The 2025 WGA Chair initiative of New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, Building Resilient and Affordable New Developments in the West (BRAND West), will focus on expanding access to housing in western states. The initiative will examine strategies to address housing availability and affordability and promote smart and sustainable development in communities throughout the West.
The second workshop of the Western Governors’ Association’s Building Resilient and Affordable New Developments in the West (BRAND West) initiative was hosted by Governor Tina Kotek in Bend, Oregon.
This workshop highlighted strategies to advance rural, middle-income, and affordable housing development and recommendations to ensure that federal programs function effectively for western states. Key topics include regulatory reforms, attainable homeownership, and resilient housing.
Attainable and diverse rental housing options are essential to supporting low-income and entry-level households, providing a pathway to homeownership and upward mobility, and addressing a host of housing needs. However, with a record-high number of cost-burdened renters – 22.6 million U.S. households spend more than 30 percent of their income on rent and utilities – the rental market is a difficult one for many Americans. This webinar, which will take place from noon - 1 p.m. MT on Tuesday, March 18, will explore the role of renting in ensuring access to safe and affordable housing for western residents while examining strategies to improve rental assistance, preserve existing rental units, and expand the rental supply.
This survey is intended to assist WGA in executing the initiative by identifying: (1) the current state of the housing market in the West; (2) priority issues for gubernatorial leadership to consider in supporting increased access to housing; (3) best practices for planning and developing housing; (4) federal policy issues for potential WGA advocacy; and (5) individuals or organizations interested in participating in the initiative.
Across western states, wildfires have destroyed homes and uprooted communities in recent years. In response, Western Governors are working to provide their residents with stable, reliable, and attainable housing after wildfire disasters strike.
“My administration is laser focused on our state’s housing crisis because we know that having safe, affordable housing is the foundation for Oregonians building healthy and full lives,” Oregon Governor Tina Kotek said. “Part of the solution must include permanent housing for Oregonians who lost their homes because of wildfires.”
Click the link below to read more about Western Governors like Oregon’s Tina Kotek and Hawaii’s Josh Green, who are both working to make reliable housing available to residents who have been displaced by wildfire.
