Final Report: 100 Great Ideas for Improving Housing Affordability

Final Report: 100 Great Ideas for Improving Housing Affordability

We’re thrilled to share the final report from the 100 Great Ideas: Housing Affordability campaign.

In November 2017, 2500 South Floridians participated in an online brainstorm called “100 Great Ideas” focused on sourcing top ideas to improve housing affordability in our region. Local non-profits and advocates helped facilitate the conversation and by the end of the week, locals generated over 250 unique solutions to this complex challenge.

In the final report, we’ve organized these ideas into ten overarching themes:

  1. Innovate with Housing Strategies: Consider community land trusts, co-living, co-ops, mixed-use and mixed-income housing.

  2. Consider the Greater Affordability Picture: Take other cost of living factors into consideration factors, including transit, health, utilities, wages, and emergency assistance opportunities.

  3. Engage and Empower the Community in Decision-Making: Employ strategies that increase citizen participation and community oversight and aid in coordinating advocacy efforts.

  4. Leverage Taxes: Introduce taxes that dually incentivize consistent occupancy and local ownership and generate tax revenue to fund affordable housing development.

  5. Modify State and Local Policy: Update building and zoning codes as well as pricing mechanisms to increase affordable housing stock, decrease construction costs and decrease number of cost-burdened individuals.

  6. Expand and Protect Funding: Create housing trust funds, leverage dollars and ensure that funds are used appropriately. Centralize information about funding, financing and advocacy opportunities.

  7. Explore Sustainable and Affordable Building Materials: Permit building materials and methods that are environmentally friendly, climate resilient and reduce development timelines and costs.

  8. Protect and Utilize Existing Resources: Preserve currently affordable units and take advantage of public land for public good.

  9. Reduce Cost of Building and Preserving Properties: Lower construction costs, streamline permitting, and disincentivize land speculation.

  10. Build Holistic Communities: Consider programs and initiatives that help build successful, connected, and inclusive communities.

There is no silver bullet that will solve our housing affordability crisis, but enacting many of these solutions together will seriously move the needle. Read the final report to check out the top themes and ideas and find a few you’re willing to throw your weight behind: www.radical.partners/100greatideas.

The release of this report coincides with the passing of City of Miami’s Miami Forever Bond, of which $100 million is earmarked for affordable housing, as well as the development stages of the Greater Miami and the Beaches resilience strategy. This report is a megaphone for the community’s voice, concerns, and priorities. Thank you to the following elected and community members and/or their staffs, who have met with us to review top solutions:

  • Daniella Levine Cava, Miami-Dade County Commissioner (District 8)

  • Bruno Barreiro, Miami-Dade County Commissioner (District 5)

  • Joe Martinez, Miami-Dade County Commissioner (District 11)

  • Sally Heyman, Miami-Dade County Commissioner (District 4)

  • Ken Russell, City of Miami Commissioner (District 2)

  • Jane Gilbert, City of Miami Chief Resilience Officer

  • Joseph Eisenberg, Planner II at the City of Miami

  • Alfredo Duran, Deputy Director of the City of Miami Community & Economic Development Department

  • Ryan Shedd, Planner II at the City of Miami

  • Vanessa Dornisch, Resilience Coordinator at Miami-Dade County

  • Maria Escorcia, Vice President, Relationship Manager South Florida, Global Philanthropy, JPMorgan Chase

We will continue to elevate ideas generated during the campaign and shared in the report. Please join the “100 Great Ideas” Facebook group to hear updates!

Thank you to our campaign sponsor, JPMorgan Chase & Co., who enabled us to launch this campaign as well as aggregate and share the voices of our community. In addition, many thanks to the incredible organizations who served as campaign guest hosts: Catalyst Miami, Community Justice Project, Engage Miami, Miami Homes For All, Miami-Dade NAACP, New Florida Majority, South Florida Community Development Coalition, South Florida Community Land Trust, University of Miami Office of Civic and Community Engagement, and United Way of Miami-Dade.

Launching 100 Great Ideas Campaign No. 4 on HOUSING AFFORDABILITY!

Launching 100 Great Ideas Campaign No. 4 on HOUSING AFFORDABILITY!

Multiple recent analyses and reports, including a 2017 report from Harvard University, have highlighted South Florida as the most unaffordable place to live in the entire United States.  It is clear that progress needs to be made to improve the housing affordability crisis, and we at Radical Partners believe that community members should be pro-actively engaged generating and debating solutions. With the generous support of JP Morgan Chase & Co, we will launch a “100 Great Ideas” campaign on Housing Affordability starting November 13th!

