Housing Summit Convenes Detroit Leaders to Advance Economic Mobility Through Affordable Housing Solutions

The Housing Summit announced its inaugural Detroit Economic Mobility Breakfast has reached capacity, bringing together 25 senior leaders from policy, community development, philanthropy, finance, and technology sectors. The working session titled "Housing First, Futures Next: The Road to Economic Mobility" aims to center housing as a primary driver of economic opportunity in Detroit, moving participants from ideas to implementable strategies including Detroit-ready capital stacks, deployable policy tools, and effective public-private-philanthropic partnerships. This Detroit edition builds on earlier Housing Summit gatherings in Hong Kong and New York City, continuing the global conversation about housing affordability and economic mobility.

The moderated roundtable will focus on three core themes with practical, Detroit-ready solutions. Economic mobility discussions will examine how targeted housing strategies can improve income stability, build credit, and increase neighborhood spending, supported by clear near-term metrics and post-event follow-through. Community-led delivery models including community land trusts and adaptive reuse will explore how community ownership can preserve affordability, activate key corridors, and create durable wealth pathways with lasting governance structures. The partnerships and capital theme will address public-private-philanthropic alignment of land, policy tools, subsidies, and flexible capital to move projects from pipeline to reality.

Critical discussions will examine headwinds facing Community Development Financial Institutions and how recent uncertainty around the CDFI Fund affects capital flows to mission lenders, while identifying local, state, philanthropic, and private responses to maintain community finance pipelines. The session will also explore how artificial intelligence is reshaping homeownership access, housing finance, and policymaking, with careful attention to guarding against bias and ensuring fairness in historically excluded communities. According to Karen L. Gamba, Founder of The Housing Summit, the aim is that every participant leaves with at least one actionable solution and one follow-up conversation already in motion, turning insight into implementation through this growing community committed to housing solutions.

The event brings together diverse voices including Amy Hovey of Michigan State Housing Development Authority, who noted that the summit serves as a catalyst for collaboration that aligns tools, capital, and community leadership to advance equitable housing opportunities across Detroit. Other participants include Blair C. Smith from Milken Institute focusing on inclusive capital, Craig Willian from Develop Detroit, and representatives from the Gilbert Family Foundation and Rocket Community Fund. The Housing Summit continues to expand globally with upcoming events planned for Los Angeles and additional cities, working alongside partners to create environments where decisions and relationships lead to tangible housing and economic outcomes. Interested stakeholders can learn more about future initiatives by visiting https://www.thehousingsummit.com or subscribing to updates at https://thehousingsummit.substack.com.