In Support of Inclusionary Housing
This morning, Portland City Council unanimously approved an inclusionary housing program for the city, in order to provide more affordable housing as market rate housing is developed. Community Cycling Center CEO Mychal Tetteh testified in favor of inclusionary housing at last week’s City Council hearing. Many thanks to our partners and friends at OPAL Environmental Justice Oregon and other groups who worked so long and hard for this program.
Following is Mychal’s testimony.
Good morning Mayor Hales and Members of the Council.
My name is Mychal Tetteh, and I am the CEO of the Community Cycling Center. The Community Cycling Center is a nonprofit organization founded in 1994 that helps people access their community by bicycle. We believe that all Portlanders—regardless of income or background—should have the opportunity to experience the joy, freedom, and health benefits of bicycling.
I am here today to strongly urge you to move forward on developing a courageous inclusionary housing program that allows Portland’s residents to access the opportunities we are all actively supporting in our communities.
This past July, we partnered with community organizer and health worker Laquida Landford and clothes designer Ignorant/Reflections to create the “Gentrification Is Weird Ride,” which described how communities of color have been displaced in Portland’s history, from Vanport to North Portland and beyond.
Over the past three years alone, we have seen rents in Portland’s neighborhoods increase by as much as 10% per year. That is weird. The future of our city’s housing inventory simply cannot continue along the path of recent trends if we truly wish to support Portland’s equity goals. While we realize that inclusionary housing is only one tool we will need to use to build affordable housing, it is an important one, and one that we have to design well.
I urge you to build pathways to providing access to opportunities throughout our city. Thank you for your time and leadership