Solutions to Santa Barbara’s Affordable Housing Crisis the Subject of the July 10th Global Citizens Club Meeting

The World Business Academy’s Global Citizens Club is hosting a free panel discussion open to the public titled, “Housing Solutions for a Vibrant Santa Barbara.” The event will bring together key members of the community to address and discuss possible solutions to the housing crisis. This meeting is part of GCC’s 2019 series on “Greening our Infrastructure” and focuses on long standing housing issues while also considering concepts for creating a “green” and vibrant downtown corridor that retains Santa Barbara’s historic charm. Today, very few people, particularly millennials, can afford to live in Santa Barbara. Downtown retail storefronts are closing, once lively streets are now empty, restaurants draw fewer customers, and the homeless have established their own housing in darkened streets and empty spaces. This downward spiral is hastened by new, more affordable neighborhoods developed in outlying areas where housing costs are cheaper and permitting is more flexible, for example Goleta, the “Funk Zone,” and Ventura.

The event takes place Wednesday, July 10 from 5-7 p.m. in the Riviera Ballroom of the Belmond El Encanto Hotel, 800 Alvarado Place in Santa Barbara. Included are a cash bar, passed appetizers and a Q & A Discussion.