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Renowned Author Discusses How Slavic Village Defied Foreclosure Narrative

Photo: Ideastream
Photo: Ideastream

We are several years removed now from the subprime mortgage meltdown that led to the collapse of the housing market, but its impact is still being felt, including here in Cleveland. The Slavic Village neighborhood was the epicenter of the crisis and the effect of the meltdown was devastating there.  But author and journalist Alex Kotlowitz found something he didn't expect when he, like many members of the national media, came to Slavic Village in 2009 to write about the devastation. He saw hope and resolve.

Kotlowitz, whose work focuses on the struggles of people living in poverty, returned to Cleveland in late June  for a Building Healthy Communities forum at CSU, sponsored by  Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs, the Third Federal Foundation and Ideastream, in which he warned against assuming that there is a single narrative to all stories. Slavic Village's story is unique.

Anthony Brancatelli, Ward 12, Cleveland City Council 
Alex Kotlowitz, Journalist, Author  

Resource: The Listening Project