Earlier this week, several dozen attendees turned out at Indeed Brewing for a discussion with MaryJo Webster, data editor for the Star Tribune, on her work covering housing access in the Twin Cities. 

Webster has worked on several housing-centric stories for the Star Tribune, including “How Twin Cities housing rules keep the metro segregated” and “Looking for an affordable starter home in the Twin Cities area? Good luck.”

Webster also co-wrote the working paper “Single-Family Zoning and Race: Evidence from the Twin Cities” with Salim Furth of the Mercatus Center, which was recently published by Housing Policy Debate.

Webster spoke about what draws her to housing as a research topic and walked through the three years of work to bring “How Twin Cities housing rules keep the metro segregated” to life. She also delved into how data journalism in the digital world has granted a new dimension of immersive storytelling and how her research on zoning that story led to a collaboration with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University.  

The evening was the inaugural event to the “Housing on Tap” series put on by Housing Affordability Institute, an industry think tank organization seeking to increase housing affordability and access while advancing homeownership opportunities for all.

Future “Housing on Tap” events will aim to feature conversations with individuals and organizations playing a pivotal role in the housing conversation. Housing on Tap is free and open to the public.