Building Inclusive Neighborhoods a Focus at Widener Hearing

“Here in Chester, affordable housing is our front yard,” Mayor Stefan Roots said. 

Across the street from Greek Row on 13th Street in the City of Chester, men and women in suits gathered inside Lathem Hall, a stately old building that resembles a church on Widener University’s campus. State Representative Carol Kazeem, the local Democratic assemblywoman in Harrisburg, convened a policy hearing March 30 to talk about our current housing crisis and lift up the Governor’s Housing Action Plan. 

(From right): State Representatives Regina Young, Carol Kazeem, Darisha Parker, and Roni Green were among those who attended the March 30 hearing at Lathem Hall on Widener's campus.

Testimony was heard from local government officials, organized labor, Special Assistant to the Secretary of DCED Morgan Boyd, and Mayor Roots. I sat in the audience taking notes and listening to questions from representatives, which included Rep. Greg Scott (whose district includes Norristown). 

Twenty-one years ago, outside Old Main on the other side of campus, I graduated with a degree in business administration. Sitting there in cap and gown on that warm May day in 2005, I was likely thinking about my imminent move to Arizona. This voyage – with subsidized company housing for $50 a month – eventually led to my first job in journalism (Today’s News-Herald in Lake Havasu City). It was my dream job, I thought. 

That was not a typo. This duplex, partially funded by my former employer (Delaware North Parks & Resorts), cost me $50 per month in 2005-2006.

But back to Chester…. For about two years, I contributed regularly to the Widener student newspaper, The Dome. I recall occasionally sleeping on the newsroom couch since I was a commuter student (SEPTA train from Lansdale). Today, the campus looks a little different. A residential hall named after former President James T. Harris has been built. An oversized brick wall welcomes visitors to campus from the other side of I-95. 

Mike Hays on graduation day in Chester (May 2005).

During his remarks, Roots referenced a long-standing maxim amongst college students to avoid traversing to the other side of the city, where most of the downtown and train station can be found. These imaginary barriers have a long history in Pennsylvania and across America. Despite the court overturning “separate but equal” in the landmark case Brown vs. the Board of Education, many school districts in Pennsylvania remain segregated by class and race, including the City of Reading and Pottstown. 

Roots noted that 50 percent of Delaware County’s public housing is located in the City of Chester. Furthermore, the history of red-lining is still felt in his city, Roots said. Some property owners face challenges obtaining financing for redevelopment and residential developments. With a 60 percent renter population in his city, Roots wants to see more opportunities for people to move into homeownership. 

Chester must build “modern, safe, attainable, better housing” if it hopes to retain Widener graduates as future taxpayers, he noted. 

From my perspective, communities thrive when there is a place for everyone and when there are doors opened for people from a variety of backgrounds, races, income levels, and interests. When we get there, people will be less fearful of what is being built in their backyard.