[originally part of article Right to housing ]

Portland State University Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative [PSU 2019]. "Governance, Costs, and Revenue Raising to Address and Prevent Homelessness in the Portland Tri-County Region." Lead author, Dr. Marisa Zapata. PSU report, August 21, 2019.

This report does not explicitly articulate a "Right to Housing" concept, but it notably uses broad definitions and makes wide estimates of how many people in the region experience homelessness in some form, or are considered vulnerable to falling into homelessness. By proposing government assistance, in the form of housing provision and rent assistance, for these entire populations, it in effect approaches an idea of "Right to housing."

"This report takes a comprehensive look at the scale of homelessness and housing insecurity experienced in the Portland tri-county area. Our goal in producing this report is to help community members understand the scope and scale of the challenges we face when addressing homelessness and housing insecurity. We examine governance options, provide cost estimates for providing housing, supports, and services, and present revenue-raising options for our local governments to address homelessness and housing insecurity.

Before getting too far into the report, we want to make sure to note a few things. Many of the available counts of those experiencing homelessness use a narrow definition. We believe this leaves people behind. For example, the official Point-in-Time counts do not include those living doubled up, those sometimes described as the hidden homeless or precariously housed. This vulnerable population is sleeping on friends’ couches or cramming in unsafe numbers into bedrooms..."

Questions / analysis

1. What are the implications of base the cost estimates on a static figure for current homeless population, rather than current population plus observed or estimated typical rate of 'inflow' to homelessness?

2. Likewise, how valid is it use a static figure for housing-vulnerable (107k people?) who might receive rental assistance? Could we make some simple/reasonable prediction of rate of inflow into this group, and include that as a baseline, rather than baselining on zero inflow?

3. What are the implications and credibility of assuming / modeling:

a) that large-scale rent assistance won't raising rent levels?
b) that large-scale new housing development spending wouldn't crowd out housing that would otherwise occur, creating a price-raising factor?

Should we assume that housing creation to address homelessness at large scale should be done all with current conventional housing forms?

References

Portland State University Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative [PSU 2019]. "Governance, Costs, and Revenue Raising to Address and Prevent Homelessness in the Portland Tri-County Region." Lead author, Dr. Marisa Zapata. PSU report, August 21, 2019. https://www.pdx.edu/syndication/sites/www.pdx.edu.syndication/files/HRAC-NERC%20Final%20Draft%20JG%207AM8_20_2019.pdf.
Sand, Kaia. "To confront the housing crisis, it is time to think big." Street Roots (Portland, OR), 23 Aug 2019. https://news.streetroots.org/2019/08/23/confront-housing-crisis-it-time-think-big.