05/10/2026
GREENSPACE: Thoughts from the 2026 Central U.P. Regional Housing Solutions Summit
This week, I found myself at the 2026 Central U.P. Regional Housing Solutions Summit after a friend heard about my cohabitation work and suggested I should be “at the table.”
The summit opened with a simple premise: we all agree there is a housing problem. The goal of the day was not to spend hours debating whether the problem exists or assigning blame for how we got here. Instead, the focus was on solutions, collaboration, and moving from ideas to action.
I’m in for something like that.
Of course, there were statistics. A lot of them. One polling summary presented during the summit reported that over 65% of Michigan voters believe housing is unaffordable, and 61% said regulations should be updated to permit more housing. Another interesting statistic was that support for multi-unit housing — duplexes, apartments, and similar projects — was stronger than I would have guessed, even across political and geographic lines.
But honestly, the statistics weren’t the most interesting part of the day.
What struck me most was realizing how much work is already happening quietly in the background — and how little most of us probably know about it.
When I think about housing issues, my mind often goes directly to homelessness. I live near Room at the Inn in Marquette, and after recently attending a local homelessness awareness event, that issue has felt especially present for me. But the summit highlighted something important:
housing instability exists on layers and spectrums long before someone becomes homeless.
- A young family unable to find a starter home.
- An older adult trying to stay in their community as costs rise.
- A worker commuting long distances because there’s nowhere affordable nearby.
- A couple trying to navigate shared housing after divorce, disability, caregiving responsibilities, or financial strain.
- Someone one medical event, injury, or chronic health issue away from suddenly falling behind.
That last one especially stayed with me.
As someone who has managed health and recovery challenges, I’ve become increasingly aware of how thin the margin can be between stability and crisis. A medical issue doesn’t just affect health — it affects employment, transportation, relationships, and housing all at once. I don’t think I fully appreciated before how many people are closer to housing instability than they realize.
There are many points where people can begin slipping through the cracks — and many opportunities where communities can build safety nets before things reach a crisis point. That perspective shifted something for me.
One of the most encouraging parts of the summit was seeing people from very different backgrounds working together in ways I wouldn’t have expected. Developers, local officials, nonprofits, housing advocates, and community organizers were all in the same room trying to solve overlapping problems.
I was especially excited to learn more about some of the work happening locally from people I already know!
Antonio Adan, Marquette County’s first housing specialist, is helping spearhead regional housing efforts and coordination. It was energizing to see a community beginning to treat housing as something that deserves dedicated attention and infrastructure rather than simply reacting to emergencies as they arise.
I was especially inspired by the Marquette County Emerging Developers Network, helped lead by Jen Tucker. The idea itself is refreshing: local developers and supporters collaborating instead of operating entirely in isolation. They’re sharing information, resources, lessons learned, and problem-solving strategies in an effort to help grow housing solutions from within the community itself.
Another funny moment from the summit: everyone kept casually saying “NIMBY” and “YIMBY” like they were discussing something as ordinary as apples and oranges while I sat there wondering whether I had somehow missed an obscure Gumby reference. Four days later, I’ve already heard the terms again on a podcast.
For anyone else new to the conversation, you need to know these terms:
“NIMBY” means “Not In My Backyard,” often describing resistance to nearby development projects.
“YIMBY” means “Yes In My Backyard,” reflecting support for increasing housing development and density.
The terms can sound simplistic, but they point to real tensions communities are wrestling with:
- How do we create more housing while preserving the character of the places people already love?
- How do we balance growth, affordability, infrastructure, and quality of life?
- What tradeoffs are we willing — or unwilling — to make?
I don’t pretend to have answers to those questions after one summit. But I left feeling hopeful.
Not because anyone claimed there was a quick fix, but because there were so many people in the room willing to engage honestly with difficult problems and try new approaches together. And maybe that’s where meaningful community change actually starts:
not with one perfect solution, but with people deciding the problem belongs to all of us.
- EErica Payne
