An official website of the Metropolitan Council

Housing plan

Vision

The vision for the Housing Policy plan reads: The right to housing is a foundation for health, social, and economic well-being by guiding the region to create safe, dignified, and affordable homes that give all residents a choice of where to live. Explore the following policies which support this vision.

The Met Council has developed this Housing Policy Plan to provide leadership and guidance on regional housing needs and challenges. This plan provides the integrated policy framework that unifies our existing roles in housing, including fulfillment of the following statutory guideline, as well as identifying opportunities to expand our role in supporting safe, affordable, and dignified housing in the region.  

“(c) A land use plan must also include a housing element containing standards, plans and programs for providing adequate housing opportunities to meet existing and projected local and regional housing needs, including but not limited to the use of official controls and land use planning to promote the availability of land for the development of low and moderate income housing.”

Footnote reference: 1

Housing plans in this region have always responded to the political will and housing needs of the time. At the inception of regional planning in Minnesota in the 1960s, plan writers found that a lack of housing for households with moderate and low incomes challenged the stability and economic competitiveness of the region. At the time, housing reports and policy plans written by the Met Council, in coordination with stakeholders, focused on issues of economic competitiveness, homelessness, lifecycle housing, and employer demands for housing. 

Over the decades, the will to address housing needs in the region has waxed and waned. In 2014, for the first time in nearly 25 years, the Met Council adopted a new regional housing policy plan as part of Thrive 2040. The 2040 Housing Policy Plan recognized the need for a coordinated strategy for housing issues and policy in the region. Since the adoption of the 2040 Housing Policy Plan, production of housing in the region has increased, as has broad political support for housing opportunities for residents at all income levels. However, even with increased support to address housing issues, residents continue to face challenges in finding safe, affordable, and dignified housing.

This 2050 Housing Policy Plan is built on the fundamental principle that residents should be a part of the process of defining both current regional housing issues and the solutions needed to build a better future for all residents. Like the 2040 plan, this housing plan focuses on the development and preservation of housing. However, this plan goes beyond the topic of housing supply by focusing on housing that meets the needs of residents. This includes housing affordability, stability, services, and connection to cultural and neighborhood amenities. 

The Housing Policy Plan contains objectives, policies, and actions that carry the Met Council’s regional values and cross-cutting goals through the areas of regional housing policy and planning. These objectives, related policies, and actions are separated into three sections representing the regional housing values identified by residents across the region:2  

  • Proximity and Choice
  • Dignity and Decency
  • Connection and Well-being 

To learn from the history of the region and plan for a future for all residents, especially those who have been historically excluded from decision making, we began by engaging community members from across the region. We focused on communities who had not been well represented in the history of planning. Our goal was to understand, honor, and listen to residents’ values and desires for our collective future. Residents of the region, especially our American Indian and Black residents and residents of color, guided the focus of this plan. The Met Council acknowledges that the decisions of the past have not benefited these residents, often because policies were written by and designed to benefit white people.  

The 2050 Housing Policy Plan aims to promote racial equity in how the region grows, to reflect the needs and priorities of our entire region, and to begin to address the historical inequities of past decisions and policies. To align the objectives and strategies of our housing work with this aim, the guiding topics of this plan are rooted in the following themes that were generated through a year of engagement. 

Figure 1-1. Three themes with subtopics that emerged from community exchange sessions in 2023
Housing Community Atmosphere Local Amenities/Built Environment

Affordability

Instability/homelessness

Autonomy and choice

Ownership

Displacement and gentrification

Cultural and community connections

Racism

Diversity

Community Safety

Dignity

 

Access to natural resources

Community gathering spaces

Access to support services

Diverse transit options

Climate change/adaptation

Localized amenities

These values drive the following three sections of the 2050 Housing Policy Plan, which contain relevant objectives, policies, and action statements for each regional housing value. The final implementation section of the plan includes the planning guidance and tools that will guide both local government comprehensive planning and Met Council actions. 


1 Minn. Stat. 473.859, subd. 2; https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/473.859#stat.473.859.2  
2 Metropolitan Council. (2024). 2050 Housing policy plan community exchange sessions report & affordability limits survey results. https://metrocouncil.org/Housing/Planning/2050-Housing-Policy-Plan/HPP-2050-Engagement.aspx