100 Great Ideas is a massive, online community brainstorm where the community comes together in the “100 Great Ideas” Facebook group to generate ideas, dialogue and learn about a pressing community issue - in this case, housing affordability. For five days starting November 13th, everyone in the region is invited to post ideas, questions, articles, comments in response to the question "What are the best ways to improve housing affordability in South Florida?" Campaigns are solution-oriented, generative and collaborative - and at the end, Radical Partners synthesizes the top ideas and trends and engages with local leaders to implement them.

The previous 100 Great Ideas campaign, focused on Public Transit & Mobility, engaged over 1700 locals and generated over 400 unique ideas. The top idea from the campaign,  for elected leaders to actually ride transit, was brought to life in our region’s first ever Public Transit Day on December 9th, 2016.

Many elected leaders have already committed to tuning into the housing affordability discussion and reviewing the top ideas that arise from the campaign, including Miami-Dade County Commissioners Daniella Levine Cava and Xavier Suarez, as well as City of Miami Commissioner Ken Russell (who is also a candidate for US Congress, Florida District 27). City of Miami Chief Resilience Officer Jane Gilbert, Matt Haggman (candidate for US Congress, Florida District 27), and Vance Aloupis (candidate for FL House District 115) have also committed to joining the conversation and reviewing the final report.

Sponsor JP Morgan Chase & Co. recognizes housing affordability as a critical issue in the community and has invested significantly in local initiatives, including 100 Great Ideas, to advance solutions. “Florida has a serious problem when it comes to affordable housing. We have one of the nation’s highest rates of cost-burdened renters and greatest shortage of options,” said Maria Escorcia, Vice President of Global Philanthropy for JPMorgan Chase & Co.. “It is important to work together as a community to come up with innovative ways to solve this problem.”

Radical Partners launched the 100 Great Ideas campaigns as a way to ease the lift of civic engagement for all Miamians: “Community voices matter. Instead of asking locals to turn out for a meeting or rally have their voice heard, we have created a digital space where all people can converge, learn, dialogue, and generate solutions. We want to hear the voices of thousands of locals from all different neighborhoods and backgrounds - and participation is welcomed and encouraged in any language,” said Rebecca Fishman-Lipsey, CEO of Radical Partners.

Nine local organizations will assist in moderating the discussion, including Engage Miami, Community Justice Project, Miami Homes for All, New Florida Majority, South Florida Community Land Trust, South Florida Community Development Coalition, the University of Miami Office of Civic & Community Engagement, NAACP Miami-Dade and Catalyst Miami.

The 100 Great Ideas campaign  goes live November 13th and will last until November 17th. For more information about the campaign, please visit http://www.radical.partners/100-great-ideas/ or join the Facebook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/100greatideas/.

Please email Sarah Emmons (s@radicalpartners.net) with any questions/comments!

Announcing Social Entrepreneurship Bootcamp Cohort 4!

Announcing Social Entrepreneurship Bootcamp Cohort 4!

We are so excited to have just announced the fourth cohort of our Social Entrepreneurship Bootcamp - check out the below news article from Nancy Dahlberg at the Miami Herald to learn all about this incredible group of 11 leaders!

11 South Florida leaders selected for cohort 4 of Social Entrepreneurship Bootcamp

By Nancy Dahlberg / ndahlberg@miamiherald.com

What are some of the most pressing issues facing our region, and how can we solve them?

Ask the alumni and new cohort of Social Entrepreneurship Bootcamp, an accelerator program for social-impact ventures based in South Florida.

The program, led by Radical Partners, announced its fourth cohort on Wednesday, selecting 11 leaders at the helm of some of the most innovative organizations seeking to improve our region. From expanding opportunities for diverse food entrepreneurs to providing a support network for transgender locals, the cohort of both for-profit and non-profit companies is committed to strengthening communities, increasing equity, and improving the quality of life for those in our city.

Each participant is offered a full scholarship to enable participation in the 12-week accelerator program focused on scaling the impact of their ventures. Upon completion of the program, participants are welcomed into an active alumni network, where they will continue to focus on strengthening Miami alongside some of the most celebrated social innovators in the region.

