There are certainly lessons Bedford can learn from Montgomery County, Albuquerque, and Dorothy Gautreaux, but the town is in a unique position in terms of affordable housing. At the core of grassroots organizing is the desire for community members to make a change. In Bedford, that currently does not exist in relation to housing justice. In fact, certain groups like the Bedford Residents Association advocate against the increase of affordable housing in town. The recent construction of two new apartment complexes was fought for years in town council meetings, and their approval is surely a step in the right direction. However, this was not the result of organizing for the movement. Rather, it was the product of a combination of top-down pressure from the state and wealthy developers receiving a tax break if a certain percentage of new units are set aside as “workforce housing.”
As the governor so bluntly pointed out, Bedford still does not have enough affordable housing. The examples of Montgomery County and Albuquerque clearly demonstrate that inclusionary zoning has an overwhelmingly positive effect on students living in public housing, while also having zero negative externalities on the rest of the community, such as lowering property values. The work of Dorothy Gautreaux proved that housing justice organizing can be successful, and she provided a roadmap on how to win that fight. In this case, because there is a specific issue being targeted with an end goal in mind, I would argue that Alinsky’s methods of organizing would be most effective. Groups that use Alinskian organizing tactics seek to build broad-based coalitions and engage in confrontational strategies to win existing policy proposals (Martinson and Su 2012). In Bedford, the first and most important thing that needs to be done is bring awareness to the issue. The desire of some to keep the community exclusive is simply ridiculous, as it is in no way beneficial to anyone involved. Organizing should first bring this to light, highlighting examples like Montgomery County, Albuquerque, and the Gautreaux Program, and then pursue actually changing the town’s exclusionary zoning laws. The work would most definitely be difficult, but I believe it is possible. Through these organizing strategies, I hope to make Bedford an inclusive town where any family that wishes to move here can, regardless of their race or socio-economic status.