Last week, we hosted Innovative Housing Opportunities, Inc. (IHO) for an in-depth discussion on finding comprehensive, collaborative solutions to California’s housing crisis. We heard policymakers and developers asking the tough question: "Why are we putting dollars into communities we don't want to live in?” The “It Starts with Housing” symposium explored the missing middle, land trusts, and social housing. The event highlighted the need for projects with economic diversity, while pointing to how current funding models and policies, like the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, end up producing underfunded and homogenous projects. As our Project Captain Mitchell Deans, AIA took away from the event, “There are many sectors all trying to build diverse, vibrant communities: in social, physical, and economic senses.” Events like these that bring practitioners across policy, design, finance, and more together are key to making that a reality, both in our region and beyond.
Thank you to IHO, the moderator, and panelists—Rochelle MillsFiona Ma and Kara Murray-Badal—for offering us tangible solutions to create housing for all.
