The first public housing authority in the nation was established in Cleveland in the 1930s, and today the city has more than 9,000 subsidized units across the city and its inner ring suburbs. That’s twice as many as in Cincinnati and five times as many as in Columbus. Yet while much optimism and promise surrounded these neighborhoods’ construction, today public housing in Cleveland and throughout the U.S. faces dwindling federal funding, deteriorating buildings and negative stereotypes.

In this latest stop on The Sound of Ideas Community Tour, hosted by Mike McIntyre, a panel of neighborhood residents, public officials and experts will talk about what’s next for one of Cleveland’s largest and oldest public housing neighborhoods: Woodhill Homes, about a mile south of University Circle. Woodhill is in the midst of a two-year plan to determine its future, and what happens here has the potential to set a new course for public housing in Cleveland and the nation. ideastream has been following the plan and telling stories of neighborhood residents as part of its Homes reporting project, supported by Saint Luke’s Foundation.

We’ll be at the Woodhill Homes Community Center on November 13 at 6 p.m. As always, our audience is welcome to ask questions and share thoughts throughout the program. It’s free and open to the public, and a light dinner will be served starting at 5:30 p.m.

ideastream is supported in part by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.