A ‘pro and con’ panel discussion regarding affordable housing in Metropolitan Nashville, the transit plan and its referendum will be held at Lee Chapel AME Church, 1200 Dr. D.B. Todd, Jr. Blvd., on Thursday, March 8 at 6:30 pm. The community at large will have an opportunity to obtain information as NOAH’s (Nashville Organized for Action and Hope) Affordable Housing Task Force hosts ‘Transit & Affordable Housing: Voting Your Priorities.’
NOAH is taking a position on the need for affordable housing. While discussions of affordable housing are on the table along with the mayor’s transit plan, questions arise relating to affordable housing. Members of NOAH’s Affordable Housing Task Force ask: “Will this transit plan make gentrification worse? If this plan is adopted, what must Nashville do to keep housing affordable?”
These questions and other prepared questions will be answered by attending panelists, including: Transit for Nashville Coalition; NO Tax 4 Tracks; Metropolitan Council members; and Floyd Shechter, of the ‘Welcome Home Movement.’
“This call to action is created because this task force continues to advocate for low and middle income Nashvillians to obtain and retain quality housing,” said members of the planning committee. “This issue impacts us all as there are health, social, and moral costs when failing to have affordable housing for Nashvillians from different income levels, age groups, racial/ethnic groups and the disabled.”
Because Nashville’s deficit in affordable housing is projected to increase from 18,000 affordable rental units to 31,000 by 2025, and other issues, the NOAH Affordable Housing Task Force is seeking the following actions to mobilize solutions: educate the community, voters and leaders about the needs; hold local government officials accountable to preserve the current supply of affordable units; and fund and build additional housing by 2025 that are safe, decent, and built along proposed transit corridors and engage with groups, public officials and others who share the same values that are equitable, inclusive and sensible affordable housing solutions.
The purpose of the panel discussion and action plan on March 8 is to provide good information on the transit plan and referendum set for May 1. What can be done about gentrification and displacement; how to emphasize the need for affordable housing with or without transit; and to show why voting is important for our issues, including registration and organizing the vote.
