse stock of affordable housing is important to the quality of life in all Portland neighborhoods. We strive to work with people, organizations, developers, and communities to design housing that addresses affordability, equity, diversity and creates thriving neighborhoods and wonderful places to call home. Similar to the holistic triple bottom line approach we use in our architectural work, Public Interest Design that focuses on all aspects of quality of life and affordability is vital for our city.

It’s not surprising that our market has plenty of beautiful, one bedroom and studio apartment options that are priced for young professionals and upper-income couples. If you’re a single person or a young couple there’s probably an option that fits exactly what you need. However, we are missing diversity in the housing options being built, and we aren't providing housing diversity in all neighborhoods throughout Portland. This is why we are so interested in Missing Middle housing options, and finding creative ways we can fit higher density housing options into our existing neighborhood fabric without dramatically impacting the quality of life people in those neighborhoods are accustomed to.

What if you’re a young family with small children, a single parent, a multi-generational family unit or an aging couple? How can we as a community meet the affordable housing needs of all our neighbors? How can we give people choices on where they live - allowing affordable options close to the city center, in desirable neighborhoods, close to schools, jobs and other amenities?

We’re excited to join the discussion and partner on projects that range from tactical urbanism to multi-family projects; including renovations, designing to anticipate for the residential infill project, or creating accessory dwelling units; that consider historic housing types and walkability. We want to build lasting relationships with for-profit developers, Community Development organizations, non-profit organizations, affordable housing developers, and government agencies, to design impactful projects that address our housing needs with beautiful and sustainable architecture.

If your mission includes fostering community and improving the quality of life for all our neighbors in Portland, we’d like to talk. Let’s get to know each other and figure out how we can work together on something large or small. We are looking to build lasting relationships and are passionate, energetic and ready to make a positive impact on your next project!

Affordable housing is important to us because it’s important to our community and our neighbors.