Ripples

the blog

The Rent Cap: Too Little, Too Late?

The recent State cap on rent at 7% plus inflation which could be 2%, may be too little, too late. I hope not. — Research estimated that a 10.0 percent increase in rent leads to a 13.6 percent increase in the rate of homelessness. — High rents are to blame for the severity of the state’s homelessness crisis. — Housing affordability (rather than personal circumstances) is the key to predicting the relative severity of homelessness across the United States. (Homelessness in Oregon, March 2019) And, another indicator of what may come: Over 48% of Portlanders are rent challenged i.e. rent accounts for over 30% plus of their income with 40 to 50% not uncommon. A 7%+ or approximately 9% rent increa

Oregon's Ultra-Rich

Today The Oregon Center for Public Policy published its research paper entitled, Oregon's Ultra-Rich Continue to Pull Away. Something to keep in mind when you stack commissions, committees and groups with supposed "stakeholders" and leave out residents, especially renters and even employees who work in the City Center neighborhoods of the Pearl, Downtown, and Old Town Chinatown. Or use City owned land to build a parking garage for tourists or "market rate" housing rather than develop more affordable housing. Income inequality is “the defining challenge of our time.” Mind the gap. More from the report: "To be among the top 1 percent of earners in Oregon in 2016, a taxpayer had to earn at lea

Portland's Caring Community

Old Town Chinatown, Portland, Oregon

Ripples

the blog

The Elephant in Our Room

Update on Gentrification in Old Town Chinatown

But what if you can't walk away?

The Rent Cap: Too Little, Too Late?

Oregon's Ultra-Rich