SB Friedman led Dane County's Regional Housing Strategy (RHS), a multi-jurisdictional effort to create and preserve affordable housing, improve housing conditions, and support overall housing affordability for county residents and workers.
Dane County, home to Madison, is the fastest-growing and highest-cost county in Wisconsin. The County is facing a critical shortage of affordable and workforce housing. The Regional Housing Strategy will serve as a roadmap for municipalities throughout the county to collectively address these housing affordability challenges.
SB Friedman facilitated an 80-member Housing Advisory Committee of public-sector, non-profit, community and private-sector stakeholders, and provided a range of technical expertise around housing market, demographic and economic trends to guide this effort. Our work included:
- Analyzing overall housing inventory, trends, demographic shifts, and the disparities in housing outcomes across racial and socioeconomic groups.
- Synthesizing input from HAC participants, focus groups and public surveys to understand the unique housing challenges across geographies and identities.
- Identifying current housing gaps and projecting future housing needs through 2050 for the County overall and by municipality.
- Identifying strategies that produce and preserve affordable housing, increase affordability, provide education around housing need, and support tenants and renters.
Results: The Regional Strategic Action Plan was finalized in December 2023 and launched in April 2024. The County has established a regional advisory group and is advancing strategies identified in the report.