I’ve written about art as a catalyst for social change before. In today’s housing crisis, artists are among the victims of high costs, limited inventory, and gentrification, but many are realizing they can use their art as a catalyst for change. Similar to charrettes, Where We Live draws on the belief that visual representations of home […]
If you’re anything like the majority of the world right now; you may have some extra time on your hands. With that extra time, I challenge you to take a look around at your home, your surroundings. How many belongings do you have? How many do you actually need? If you’re anything like me, you […]
Remember when I wrote In Defense of the Rural Millennial and urged New Hampshire’s smaller, more rural communities to take an active role in solving the state’s housing crisis? Welcome to a new series Housing Solutions for Rural New Hampshire. Here you’ll find practical advice for how New Hampshire’s smaller, more rural communities can be […]
If you’ve been following along with New Hampshire’s housing crisis, you’ve probably heard the experts talk about the state’s vacancy rate. Have you ever wondered what “vacancy rate” means or why we care so much about it? Put very simply, vacancy rate refers to the percent of rental units that are unoccupied. According to New […]
Every five years, the Regional Economic Development Center Serving Southern NH (REDC) hosts visioning sessions to give folks in its service area an opportunity to participate in the creation of the goals that will guide their Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for the next five years. Among other things, participants at each of these visioning […]
Young people don’t want to live here.” This is something I hear often from local leaders across the state, most often in New Hampshire’s more rural communities. Some go on to explain why, “young people don’t want to live here because there is no nightlife / bars / entertainment (insert millennial stereotype here).” This is […]
(Spoiler alert: Don’t) One of the biggest barriers to housing development in many NH communities is NIMBYs, CAVEs, and BANANAs. If you’ve ever been to a local board meeting in your town or city, you are probably on a first name basis with your community’s NIMBY(s). A NIMBY, generally speaking, is “a person who objects […]
What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name, would smell as sweet. There is nothing that derails a good conversation faster and more effectively than data and jargon — a fact that makes my job a bit difficult at times. Navigating the language of housing is a challenge I’ve […]
It is autumn in New Hampshire. The temperatures are cooling, pumpkin spice is back, and we are in the thick of conference season! I attend a fair amount of conferences and other events for work and, not surprisingly, I am often the youngest person in the room. Is this because young people don’t care or […]
The artists who lived in Portsmouth in the 1970s can’t afford to live here anymore. Russ Grazier, Co-Founder and CEO of Portsmouth Music & Arts Center, went on to elaborate on this cyclical phenomenon: artists are attracted to depressed areas they can afford; they invest in these communities through their art; the communities become attractive […]
