I am extremely humbled yet honored to be featured as a UNC Charlotte featured alum. I sat down with my alma mater to discuss how affordable house impacts our communities.
As a little girl, Pam Wideman ’06 MPA spent hours assembling jigsaw puzzles. She loved watching the full picture emerge from all the little pieces. Now, as director of Housing and Neighborhood Services for the city of Charlotte, Wideman is tackling her most challenging puzzle yet: Charlotte’s affordable housing crisis.
As a little girl, Pam Wideman ’06 MPA spent hours assembling jigsaw puzzles. She loved watching the full picture emerge from all the little pieces. Now, as director of Housing and Neighborhood Services for the city of Charlotte, Wideman is tackling her most challenging puzzle yet: Charlotte’s affordable housing crisis.
“I like solving problems, and I look at affordable housing as a puzzle,” Wideman said. “Neighborhoods are the building blocks of any city, and it’s my job to create thriving, mixed-income communities where people of all ages, races, economic backgrounds can live and access opportunity.”
In 2014, a national study ranked Charlotte last among the 50 largest U.S. cities in economic mobility, citing family instability and affordable housing as central factors.
While the study shined a spotlight on the city’s affordable housing issue and others, Wideman recognized an opportunity to leverage public awareness to make a difference.
Pamela Wideman 