In an effort to diversify the investor base in the social innovation sector, Radical Partners sought to fund the entire program through support from female investors and philanthropists. All scholarships for this fourth cohort were made possible by female investors who are committed to the future of Miami, including Tere Blanca of Blanca Commercial Real Estate, Leslie Miller Saiontz ofAchieve Miami and Teach For America, CL Conroy of The Conroy Martinez Group, Ruth Admire of The William J. and Isobel G. Clarke Foundation, Dr. Elizabeth Leight, Stephanie Ansin, and Michelle Huttenhoff, among others.

The cohort will also benefit from expert advice from financial advisors, branding experts, and lawyers through partnerships with Desnoyers CPA, Fiscal Management Associates, and Milkcase Creative. Participants will also receive legal health checks from Akerman and have access to the AkermanX/Radical Partners innovation space housed at the Cambridge Innovation Center for all 12 weeks of the program.

Here are the 2017 Social Entrepreneurship Bootcamp cohort members (list provided by Radical Partners):

Communities In Schools of Miami

Elyssa Linares, President and CEO

Nonprofit providing wraparound resources to help students succeed, whether that’s clean clothes, help with school work, or emotional support to cope with or recover from a traumatic event.

Melanites

Jennifer Pierre, Founder and CEO

Toy company that creates diverse toys, storybooks, and games that celebrate brown boyhood and inspire children of color to dream big.

Mind&Melody

Cristina Rodriguez, President and Co-Founder

Nonprofit that creates novel music programs at healthcare facilities to improve the quality of life for individuals with neurological impairments like dementia.

Moonligher

Tom Pupo, Co-Founder

S.T.E.A.M. Learning Center, Fabrication Lab, and Co-Working Space that encourages creative collaboration among artists, designers, engineers, students, educators, and innovators in order to catalyze meaningful solutions through education, technology, and community.

O, Miami

Scott Cunningham, Founder and Director

Annual festival with the goal of every single person in Miami-Dade County encountering a poem.

Open Referral Initiative

Greg Bloom, Founder and Leader

Open-access platform that enables people in need (and related organizations) to get accurate information about the health, human, and social services available in our region.

The New Tropic

Ariel Zirulnick, Director

Local media startup that connects people to their cities through storytelling and events.

TransSOCIAL

Ashley Mayfaire, Co-Founder and Director of Operations

Trans-led nonprofit working to build LGBTQ+ unity and expand community resources and support.

Unconventional

Jordan Magid, Founder and CEO

Art production agency beautifying neighborhoods, strengthening relationships and inspiring citizenship.

The Wynwood Yard

Della Heiman, Founder and CEO

Culinary incubator and community hub designed to foster the development of innovative Miami-based food, culture, design and fitness entrepreneurs.

Young Musicians Unite

Sammy Gonzalez, Co-Founder, President and CEO

Nonprofit giving students a voice through music by providing underserved communities with free, comprehensive music programming.

 

Thank You, From Miami

Thank You, From Miami

As Florida braces for a potential hurricane emergency, we are keeping a running list of orgs, companies, and people who are stepping up. We see you.

  1. Miami Herald is free during the storm.

  2. The New Tropic and WLRN radio have teamed up to launch a user-sourced guide to where there is water/gas/shelter.

  3. Tolls are free by order of the Governor.

  4. Comcast is offering free internet hotspots across Florida right now.

  5. JetBlue has capped flights leaving SoFla at $99 to help people evacuate. Delta and American claim they’re reducing ticket prices as well. Flight change fees are also being waived in many cases.

  6. Solidarity Housing in Atlanta: Whoever set this up...we love you. Organizing places for Floridians (and Caroliners) to stay in Atlanta as they evacuate.

  7. The Knight Foundation has already donated $250,000 to the Red Cross of South Florida to help with relief/resources.

  8. United Way has posted a guide to help people prepare and seek help post hurricane, and is serving as a county emergency ops center.

  9. The Miami Foundation has set up a fund to respond to the emergency, and is directing people to support those responding to hurricane relief.

  10. Navy and Marine units are out and ready to go.

  11. Miami Parking Authority offered a free vehicular protection program for hurricane season to protect cars from sitting on the ground - the program completely filled up.

  12. Civic Hackers joined on slack and produced this resource real quick. Easy to use, regular news and resource updates, options for offering help and getting help.

  13. Veterans are putting up shutters. 

  14. An informal Emergency Ops Center has formed, focused on garnering resources for low-income, elderly, and disabled people. They've got google docs for Broward and Dade.

  15. U-Haul is offering free storage for 30 days at 96 locations across Florida.

  16. Airbnb activated its disaster response program, and there are hundreds of options for evacuees for free. You can look for accommodations or offer to host evacuees here.

