Housing is a basic human need. But as the cost of living skyrockets and federal funding disappears, more and more people are struggling to find a place to call home for the long term. More still are being displaced and priced out of neighborhoods they’ve lived in for generations.
These conditions are harsh, but Local Progress members know that when we work together and pool collective knowledge, we emerge with the strongest possible outcomes for our communities. That’s why Local Progress and Local Progress Impact Lab held our first Housing Convening in four years: Affordable Homes, Stable Communities in Seattle, WA.
Over 70 local elected officials and staff came to Seattle for the two day convening focused on affordable housing and antidisplacement strategies. At a time when the federal administration is gutting funding for housing services, state and local elected officials will have to find ways to fill in the gaps. Attendees included Local Progress members who have been championing housing issues, who have dug into housing policy deeply, and who are eager for tools to expand efforts to ensure their communities have stable, dignified housing.
As someone who is newly elected and working in a space that isn’t necessarily always open to or interested in progressive housing policy, it was really inspiring and informative to be in a room of people who think the way I think and hope for the same outcomes I hope for. And the level of technical expertise was the most helpful element – hearing what other localities have done, and what other local electeds have done to move really incredible housing policy forward.
On Friday, the day kicked off with welcomes from Ivan Luevanos-Elms, Executive Director of Local Progress & Local Progress Impact Lab; Local Progress Board Member and King County Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda; and Local Progress Housing Steering Committee Co-Chairs, Oklahoma City Councilmember JoBeth Hamon and Philadelphia City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier. Our sessions explored different ways in which local government can stabilize communities amidst development, best strategies for how to govern in collaboration with tenant unions, progressive revenue tactics & strategies to tax the rich, and a communications workshop for how best to discuss housing strategies with colleagues and communities.
This convening had all of the things that feed me – listening to how members address challenges that I’m facing at home, whether we’re talking about saving expiring LIHTC housing, or how to protect tenants under the threat from ICE. These are real challenges that other people have taken on in their localities that we’re seeing in ours.
Following the sessions on Friday, members had the chance to go into Seattle and see community-backed affordable housing development in action by attending one of the two site visits! Members who visited El Centro de la Raza learned the history of how a peaceful occupation over 50 years ago yielded this thriving organization, grounded in the Latino community, and focused on developing mixed-used affordable housing, childcare services and other programs that serve and advocate for the community. Other members joined a walking tour with the Seattle Chinatown International District Preservation and Development Authority to learn more about their work to preserve the neighborhood through affordable housing and commercial property management, real estate development, and community economic development.
For the second day of the convening, sessions focused more on meeting the moment we’re in: how to provide local housing support under growing federal authoritarianism, how to leverage public/underutilized land for housing, and how to preserve our housing stock under the loss of federal funding. Participants left energized and ready to take on the housing challenges that lay ahead. Even in the face of austerity and fear at the federal level, Local Progress members from across the country are coming together, collectively strategizing, and building power to protect their communities and keep them housed.
I really appreciated the framework of leading with our values as we assess the issues and diagnosing the problems so we can collectively create a new vision. It’s really important to always lead with our values – we believe housing is a human right. We’re all facing similar challenges.
