2025 Pittsburgh Housing Justice Summit

About

April 5, 2025, 9:00 - 4:00 PM

Frick Fine Arts Building, University of Pittsburgh Campus
650 Schenley Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15260

Pittsburgh area residents and others are invited to learn about what’s driving rising housing prices in our communities, how tenants can defend their rights and improve conditions, and how community activists and organizations and elected officials are working to bring new solutions to the deepening crisis of housing insecurity. Although housing is a human right protected under both national and international law, governments haven’t done enough to guarantee all people–especially the most vulnerable– a right to a safe and secure home. We believe that a better city is possible. Be part of the work to realize a city where everyone can enjoy safe, stable and affordable housing.

Schedule

Time	Activity	Room(s)
9:00-9:30AM	Arrival and Registration
9:30-10:00AM	Opening Plenary
10:00-11:15AM	Breakout Session 1
11:15-11:30AM	Break
11:30AM-12:30PM	Keynote, Tracy Rosenthal
12:30-1:30PM	Lunch
1:30-2:45PM	Breakout Session 2
2:45-3:00PM	Break
3:00-3:30PM	Next Step Caucuses
3:30-4:00PM	Closing Rally & Action Steps

Tracks

	Breakout Session 1	Breakout Session 2
Organizing for Tenant Rights	Campaigns & Strategy	Sharing Lessons Across Cities
Affordable Solutions	Ending the Affordability Crisis: Let’s Get the Profit Motive Out of Housing	Affordable Housing Solutions: Social Housing, Cooperatives, & Community Land Trusts
Governance & Policies	Strengthening Governance for Housing Justice: Opportunities & Challenges	Framing Housing Debates to Advance Affordable Housing for All
Movement Building	Art & Culture for Housing Justice	Broadening Movements for Housing Justice

Program

Note, there may be updates to this program as additional details are confirmed.

Breakout Session 1: 10:00-11:15AM
Tenant Organizing: Campaigns & Strategy This workshop features leaders of Pittsburgh area tenant organizing and advocacy work. Learn about tenant struggles and how folks are coming together to build tenant power and secure necessary protections of tenant rights. Facilitator: Mallory Brangan, Pittsburgh Tenant Organizing Committee Panelists: Brooke Christy, Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services; Matt Rubin, OnePA; Emilia Morris, Co-Chair, Pitt Renters First Committee & Intern, Commission on Human Relations
Ending the Affordability Crisis: Let’s Get the Profit Motive out of Housing This workshop examines the market-driven policies that drive up housing costs worldwide. How can we strengthen work to make housing a human right, not a commodity, and end displacement in our community? Facilitator: Jackie Smith, Human Rights City Alliance & Professor of Sociology, University of Pittsburgh Panelists: Omer Ali, Assistant Professor of Economics, University of Pittsburgh; Bob Damewood, Senior Staff Attorney, Regional Housing Legal Services; Sabina Deitrick, Associate Professor, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs Codirector of the Urban and Regional Analysis Program at the University Center for Social and Urban Research, University of Pittsburgh; Carl Redwood, Community Organizer, Hill District Consensus Group
Strengthening Governance for Housing Justice: Opportunities & Challenges This workshop will highlight initiatives in our region that can help expand permanently affordable housing and promote healthy and vibrant communities. How can housing justice advocates support governance that makes housing a human right for all? Facilitator: Michael Goodhart, Human Rights City Alliance & Professor of Political Science, University of Pittsburgh Panelists: Ed Nusser, Director of Housing Strategy, Office of Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato; Barb Warwick, City Councilmember, District 5; Dr. Jamil Bey, Director, City Planning Commission; Dr. Noble Maseru, Professor of Public Health Practice, Director, Social Justice, Racial Equity and Faculty Engagement in the Health Sciences, Appointee, Allegheny County Health Department Housing Advisory Board
Art & Culture for Housing Justice How can we bring art and culture into our housing justice work and expand the base of support for housing justice in our region? What ideas and lessons are emerging from Pittsburgh’s artistic communities on the roles they can play in advancing housing as a human right for all? Participants: Miracle Jones, Visual Artist and Director of Policy and Advocacy, 1Hood Power; Daniel McClymonds, May Day Band (More coming soon)

Breakout Session 2: 1:30-2:45PM
Tenant organizing: Sharing Lessons Across Cities This workshop brings tenant organizers from different cities together to share lessons, learn about successful strategies, and build a cross-city movement for tenant rights. Facilitator: TBA soon Panelists: Tracy Rosenthal, Los Angeles Tenant Union; Jala Rucker, Co-Chair, Pittsburgh Housing Justice Table, Community Organizer, Pittsburgh Union of Regional Renters, Board Member, Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (More coming soon)
Affordable Housing Solutions: Social Housing, Cooperatives, & Community Land Trusts Learn about local efforts to advance permanently affordable, community-controlled housing through social housing, limited equity cooperatives (LECs), and community land trusts (CLTs). Facilitator: Jackie Smith, Human Rights City Alliance and Professor of Sociology, University of Pittsburgh Panelists: LaKeisha Wolf, Executive Director, Ujamaa Collective, Board Member, Hill District Federal Credit Union, Co-founder, National Association of Black Cooperators; Carl Redwood, Community Organizer, Hill District Consensus Group; Randall Taylor, Human Rights City Alliance; Stephanie Dangel, Pitt Law, Greening Vacant Lots project
Framing Housing Debates to Advance Affordable Housing for All What are some of the forces driving the divisive, hostile pushback against some initiatives for affordable, supportive, and public housing? How can we organize better to resist such divide-and-conquer strategies and encourage communities to welcome affordable housing development in their neighborhoods? Facilitator: Stephanie Love, Assistant Professor, Pitt Department of Anthropology and Urban Studies Panelists: Dave Breingan, Executive Director, Lawrenceville United and Co-Chair, PIttsburgh Housing Justice Table; Laura Chu Wiens, Executive Director, Pittsburghers for Public Transit; Chris Soult, Deputy Director, Pittsburgh Commission on Human Relations
Broadening Movements for Housing Justice This panel brings together powerful voices working to build a region that works for everyone. What are the opportunities and challenges in fostering cross-community solidarity to build power and support the transformative solutions we need? Facilitator: TBA soon Panelists: Jaime Martinez, Community Defense Organizer, Casa San Jose (More panelists TBA soon!)