February Membership Meeting-Economic Value Atlas-METRO's work to align planning and public investments

Economic Value Atlas - METRO's work to align planning and public investments 

Our February meeting will center on METRO's work on The Economic Value Atlas and how it may impact us in East Multnomah County. The Economic Value Atlas will provide tools and analysis to better align planning and public investments to strengthen the regional economy. Jeffrey Raker, Economic Development Planner at METRO will be our featured speaker. You do not want to miss this exciting presentation.

About METRO's Economic Value Atlas

The greater Portland region's dedication to creating a great quality of life has brought an influx of new residents and rapid job growth. This growth creates challenges for the region’s livability and social equity. This includes wage disparities, fewer affordable housing options and longer travel times that reduce access to jobs and impair the movement of both workers and goods our businesses depend on.

We have robust plans for land use and transportation, but we also need to ensure those plans help our economy thrive. We need to think about where businesses are growing, what they need, how people get there and how products get to market. This goes beyond raw job numbers and acreage to creating a place that attracts business and talent.

Public investments take many forms, from local transportation funds to regional equitable housing grants and federal economic development programs. The Economic Value Atlas will inform policy and public investment to support growing industries and create access to family wage jobs and opportunities for all businesses and residents.

By sharing resources and information at a scale that crosses city and county lines, greater Portland will build and leverage distinct competitive advantages for communities and industries. The Economic Value Atlas will provide a solid data foundation for key regional activities 

About Jeffrey Raker

Jeff has over 15 years of experience supporting Metropolitan Planning Organizations and non-profit organizations to realize objectives for economic development, smart growth, transportation planning, environmental planning, and public policy revisions in support of communities of the Pacific Northwest. He currently serves as the Economic Development Planner for Metro, serving as a liaison between land use and transportation planners and economic and workforce development professionals in the Greater Portland region. Over the last two years, Jeff has led the development of an Economic Value Atlas decision-support tool that utilizes spatial analysis to expose economic opportunities and challenges among communities in the Greater Portland region. This work seeks to link Metro’s planning for infrastructure and land use with economic and workforce development opportunities to guide investments that support growing industries, create livable communities with access to family-wage jobs, and advance economic justice outcomes.