Achieving sustainable, compact development in the Portland Metropolitan Area : New tools and approaches for developing centers and corridors

Abstract

This report represents the work of a group of local public, private and institutional experts in real estate development and finance convened by the Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies at Portland State University. This was done at the request of Metro, which wanted outside expert advice on ways to achieve more robust development of centers and corridors in the Portland metropolitan area, an important aspect of implementing the 2040 Growth Concept. Although the expert advisory group (EAG) enthusiastically took on this task, it wanted to first back up a step and deliberate over whether and to what extent center and corridor-based development was indicated by long term trends and what larger implications this might have for both the local real estate development industry and for regional governance. In other words, rather than to simply offer a list of new micro strategies, the EAG wanted to preface its advice with an opinion about the magnitude of shifts that may now be occurring in the marketplace and extend its advice into the realm of governance, particularly with regard to what they see as a more sustainable and effective framework for public-private-institutional collaboration for managing growth and building desirable communities.