Governing the ‘State of Emergency’: An Analysis of Homelessness-Oriented Policies in Portland, Oregon

Abstract

The city of Portland, Oregon, is in the midst of a near decade-long housing and homelessness state of emergency. During this period, the City of Portland, Multnomah County, and the State of Oregon governments have enacted a number of homelessness-oriented policies and allocated approximately $4 billion in public funding aimed at addressing the emergency. Yet, despite the sustained political will and financial investment, the city’s estimated homelessness population grew from 3,801 individuals in 2015 to 11,430 in 2024, a 201% increase. Beyond the significant increase in the city’s homeless population, many community members have directly linked the presence of unsheltered individuals to downward trends in Portland’s urban liveability and economic vitality. These metrics and trends raise urgent questions about the effectiveness of the emergency response.

This thesis extends Elinor Ostrom’s embedded Institutional Analysis and Development framework to explore Portland’s homelessness policy ecosystem. In doing so, this study provides a critical examination of how institutional rules, actor mandates, and feedback loops between institutional actors and affected communities shape policy coherence and outcomes. Methodologically, the thesis combines a narrative scoping review of enacted homelessness-oriented policies with a thematic analysis of 48 key informant interviews across five key stakeholder groups and two law enforcement observational studies. The findings of this study describe a city grappling with challenges in governance coordination, operational fragmentation, and urban cohesion.

Date of Award	18 Feb 2026
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bath
Supervisor	Geoff Bates (Supervisor), Megan Robb (Supervisor) & Bryan Clift (Supervisor)