From Policy to Practice: Building a Lasting Affordability Playbook in Omaha
Communities across the country are exploring tools like accessory dwelling units, land banks, and shared equity models. The challenge is rarely awareness. The challenge is implementation.
Our advisory work with Grounded Solutions Network and local partners in Omaha centered on a simple question: how do you move from interest in affordability tools to a coordinated, community-supported pathway that protects long-term outcomes?
We began by listening. Through culturally competent engagement sessions, we worked with residents, agencies, and practitioners to understand local priorities, fears, and aspirations. In parallel, we conducted land-use and market analysis to ground those conversations in regulatory and economic reality.
The value of this dual-track approach is that it allows strategy to emerge at the intersection of community intent and development feasibility. Rather than delivering abstract recommendations, we translated insight into a practical playbook — outlining implementation steps, partnership roles, and policy considerations that local actors could immediately use.
The resulting framework supported exploration of ADU development, informed affordability strategies, and helped align multiple agencies around a shared direction. More importantly, it created a common language between community stakeholders and institutional decision-makers.
For organizations working in housing and land use, this work reinforced a critical advisory principle: technical tools only become powerful when they are paired with locally grounded processes. Effective advisors design both the strategy and the pathway, ensuring that ideas are not only sound, but usable.
