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The Portland Plan

Information
Aerial view of Portland with Mt. Hood in background and overlay text "great cities don't happen by accident"
The Portland Plan is an inclusive, citywide effort to guide development of Portland over the next 30 years. The plan was unanimously adopted by City Council on April 25, 2012.
On this page

About the plan

Portland Plan cover

The Portland Plan, published in 2012, presents a strategic roadmap to help our city thrive into the future. The result of more than two years of research, dozens of workshops and fairs, hundreds of meetings with community groups, and 20,000 comments from residents, businesses and nonprofits, the plan’s framework for advancing equity was designed to help realize the vision of a prosperous, educated, healthy and equitable Portland. City Council adopted the Portland Plan via resolution on April 25, 2012.

Developed in response to some of Portland’s most pressing challenges, including income disparities, high unemployment, a low high school graduation rate and environmental concerns, the Portland Plan presents a strategic path forward.

The Portland Plan focuses on a set of guiding principles: prosperity, education, health and equity.

The Portland Plan is practical in that it does not assume new money. It sets numerical goals and suggests ways of measuring progress toward them. The plan is based on extensive analysis of quantitative data and information about conditions in Portland's diverse neighborhoods. The plan includes both 25-year goals and 5-year action plans. Goals are set for the entire city, as well as geographically specific areas.

View the plan:

Since the plan’s adoption in 2012, the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability and its many partner agencies and organizations have been implementing the 142 actions laid out in it. The 2017 Progress Report shows how these actions are moving forward and highlights new opportunities and heightened priorities to advance the City’s goals.


Integrated strategies

three overlapping circles labeled Education, Healthy connected neighborhoods, and Economic prosperity & affordability. Text outside the circles says Equity and Opportunity
Three integrated strategies: Education, Economic Prosperity & Affordability, and Healthy Connected Neighborhoods

The Portland Plan is implemented with three integrated strategies, which provide a foundation for alignment, collective action and shared success:

  1. Thriving educated youth
  2. Economic prosperity and affordability
  3. Healthy connected city

Each strategy includes an overall goal, guiding long-term policies and a five-year action plan (2012–17). The guiding policies help the City of Portland and its partners make critical, long-term investments and budget decisions. 

Since the Portland Plan’s adoption, the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability and its many partner agencies and organizations have been implementing the 142 actions laid out in the plan. The 2017 Progress Report shows how these actions are moving forward and highlights new opportunities and heightened priorities to advance the City’s goals.

View the progress report:


How the plan was developed

Several years in the making and reflecting more than 20,000 comments from residents all over the city, the Portland Plan was developed through a four-phase process:

Collection of thumbnails of background report covers

Phase 1: The Facts

Portlanders considered the issues facing our community by reviewing and responding to background reports on numerous topics, surveys and workshops. Based on this public input, staff developed a set of goals for nine action areas outlined in the Portland Plan Handbook (pictured).

Background reports:

View the background reports archive:

Portland Plan Handbook:

Phases 2 and 3: Setting Direction and Strategy Building

Portlanders reviewed and commented on draft goals for the nine action areas at workshops and in surveys. Results showed that our top priorities are living wage jobs, raising the bar for quality education, and providing a healthy environment. At fairs and community meetings, Portlanders shared their big ideas for building a set of integrated strategies.

The integrated strategies start on p. 27 of the Portland Plan.

With the input from Phases 2 and 3, staff developed an equity framework along with draft strategies around jobs, education and a healthy connected city.

Find the Equity Framework beginning on p. 17 of the Portland Plan.

Phase 4: Draft and Final Plan

During public hearings and work sessions, the Planning and Sustainability Commission reviewed the Proposed Draft, responded to public comment and directed staff to make revisions. The PSC presented a new (recommended) draft to City Council, which adopted the plan unanimously on April 25, 2012.

Implementation by Portland Plan Partners

The City and partners are implementing the Portland Plan in many ways, including intergovernmental agreements, legislative advocacy, revised budget instructions and city practices, as well as the Comprehensive Plan Update.


Learn more