There is a blueprint for creating affordable, functional housing that meets demand in Erie and other cities.
It involves embracing change; innovative, collaborative community thinking; and creating what Charles Marohn calls a new “housing ecosystem” that sets municipalities up for success.
Marohn is the president and founder of Strong Towns, a national nonpartisan nonprofit that helps cities navigate the housing and land use issues. The organization’s website describes Strong Towns as “a bottom-up revolution to rebuild American prosperity. Make your community stronger and more prosperous.”
Marohn’s Monday night presentation at the Yehl Ballroom in Gannon University’s Waldron Campus Center, “Escaping the Housing Trap”, was part of the Jefferson Educational Society’s Global Summit speaker series. Roughly 200 people attended.
Marohn is also a professional engineer, planner and author.
“Erie needs to have confidence in itself,” Marohn said.
Taking a smarter approach
During Monday night’s presentation, Marohn explained that the fractured U.S. housing market is largely due to financialization brought on by decades of housing subsidies, low interest rates and the involvement of large banks, which has led to housing becoming more about mortgages becoming financial products than shelter.