Where the region’s future takes shape
We convene community leaders to help solve some of our toughest challenges
The Institute for Metropolitan Studies (IMS) is where governments, advocates, and community leaders come together to tackle the region’s most pressing policy challenges—expanding access to safe and sustainable transportation, advancing housing solutions, fostering equitable economic growth and safeguarding our natural resources and shared public spaces.
Our focus is solutions that can be implemented by local governments and communities in the here and now. To get to solutions, we convene diverse voices, frame shared visions, and ground every recommendation in data, best practices, and the perspectives of the people most impacted.
Housed at Portland State University’s College of Urban and Public Affairs, IMS blends the resources of Oregon’s urban research university with the expertise of those working on the ground across the Portland region’s communities.