  17. Beautiful to learn about the Emergency and Evacuation Assistance Program for people with special needs. 

  18. Disaster Response Volunteer Corps of techies helping in rescue and relief efforts with their skills.

  19. AT&T isn't charging those for overages for talk, text, and data from 9.8 to 9.17 for those in the Hurricane Irma path. 

  20. Cruise ships are making emergency trips to support those in need. 

  21. Regular, plain old human heroes. This guy, for example. Sean O’Hanlon is rallying resources on social media, posting his cell phone for strangers who need help, gathering people with boats to organize relief efforts before the hurricane even hits. Valencia Gunder is posting constant updates and resources, standing strong in Liberty City to support her community. Mariana Rego is building a listserve of people staying local during the storm to check on one another. The list of people offering beds, volunteering, and donating is growing, and we’re in awe of our friends and neighbors.

We’re going to keep growing this thank-you list. Keep it coming. 

Announcing Leadership Lab Cohort 1!

Announcing Leadership Lab Cohort 1!

Radical Partners announces its inaugural cohort of the Leadership Lab in partnership with JPMorgan Chase & Co

“Teamwork is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.”  Andrew Carnegie

Every year at Radical Partners we scout for leaders who are tackling some of our region's most pressing challenges, and we invest in their growth. This year, we're focusing much of our love and resources on economic inclusivity, poverty alleviation, and affordability. Studies have repeatedly placed South Florida at the top of the list for the gap between wages and housing and the highest income inequality in the country. These challenges require innovative solutions and dynamic leaders with the courage to implement them.

With the support of JPMorgan Chase & Co., we’re launching the Leadership Lab, an 8-week program that invests in innovative leaders who are at the helm of high-impact organizations addressing economic inclusivity, poverty alleviation and affordability right here in South Florida. We are proud to say that we have identified some powerhouse duos that are committed to pushing the envelope.

Selection was highly competitive - we accepted less than 20% of the outstanding applicants into the program - a true testament to the great work happening in our region. The selected leaders will benefit from intensive learning labs, individualized coaching sessions, resources and a robust network of support to help take their organizations to the next level. And thanks to JP Morgan Chase & Co., their participation is completely free.

Today, we have the distinct pleasure of unveiling our inaugural cohort. The leaders of these organizations demonstrate unwavering solution orientation, a deep understanding of the communities they serve, and the potential for scalable growth and impact.

We can’t wait for you to get to know them.

MEET THEM!

Ladies Empowerment and Action Program (LEAP) 

LEAP empowers incarcerated women to transcend their past and to lead lives of dignity through a holistic model of education, entrepreneurship and essential life skills.

             

Mahlia Lindquist, Executive Director & Yvette Bravo, President of the Board

Maven Leadership Collective

Maven is a leadership development institute that inspires inclusion and access for queer social entrepreneurs, community advocates of color and their allies in South Florida. By offering educational opportunities, promoting self-care, and providing technical assistance Maven hopes to make our community more just, productive, and vibrant.

                  Corey Davis, Co-Founder & Executive Director &  Danny Anzueto, Board Chair

Corey Davis, Co-Founder and Executive Director & Danny Anzueto, Board Chair

Miami Homes for All

Miami Homes for All works to promote community collaboration to prevent and end homelessness in South Florida through outreach, advocacy, prevention, intervention and resource development to fill identifiable gaps.

Miami Homes for All

               Bobbie Ibara, Executive Director & Melissa Gallo, Policy and Program Director

People Acting for Community Together (PACT)

PACT unites, organizes and trains leaders from diverse congregations, schools and community groups to build a powerful community voice. Individually and collectively, we empower ourselves, hold officials accountable, achieve systemic change, and promote fairness, justice and democracy in Miami-Dade County.

Megan O’Brian, Lead Organizer & Rachel Prestipino, Associate Organizer

Roots Collective

Roots mobilizes community support, organizational capacity and political pull to create safe, vibrant spaces where community members and organizations can congregate, collaborate and flourish. We host a monthly Black Marketplace where we promote, sell and build black owned businesses.

Danny Agnew, Executive Director & Lisa Giles, Project Coordinator

South Florida Community Land Trust (SFCLT)

We provide and preserve quality, sustainable, affordable housing for underserved populations in South Florida. We transform underutilized, foreclosed buildings and vacant lots into affordable, sustainable, and prideful homes.

