Portland’s Urban Renewal strategies decimated a generation of Black-owned wealth, leading to decades of despair and today’s disparities in racial homeownership rates.

No two events have had a greater impact on Portland’s housing market than WWII and the flooding at Vanport. The systemic political, cultural, geographical, and racial implications that resulted from the 1940s changed Portland in ways unseen before or since.

Portland is known nationally and across the globe as one of the most progressive enclaves in the world. What’s less known is the severe history of racism that, to this day, permeates all systems and institutions, including our neighborhoods, schools, laws, and housing policies.