Marc Norman, an associate professor of practice in urban and regional planning, recently appeared on “Stateside,” a program airing on NPR’s affiliate station, Michigan Radio, to discuss the challenges of finding and keeping affordable housing — amid the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

Norman said that the state’s affordable housing challenges vary by region — encompassing issues such as low wages in Detroit and lack of supply in Ann Arbor — and that prior to the outbreak of COVID-19 in Michigan in March, the state already was facing an affordable housing crisis. Now, with unemployment spiking, he said it’s unclear what the long-term picture for affordable housing looks like, especially as temporary protections against evictions begin to expire. 

“We need to start thinking about the looming eviction crisis we’ll have when these moratoriums [on evictions] are lifted,” Norman said.

He noted that prior economic downturns provide a roadmap for what not to do when it comes to helping citizens secure housing. “There are a number of cities in Michigan that are still suffering the effects of the 2008 financial crisis, especially around issues like foreclosure, tax seizures, and evictions.”

Listen to the full interview here.