This fall, the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s La Follette School of Public Affairs will hold community assemblies across Wisconsin to find solutions to some of the state’s housing problems.
These nonpartisan discussions will bring together local residents to learn about specific housing challenges facing their communities and develop recommendations for local government and policymakers.
Assemblies will last from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dates and locations are as follows:
- Saturday, Oct. 3, Kenosha Innovation Center, 5522 26th Ave., Kenosha
- Oct. 10, Dodgeville High School, 912 W. Chapel St., Dodgeville
- Nov. 7, Forest County Courthouse, 200 E. Madison St., Crandon
- Nov. 14, Milwaukee Public Library-MLK Branch, 2901 N. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Milwaukee
- Early 2027, Marathon County, to be announced
The assemblies are unlike traditional public meetings in that each will include a randomly selected group of residents in a structured forum. Participants are selected from a lottery and will receive $100 for participation.
Participants in the community assemblies do not need to be housing experts. The goal is to create an environment where residents can openly discuss and listen to one another, weigh options and work toward practical solutions.
“Most Americans think that local decisions get made by a small circle of ‘usual suspects’ and that it’s the same loud voices that dominate the process,” Amber Wichowsky, associate professor of public affairs at UW-Madison and project lead for the Wisconsin Community Assemblies, said in a press release.
“There is growing interest in forums that inspire collaboration, engage different perspectives, and bring people together around shared challenges.”
For more information or to apply for participation, visit the Community Assemblies website.
