The Housing Crisis: Why Affordable Cities Start in your Backyard

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend a panel discussion called The Housing Crisis: Why Affordable Cities Start in your Backyard, hosted by Global Scholars Ian and Victor. They invited an architect, a board member of a housing nonprofit, an affordable housing policy maker and a tenants’ rights advocate and community activist to speak at the event, which activists, tenant groups and members of the Poly community attended. The panel was enlightening in a number of ways, primarily in bringing forth diverse perspectives on such a pivotal issue. By facilitating a dialogue between the experts in their respective fields and those in attendance, Ian and Victor advanced both the recognition of and familiarity with the matter of affordable housing, which is a necessarily global matter, especially here in Southern California. The issues facing Los Angeles, a city where over a third (3.5 million) of residents are immigrants, shift constantly with the ebbs and flows of migrations. I particularly appreciated the first-hand knowledge members of the panel brought, with regards to not only the management and planning of affordable housing, for example, but also to those who have worked in the system themselves. The experience of the panelists lent the event an immediacy and urgency that it might have otherwise lacked.
I recently had the opportunity to catch up with Clemente Franco, a board member of Inquilinos Unidos and an immigration attorney, who sat on the panel. Our discussion was for a culminating project for my Spanish class, but I felt our conversation transcended the bounds of mere schoolwork. I asked him about how he came to work as an immigration attorney, his work in defense of recent newcomers to America, and how his job plays into the matter of housing. He explained that, though he did not know any lawyers growing up—his father was a farmworker and his mother worked in a factory—he always knew he wanted to effect change. He decided that the position of lawyer would allow for that work through defending the rights and liberty of immigrants to America. His dedication to the preservation of freedom for all reflects his investment in the continued global nature of the United States, and I hope to mirror that dedication in my work as well.

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