SALEM, Ore. — Oregon hopes to build its way out of its housing crisis under first-in-the-nation state legislation signed by Gov. Kate Brown Thursday meant to encourage local cities to construct denser, more affordable housing options.
The law targets a century-old practice known as “exclusionary single family zoning,” where local city governments only allow for the construction of single family homes. The zoning often prohibits multi-family residences including duplexes, triplexes and others that are often more inexpensive. Critics say the practice has acted as a form of economic and racial segregation.
“If a community is filled with only large and expensive homes, that often restricts who can move there,” said Robert Silverman, a professor of urban and regional planning at the University of Buffalo. “Couple that with the other historical barriers that have prevented minorities from homeownership and this all works to perpetuate segregation in communities.”
Under the new law, cities with more than 10,000 residents must now allow for the construction of some type of what’s known as “missing middle housing,” or housing types that are somewhere between high-rise apartments and single family homes.
