“Progressive Policy, Regressive Outcome: The Oregon Case in State Preemption of Housing Policy”

Increasing polarization in the United States has resulted in policy trends like state preemption, the process through which states invalidate local authority through mandated policy. State preemption can facilitate either progressive or regressive policies, but it also removes the characteristic civic engagement of local decision-making, increasing polarization especially in states with an urban/rural divide. Looking specifically at housing policy case studies in Portland and Eugene, as well as rural areas such as Lebanon and Baker City, my research explores the role that state-preempted policies have on community mobilization, civic inclusion, and actual policy outcomes. Do preempted policies in the realm of housing—such as House Bill 2001— encourage the implementation of progressive policies or does the denial of power at the local level increase extreme polarization, further eroding democracy?