Communities of Faith and Affordable Housing, with Lee Hardy

The United States is in the grips of an affordable housing crisis. And the crisis will only grow more acute as the economic repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic play out. In this session, Lee Hardy will take you on a tour of some of the most effective and creative ways communities of Christian faith have addressed and advanced the cause of affordable housing in their cities and neighborhoods—from tiny home villages, to new construction on church properties, to adding affordable rental units to main sanctuary buildings. Reference will be made to the ways various church resources—time, money, land, buildings, and partnerships—can be mobilized to provide shelter to the homeless and the housing-insecure in Christ’s name. A brief look at the 500-year tradition of religiously founded affordable courtyard housing in the Netherlands will be included. 

Lee Hardy, is a Calvin University professor emeritus of philosophy and urban studies. Completing a grant project on faith communities and affordable housing convinced Lee Hardy that justice and worship are internally linked. He is a long-time member of Congress for the New Urbanism (CNU) and is the affordable housing contact for CNU’s Christian Caucus. 

Location details

1795 Knollcrest Cir SE, Grand Rapids MI 49546