Ohio Department of Development’s Post

Public education aims to prepare all young people for the world, regardless of background. This is why we must look at how housing, land use and zoning policy could work together to help make opportunities for students more equitable. https://rb.gy/ksq2z9  

This is a very important graphic that I believe represents what happens in most cities. The most important quote I heard long ago is that the world is run by those who show up. Problem is, cities have created and perfected a system where only those with the ability to show up run the world. We must fix the system in cities to ensure equitable participation, especially surrounding public hearings and decision making in planning and zoning. Try changing it, and the existing participants are likely the same folks who will come and oppose it.

In the newest installment of the City Report, read all about Janesville Transit’s new look, road construction updates, exciting community programming, and so much more. Check out the latest issue at https://lnkd.in/ggVY7fuZ!

From Social Security funding to the increasingly underutilized capacity of our nation's products and services, demographic shifts are creating serious problems that are disruptive in the sense that everything needs to steadily shrink its footprint as fewer and fewer clients, customers and workers is creating a seismic shift in the U.S. and other developed nations. o A smaller work force o Businesses face difficulties finding skilled workers, which could impact overall economic output o A shrinking tax base o Abandoned villages o An aging population o Negative implications for labor forces, economic growth, and social support systems https://lnkd.in/dkht2_fU

We recognise that young residents, often neither tenants nor leaseholders, are not consistently represented in housing policies or broader strategies of housing associations. To address this gap, we’ve partnered with Metropolitan Thames Valley and The Hyde Group to launch the Young Residents in Partnership project, aimed at embedding the needs, voices, and leadership of young people across our services. In collaboration with Partnership for Young London and peer researchers, we are proud to present the final report from last year’s phase - Shaping Housing Futures: Young Residents Using Peer Research to Make the Invisible Visible. This report explores opportunities to integrate youth voices and leadership into decision-making structures, with the potential to influence both policy and practice across the housing sector. It draws on insights from young residents and housing professionals alike and offers peer-researcher-driven recommendations for how youth engagement can be meaningfully incorporated. The report serves as a foundation for the next phase of the Young Residents in Partnership project, where six peer researchers from MTVH, Clarion, and Hyde will collaborate with the housing sector to further embed youth representation in housing policy and practice. Read the report here - https://lnkd.in/eKh_rp67 #YouthVoice #PeerResearch #YouthLeadership #HousingPolicy #UKHousing

How can low- to moderate-income neighborhoods tap into the "once in a generation" funding made available by recent public investments like the CHIPS and Science Act? The Abt Global team reviewed several promising practices in our recent report: #PublicInvestment #FederalFunding #CommunityDevelopment

Do you want to learn how to design right-to-counsel programs in your city? Apply to this initiative of Results for America, National Coalition for a Civil Right to Counsel , PolicyLink and Strategic Actions for a Just Economy. https://lnkd.in/e6gutTiE 

A new housing justice study from UTSA colleagues is a leap forward for research and practice (https://lnkd.in/g22Ri2-t). Let me tell you why: Esteban Lopez Ochoa and Wei Zhai's study goes beyond merely counting or identifying problems with demolition orders and housing displacements, to building a new toolset to prevent the problems from happening in the first place. They trained a machine learning model with city demolition orders and Google StreetView imagery that can: 1. identify households who may need assistance from housing repair funds 2. prevent unnecessary demolitions from the use of code enforcement for urban renewal 3. allow cities to revise demolition order processes by identifying potential biases in city code enforcement Previously, several journalists have covered related topics and helped inform publics and decision makers, including Iris Dimmick, Megan Specia, Madison Weil, Garrett Brnger, Glenn Hunter, Molly Smith and Emma Bubola. Though I am biased toward these dear colleagues, I predict this study will improve the sustainability of historic and affordable housing and be highly cited among scholars. What do you think about using new approaches like this for housing justice?

On Sept. 26 the City of Boulder piloted the first of its kind Community and Council Forum. This was an official city council meeting restructured to include a mixture of community outreach to affected residents, sortition, and break out conversations between elected officials and community members. The pilot comes out of recommendations our center provided to the city to engage residents in more productive ways during official public hearing/meetings. Interestingly, there was no dais and no microphone used for two-minute public comment. Instead, council chambers was reconfigured for officials and the public to sit together around a roundtable to shift the power dynamic, learn about the topic of economic development, then break out into small group deliberations. A significant part of the exercise was to implement active listening and two-way dialogue. This is but one innovation among others Boulder is doing, as they're simultaneously working toward a citizens' assembly for their comprehensive/master plan. I'll have more to share on this process soon, including its design and public evaluations. Here's the recording of the plenary: https://lnkd.in/gqAW6b4m

The National Association of Development Organizations (NADO)'s Research Foundation's Economic Development District (EDD) Community of Practice recently launched an online resource called "Solving the Housing Puzzle: EDDs as Regional Housing Changemakers." The report, which outlines the critical housing work carried out by development organizations to meet various community needs across the country, includes best practice case studies like one by Centralina titled “Turning Voices into Action in the Centralina Region.” Learn more and read the study: https://loom.ly/KPiZFUM