Beaverton Downtown Equity Strategy

The City of Beaverton has been working for over a decade to invest in and energize its downtown. As the City has put an increasing emphasis on equity in its programs and investments, it became clear that the approach to downtown placemaking needed to shift to be more inclusive and protect existing residents and businesses. Working with a team of culturally-specific organizations and the Coalition of Communities of Color (CCC), ECONorthwest supported the creation of the Downtown Equity Strategy, which lays out strategies to promote stability for existing residents and businesses and foster a sense of belonging in the downtown for a broader range of people. ECO provided research on national best practices, analysis of existing conditions, and synthesis of input from engagement, City staff, and practitioners within the culturally-specific organizations on the team to inform recommended modifications to existing City programs and potential new programs to expand the City’s equity-focused work downtown. Our work drew on data from multiple sources, acknowledging the limitations of each. ECO worked collaboratively with staff from CCC and the City to integrate information gleaned from engagement with diverse communities with ECO’s research and analysis and to develop recommended strategies informed by all aspects of the team’s work and expertise.