SFCLT

Mandy Bartle, Executive Director & Anna McMaster, Program Manager

Urban Philanthropies

Urban Philanthropies' mission is to transform distressed urban communities through economic and community development activities such as business trainings for entrepreneurs in Overtown and a small business loan mechanism, in order to enhance the economic independence and quality of life of its community.

Philip Bacon, Executive Director & Keon Williams, Assistant Director

“Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life.”
— Amy Poehler

Public Transit Day - press coverage to write home about

We had a blast creating South Florida's first ever Public Transit Day in partnership with our favorite innovators at Urban Impact Lab. If you haven't read the summary report, GO THERE NOW.

And check out some of the delicious press coverage the community experience received. We're proud mamas.

Delightful. Press. Coverage.

December 12, 2016 | Prism Creative Group: Public Transit Day: A Game-Changer for Miami

December 11, 2016 | The New Tropic: 8 things we learned from you about that public transit grind

December 10, 2016 | Current Miami: Public Transit Day (video)

December 9, 2016 | South Florida Business Journal: Public Transit Day magnifies South Florida's mass transit woes

December 9. 2016 | WLRN: #PublicTransitDay: From Kendall To Downtown

December 9, 2016 | Miami Herald: If it’s Public Transit Day, why is this bus so late?

December 9, 2016 | Palm Beach Post: Public Transit Day a push to get outside comfort zone, onto bus, train

December 8, 2016 | Miami Herald: Discounts! Freebies! But you’ll have to ditch your car and take the bus

December 8, 2016 | WLRN: Meet The Brains Behind South Florida's #PublicTransitDay

December 6, 2016 | Doral Community Newspaper: Resident of Doral? Join in on the First-Ever “Public Transit Day”

December 3, 2016 | Miami Herald: Take public transit, at least for a single day

December 3, 2016 | Miami's Community Newspapers: First-ever ‘public transit day’ message: Ride, don’t drive

December 2, 2016 | Palm Beach Post: Public Transit Day: What it is and how to take part Dec. 9

December 1, 2016 | MiamiDiario:  Public Transit Day. Invitan a residentes de Miami a utilizar el transporte público este 9 de diciembre

November 28, 2016 | Pinecrest Tribune Community Newspaper: First-ever ‘public transit day’ message: Ride, don’t drive

November 22, 2016 | The Miami Today:  ‘Public Transit Day’ to boost public transit system

November 18, 2016 | El Venezolano News:  Este 9 de diciembre es día de usar el transporte público en Miami

Dream jobs exist

We loved this feature of RP Founder Rebecca Fishman Lipsey up on the Prism Creative Group blog. We agree. These are dream jobs, y'all.

Thanks to author Lauren Gonzalez for a great piece.

Dream jobs do exists, my friends.

Dream jobs do exists, my friends.

Your View: We have 100 Great Ideas for the future of transit

Your View: We have 100 Great Ideas for the future of transit

Engaged communities are stronger communities.  But getting people to engage isn’t easy…especially when the typical methods for community engagement are stale, time consuming, and often uninspiring.

Have you ever gone to make a public comment at a commissioner’s meeting?  If you are in the minority of locals who even know where and when to show up, you would still have to take off from work to wait half a day to make a two minute comment to a group of officials who likely already have decided how they plan to vote.

It’s no wonder that so many community members feel there’s a gaping void between themselves and the leaders who make decisions for them.  And by extension, many feel disconnected from their local issues and discouraged from getting involved.

 There has to be a better way.

By The New Tropic

A more engaged Miami with Rebecca Fishman Lipsey

Almost eight years ago, Rebecca Fishman Lipsey moved to Miami to lead the Miami chapter of Teach For America, a national organization of recent college graduates who commit two years of their lives to teaching in under-resourced public schools. In her role as the executive director, Lipsey met inspiring and impactful leaders across the city — people committed to making Miami a better place for everyone. While these changemakers deeply cared about their city, all too often, passionate and hard-working social entrepreneurs were burning themselves out.

Text by Roshan Nebhrajani

Northside Innovation

Highlights from Miami's First Northside Innovation Meet up 

First stop, Miami! 

Northside Innovation Insider hosted the first Innovation Meetup in Miami, powered by Dell | Intel. It was a night of big ideas and a lot of social change: moderator Rebecca Fishman Lipsey talked with Stonly Baptiste of Urban U.S., Michael Hall of Digital Grass, and Adele Bagley from the Miami-Dade County. Plus, Kane Sarhan from Enstitute and Michelle Dow from Social Swag LLC shared how they found their inspiration to change their communities and beyond. 

By: Marcy Franklin