August 3, 2007 - As a crowd of more than 100 concerned citizens converged in a Brunswick Community College classroom last Friday, an expert verdict was rendered: While population and property values continue to skyrocket in one of the fastest growing counties in the country, low wages and a lack of affordable housing are making it more difficult for average- and lower-income workers to live in Brunswick County.
Professors William Rohe and Spence Cowan of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill's Center for Urban and Regional Studies brought data to back up their assessment at the Brunswick County Workforce Housing Summit July 27 at BCC. Their 55-page analysis, "Workforce Housing Needs in Brunswick County, North Carolina," is the result of a comprehensive, six-month study conducted for the North Carolina Association of Community Development Corporations. By Laura Lewis