Myron Orfield, a nationally recognized expert in the field of metropolitan equity issues and director of the Institute on Race and Poverty at the University of Minnesota, will visit the Portland area next week to lead regional discussions on the Metro Council's goal of ensuring equal distribution of the benefits and burdens of regional growth.

Download Professor Orfield's report

Orfield was invited by Metro Councilor Robert Liberty to meet with local elected officials, community leaders, students and interested residents at a series of panel discussions to take place Oct. 26 and 27. Orfield is also a professor of law at the university and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Liberty has been an advocate for regional equity issues in numerous capacities, including his work on Metro's "Investing in Our Communities" project which works to accommodate expected growth and make our communities livable, and as co-chair of Metro's Housing Choice Task Force.

At Councilor Liberty's request, Orfield has prepared an evaluation of how the Portland metropolitan area is currently addressing issues of equity and how we can continue to improve. Participants in the discussions will respond to his evaluations and recommendations. Areas to be addressed include:

• the distribution of the benefits and burdens of growth and change in similar metro regions
• the causes and consequences of inequitable distributions
• the level of equity in our region's current distribution
• the five most important things this region can do to achieve our desired outcome of a more equitable distribution of benefits and burdens
• measurements that could be used to determine local progress towards regional equity.

The following events, which are supported by Metro partners represented by the panelists noted below, are free and open to the public.

Monday, Oct. 26
7:30 to 9 a.m.
Beaverton Community Center
12350 SW Fifth St. Ste. 100, Beaverton
Sponsors: Metro, Washington County, Portland State University, Coalition for a Livable Future, 1000 Friends of Oregon
Panelists: Metro Councilor Carl Hosticka; Beaverton Mayor Dennis Doyle; Washington County Commissioner Dick Schouten; Ellen Johnson, Oregon Legal Aid Services; Russ Dondero, Pacific University

Tuesday, Oct. 27
7:30 to 9 a.m.
Monarch Hotel, Columbia Room
12566 SE 93rd Ave., Clackamas
Sponsors: Metro, Clackamas County, City of Lake Oswego, Portland State University, Coalition for a Livable Future, 1000 Friends of Oregon
Panelists: Clackamas County Commissioner Ann Lininger; Metro Councilor Carlotta Collette; Gresham City Councilor Shirley Craddick; Martha McLennan, director of Northwest Housing Alternatives; Milt Dennison, superintendent of Clackamas Education Service District

Tuesday, Oct. 27
7 to 8:30 p.m.
Portland State University, Smith Ballroom
1825 SW Broadway, Portland
Sponsors: Metro, Portland State University, Multnomah County, Coalition for a Livable Future, 1000 Friends of Oregon
Introduction by Wim Wiewel, Portland State University president
Panelists: Multnomah County Chair Ted Wheeler; Jill Fuglister, Coalition for a Livable Future; Barbara Rommel, superintendant of David Douglas School District; Promise King, director of Oregon League of Minority Voters