Amanda Pham Haines - Anti-Displacement PDX Coalition Director
As development is expanding in Portland, we are working around the clock to make sure mistakes of the past are not repeated. Our main focus is to ensure this wave of development is not a continuation of urban renewal, the mechanism that led to decades of displacement, and geographic boundaries used to define communities are not another version of the redlining that led to the urban blight.
In this insightful interview, Amanda Pham Haines, the new director of Anti-Displacement PDX, sheds light on the importance of revising the metrics historically used in the Portland Metropolitan area to define displacement and focus on building community resilience.
Amanda walked us through her daily work of creating adequate space for the coalition members, who often lack the resources (or have to compete over them), to carry out this mission without feeling the burden of this work. She also explained the fine line she must walk in her job as she works to uplift the voices of those who suffer the inequities of displacement while confronting city and local government officials to find concrete solutions.
Amanda shared that her vision for fighting displacement is working with community-based organizations to build prosperous communities and expand the coalition's work to a state level.
