N ational Night Out is an annual block party on the first Tuesday of August. This year, National Night Out is August 7th. It’s an opportunity to meet your neighbors, share a meal, and discuss neighborhood issues. Use this event to let your neighbors know that you support the 2040 Comprehensive Plan because it will provide more homes for more neighbors. If you rent, or live in multi-family housing, this a great opportunity to let your neighbors know that you are part of the neighborhood too.

Protecting people from displacement involves long-term planning and short-term emergency stop-gap measures. The Comp Plan is clearer on long-term planning goals; we want more detail on short-term anti-displacement policies. We need to keep current residents in their communities and provide space for people to adapt as their needs change.

We must expand ownership opportunities for everyone who wants that. An important step is to rethink how we define an owned home. The “traditional” model is not right for everyone or every situation. We recommend Minneapolis 2040 expand the definition of ownership beyond single-family homes.

It’s 2018, and we’re in a global climate crisis and a regional housing shortage. One of the best ways to f ight carbon emissions is by encouraging people to live near transit. Our regional housing shortage is putting the most pressure on people who rent and people who rely on transit. With incomes not keeping up with housing and transportation costs, we need to solve these problems due to their disparate impacts on low income people and people of color.

While we all live in a neighborhood, most of us don’t live in a complete neighborhood. Instead, for too many of us, neighborhoods are the places we leave nearly every day. Nine out of ten trips in Minneapolis are by car, often times for necessities that just aren’t found in enough neighborhoods.

Even in neighborhoods where renters are the majority, renters still have minority representation in neighborhood organizations and on the city council. For nearly a century, Minneapolis has financially and legislatively prioritized homeowners over renters, and landlords over tenants. It is time for change. Every person, especially renters, needs safe housing that does not get in the way of their success.

We envision a future where all Minneapolis residents have access to safe and stable homes in neighborhoods of opportunity, where new residents arrive to a city with abundant homes rather than outbidding and displacing existing residents. It’s through this lens that we have reviewed the draft Minneapolis comprehensive plan.

You may have heard some chatter about the Minneapolis Comprehensive Plan (“Comp Plan”). Here’s a quick primer on what it is, what is happening, and why it matters

As someone whose generation is currently facing rising rents, persistent and extreme low vacancy rates, housing insecurity and a worsening climate crisis set to displace countless people from the coasts, it’s upsetting to hear people talk about how inconvenienced and disturbed they are to have just a few more neighbors on their block. Too often, those who voice concerns about new housing do not live in fear of rising rents, and consequently find it so easy to deny housing stability to others.

We believe in housing for all… We believe zoning is currently a powerful tool of institutional racism, and we believe in dismantling that power. We believe that increasing the amount of housing units available in all neighborhoods can help make entire cities affordable.

The news that Minneapolis had again passed 400,000 residents last summer is a reminder that we did it before. Buried in our history is a story of a post-war Minneapolis that at one time had more than 520,000 residents, and has not seen as many since. Part of the reason for this expansion and decline was the veteran housing crisis of the 1950s.