A Region Built to Adapt

Portland is not going through a normal real estate cycle – our region is experiencing a structural transition. Downtown vacancy, stalled conversions, shifting demand patterns, and misaligned housing supply and demand are signals. The built environment needs to adapt faster than our institutions were designed to move.

A Region Built to Adapt brings together Metro Councilor and Metro President candidate Juan Carlos Gonzalez with leaders in development, architecture, and civic innovation for an intimate, moderated panel discussion about what adaptive regional governance looks like, and what it means for the people who actually shape Portland’s buildings, districts, and neighborhoods.

The event will be hosted by Design Portland and Field States at the JK Gill Building. This will not be a campaign speech or a policy lecture, but a working conversation about the tools Metro has, the tools it needs, and how the design and development community can align to build a region that thrives through change. Space is limited to 40 guests.

Juan Carlos Gonzalez — Metro Councilor Juan Carlos brings the institutional perspective: what tools Metro has, how they have been deployed (5,600 affordable units via the housing bond, $475M Parks and Nature Bond, JPACT transportation investments), and what he would do differently as Council President. His role is to be concrete and forward-looking, not to recite accomplishments but to articulate a vision for Metro as an adaptive institution.

Jill Sherman, cofounder, Edlen & Company — Grounds the conversation in real economics. What does it actually cost to convert or reactivate a building? What regulatory and financial barriers exist? What signals does the market need from regional government? This voice makes the abstract concrete and gives Juan Carlos specific problems to respond to.

Jonah Gamblin, architect, Design Research Office — Brings the design and conversion perspective. How do you design buildings and districts for uncertainty? What does adaptive design look like in practice? How do zoning, code, and regional planning frameworks help or hinder the ability to respond to change? This voice connects physical design to institutional structure.

Nathan Wildfire , CEO, Missing Middle Housing Fund— Brings together housing and finance. What new financial and architectural models are emerging to serve communities that traditional development doesn’t reach? This voice ensures the conversation stays grounded in outcomes for people, not just buildings.

Moderator: Matthew Claudel, founder and CEO of — Matthew is an urban design and real estate strategist. He has a PhD in Advanced Urbanism from MIT, where his work focused on urban experimentation as it relates to civic value. He is the co-author of two books, Open Source Architecture (Thames & Hudson) and The City of Tomorrow (Yale University Press), and has written peer reviewed academic journal articles and fiction primarily related to technology, art, cities, and innovation.

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