Seeing Housing Differently: Lessons from Milwaukee’s Community Housing Academy
Housing shapes the everyday details of our lives. Whether we can stay in the neighborhood we love. Whether our parents can find an accessible home nearby. How far we travel to work, and how much money is left after paying rent.
Those everyday experiences were at the heart of Milwaukee’s first Community Housing Academy. Over seven weeks this fall, we explored the policies, decisions, and relationships that shape housing – and how community members can help shape them as well.
The Academy brought people together for expert presentations, local conversations, a housing tour, and opportunities to develop their own ideas for change. Independence First served as our home base, with Milwaukee itself becoming part of the classroom.
Along the way, we kept returning to a question: How do we move from understanding our housing challenges to actually doing something about them?
Milwaukee Community Housing participants gather together for 7 weeks of learning Lamont Davis of Milwaukee County Land Trust Larry Kilmer of the City of Milwaukee's Dept. of City Development presents to the group. Tehila Cohen leads Milwaukee Community Housing Academy Milwaukee Community Housing participants learn and ask questions Dr. Kirk Harris presents at the Milwaukee Community Housing Academy
Connecting Policy to Daily Life
Housing conversations can quickly fill with unfamiliar language. Zoning districts. Capital stacks. Approval processes. Each describes a part of the system that determines which homes get built, where they go, and who can afford them.
The Academy created space to work through those connections together. Sessions explored housing history, the market and alternative approaches, and the rules governing our built environment. We considered how the choices made before us continue to shape the choices available today.
Early discussions also surfaced assumptions worth examining. Does more density always mean tall buildings? Who benefits when new housing is built? Whose experiences are represented at a public meeting, and whose voices might be missing?
These questions matter because the answers influence what communities are willing to imagine. More housing choices can include duplexes, townhomes, small apartment buildings, and accessory dwelling units. Understanding those possibilities gives people a more concrete way to talk about the future of their neighborhoods.
We also heard from developers and funders that the homes we see built are the result of an often multi-layered and complex funding stack. Anthony Kazee of KG Development and Larry Kilmer of the City of Milwaukee's Dept. of City Development showed participants the years of work that go into funding new housing. Alternative ownership models garnered sustained discussion as Lamont Davis of Milwaukee County Land Trust showed that all tools need to be on the table if we are going to meet the needs of families seeking adequate housing options.
Lauren Nolan presents at the Milwaukee Community Housing Academy 
Dr. Matthew Mleczko as guest speaker at the Milwaukee Community Housing Academy 
Milwaukee Community Housing Academy participants get to know each other 
Montavius Jones leads Community Housing Academy in Milwaukee
Taking the Conversation into Milwaukee
On October 7, we stepped outside the classroom for a housing tour, gathering first at ThriveOn King before heading out into the city.
The weather cooperated, and conversation continued along the route. The tour offered another way to connect the Academy’s topics with the places around us. Housing policy becomes easier to engage with when we can consider it in the context of actual buildings, neighborhoods, and community needs.
This shared exploration created room for people to learn alongside one another. A question raised by one person could open a new line of conversation for the group. And the conversation went looong into the night!
It also reinforced the value of bringing different perspectives into the same space. Housing looks different depending on our experiences, responsibilities, and needs. Learning together gives us a chance to see more of that picture.
Turning Concerns into a Plan
As the Academy progressed, our focus moved toward the practical work of creating change.
During the zoning session, City Planning Director Tanya Fonseca connected Milwaukee’s housing goals with the rules that guide development. The discussion made clear how decisions about permitted housing types and building design affect what becomes possible in a neighborhood.
The following week, Johanna Jimenez of the Community Development Alliance explored government decision-making and opportunities for public participation. Kiante Shields and Franz Meyer brought an organizing perspective through their work with Common Ground and Tenants United.
The organizing workshop asked participants to make their ideas more specific. What change are you seeking? Who has the authority to make it happen? Who could help, and what would a useful first action look like?
Small-group project discussions carried those questions forward. Participants were asked to share their ideas, offer feedback, consider obstacles, and identify a next step. The work connected a concern about housing with a clearer path toward action.
Johanna Jimenez of the Community Development Alliance Kiante Shields and Franz Meyer, Common Ground and Tenants United Community Housing Academy participants ask questions at the October 21 session Milwaukee Community Housing Academy participants at the October 21 session
Carrying the Learning Forward
The Academy concluded on October 28 with final project presentations, giving participants the floor to share the ideas they had been developing.
That closing session brought the purpose of the program into focus. Learning how housing works can help people ask more informed questions, find collaborators, and participate more effectively in decisions affecting their communities.
Seven weeks of learning cannot resolve Milwaukee’s housing challenges. But they can create a place to begin: a stronger understanding of the system, relationships with others who care, and a next step worth taking.
We are grateful to the participants, speakers, and hosts who made this first Milwaukee Community Housing Academy possible. The conversations that began this fall can continue in neighborhood meetings, organizing efforts, and everyday discussions about what our communities need.
Our housing future will be shaped by many decisions. More people deserve the knowledge, connections, and opportunity to help make them.
Stay tuned for details soon on the next Community Housing Academy dates and locations!
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