Advocacy, Activism, and Citizen Participation: the League of Women Voters and the Moderately Priced Dwelling Unit Program
by Bianca Serbin and Ellen Stanton
By the 1970s, Montgomery County had grown to become one of the most affluent—and, by some measures, exclusive—counties in the country, yet it was increasingly clear that even current residents’ children or elderly parents would soon not be able to afford to live here. Through the leadership of the League of Women Voters of Montgomery County, housing activists worked for years to spread awareness about the county’s housing problems, convincing residents and politicians alike that government-mandated “moderately priced dwelling units” or MPDUs were part of the solution. Together, the LWVMC and the housing coalition made Montgomery County the birthplace of a new type of policy: one that harnessed the power of local government and industry to solve an issue afflicting cities and suburbs across the United States, and one that continues to shape debates about housing today.