Mayor Gaskins, Atlantic editor to discuss housing affordability at Lyceum
Free event to explore zoning, discrimination and housing policy
Mayor Gaskins will join journalist and author Yoni Appelbaum for a public forum on housing affordability and zoning reform on Monday, December 8, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Lyceum, 201 S. Washington St.
The forum, titled “Let’s Talk About Housing: Zoning For Justice and Affordability”, comes as the city grapples with a deepening housing crisis. Alexandria has lost nearly two-thirds of its market-affordable housing since 2000, with the stock plummeting from 18,000 units to just 6,900 today. City officials recently unveiled a 40-strategy plan to preserve affordable housing and protect tenants, though many key measures require state legislative approval.
Appelbaum is deputy executive editor at The Atlantic and author of “Stuck: How the Privileged and Propertied Broke the Engine of American Opportunity,” published in February. The book argues that zoning laws, first developed to segregate Chinese Americans in 19th-century California, have raised housing prices, deepened political divides, and trapped generations in poverty.
Laura Dobbs, policy director for Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia, will moderate.
The panel will explore policy reforms aimed at expanding affordable housing while promoting inclusive communities, as well as how historical patterns of discrimination continue to shape housing outcomes.
The forum is part of HOME of Virginia’s “Let’s Talk About Housing” series and is presented in partnership with the Office of Historic Alexandria.
The event is free, but registration is required, and space is limited.
