UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Individuals interested in understanding forces impacting housing affordability and how it shapes rural communities in Pennsylvania can attend an upcoming webinar from Penn State Extension.
Stephen Goetz, professor of agricultural and regional economics in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences and director of the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development, and Zheng Tian, assistant research professor in the college, will speak at the webinar, which begins at noon on May 20.
The webinar will present findings from the Rural Housing Availability: 2013-2023 study, exploring how challenges with housing availability and affordability vary across the country, particularly in rural areas.
The webinar is part of Penn State Extension’s Winter/Spring Land-Use Webinar Series, which is aimed at helping community leaders navigate land-use challenges, with topics ranging from improving community food access to growing local leaders’ capacity for community development to creating affordable housing.
The series began Jan. 21 and runs monthly through May. Sessions feature Penn State experts and guest speakers discussing timely issues affecting municipal officials, planners, landowners and community organizations.
Each 75-minute session is recorded and made available to registrants for six months. Other programs in the series include:
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Jan. 21: “Planning for Intergenerational Communities” (recorded).
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Feb. 18: “From Data to Action: Using Community Report Cards for Equitable Land Use Planning” (recorded).
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March 18: “Planning for Community Food Access: Community Gardens, Farmers Markets and Food Systems” (recorded).
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April 15: “Community Development Essentials — A Process Before a Plan” (recorded).
Pending approval, the Pennsylvania chapter of the American Planning Association will offer professional development credits to registered landscape architects or professional planners with the American Institute of Certified Planners. Each webinar is worth 1.25 credits, or 6.25 credits for those attending the whole series.
Penn State Extension is offering the series in partnership with the Pennsylvania chapter of the American Planning Association and the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development.
Registration is required to receive the link to access each webinar.
The cost of the webinar series is $50 for all five sessions, or $95 for all five sessions for those who want to receive AICP certification-maintenance credits from the American Planning Association. In addition, registered landscape architects can earn continuing education credits for a fee of $65.
For anyone interested in a particular topic from the series, individual session registration is available for $15 per session.
For more information, contact John Turack, extension education program specialist, community and economic development, at 724-837-1402 or by email at jdt15@psu.edu. To register for the webinars, visit the Penn State Extension website.