| Berkeley’s Housing Crisis: Past Experience, Future Options Online Event, Thursday, March 3, 7:30 pm Space Is Limited – Sign up now for free or with a donation of any size. There are just 13 free tickets left. |
The Berkeley Historical Society & Museum is pleased to present a panel of experts to discuss and demystify our affordable-housing crisis, looking at both the history that got us here and our options for the future. Stephen Barton and Nicole Montojo will review the historical background of the crisis, Joel Rubenzahl will discuss the history of the Savo Island Cooperative, an early affordable housing project, and all three will provide suggestions for the future. Then Berkeley City Councilmember Kate Harrison will conclude the panel with her take on future solutions for affordable housing in Berkeley. Q & A will follow.
| Featured Panelists: Steve Barton served as Housing Director and Deputy Director of the Rent Stabilization Program for the City of Berkeley. He has a Ph.D. in City & Regional Planning from UC Berkeley and is the author of numerous articles on the history and economics of housing policy. Kate Harrison has served since 2017 on Berkeley’s City Council, where she has fought for funding for affordable housing and promoted land trusts and tenant ownership. She also served on the Berkeley Food and Housing Project Board, an organization which helps transition the unhoused to permanent homes in the community. Nicole Montojo is a researcher at the Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley, where she supports collaborative research focused on community-based strategies for advancing housing justice. She is interested in new systems of collective ownership, equity, and belonging. Joel Rubenzahl is an expert in the development, financing, and syndication of affordable rental housing. He got his start working as a community organizer and helped create Savo Island Cooperative Homes, a 57-unit affordable housing development located in South Berkeley. |