The Pella Area Community and Economic Alliance meeting originally scheduled this week was moved to May, and will now include the release of findings from a study continuing the analysis of housing policies and their effectiveness in communities similar to the Tulip City.

Last July, Professor of Political Science at Central College Dr. Andrew Green presented the results of a study comparing 273 communities with similarities to Pella to find the common factors that vibrant communities shared.

The significant indicators from that study were: percentage of residents over 25 with a BA or higher education level; high school graduation rate; and high home ownership rates. Pella ranked significantly higher than average in the first two factors, but ranked in the bottom third (214 of 273) of communities for home ownership rate.

The same team of faculty researchers from Central continued their research to identify the incentives, policies and regulations of communities with higher home ownership rates than Pella. Dr. Green will present the findings and how Pella can utilize this data to increase home ownership in the community and overall economic vitality.

The next Pella Area Community and Economic Alliance quarterly meeting is Friday, May 19th at 7 a.m. in the Graham Annex at Central College. Contact the PACE Alliance to register:

RSVP to maria@pella.org; 628-2626 or online here