The Cap Times Idea Fest kicked off on Monday offering sessions covering a variety of topics under the umbrella “Reckoning with Change.” On Tuesday, they held a session focused on Madison’s housing crisis, discussing how to add housing to keep pace with growth—while addressing historic racism in the housing market. Award winning Cap Times local government reporter Abigail Becker—who is also WORT’s own “Downtown Abby” reporter—moderated the panel, which became contentious at times. Taking part in the discussion was Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway; professor of urban planning at UW-Madison, Kurt Paulsen; and CEO of the Madison YWCA, Vanessa McDowell.
Vanessa, who is the first black female CEO in the YWCA’s history and founder of Madison Roots—a program that seeks to amplify the wealth of Black families using home ownership as a catalyst, joins Friday Buzz host Jonathan Zarov to talk more about the issue.
(Image courtesy of Vanessa and Madison YWCA)
