More houses, less housing.

As I was walking my dogs through my neighborhood last night, I couldn't help but notice the changing environment. Two new multi-unit buildings and 10 houses for sale- and thats just within the 12 block range my dogs and I roam regularly. A quick Redfin search of my Sellwood neighborhood and in just the 1.8 square miles, 33 houses are currently up for sale along with another half dozen multi-story apartment buildings being erected. You would think with the ever growing population in Portland that all of these housing options would be a good thing- until you check the price tag. The median home value in Portland is at $422k and the average price for a 1 bedroom runs just under $1,500. So for those of us who can't afford these prices, that begins to pose a serious dilemma that continues to feed the housing crisis in Portland.

While many proposed solution to this issue have been presented, perhaps its time to consider a more European approach to hour housing. A proposal from the People's Policy Project takes a tip from how various European countries build government-owned housing. In this approach, a look to "social-housing" as apposed to public-housing where residents of all classes would live within the same building. Those with higher incomes would pay higher rent to help subsidize prices for those with lesser incomes. In a changing Portland environment where rental prices are increases regardless on tenant structure, it would be refreshing to see these high rent prices go towards aiding those with less. Integrating all social classes within a building would help to reduce segregation and gentrification in neighborhoods and would help to save low income families from having to live in crime-ridden neighborhoods.

While there is no clear solution to this on-going problem, perhaps the implementation of social-housing systems would be a step in the right direction.