In the United States, homelessness has become increasingly visible on our streets and in our media headlines. Everyone thinks they understand the issue, and many believe they know how to solve it. But they’re often wrong even about the most basic facets of the problem. The key to addressing homelessness is understanding the foundational causes and rethinking everything we think we know. Dr. Marisa A. Zapata is an associate professor of land-use planning at Portland State University and director of PSU’s Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative, an interdisciplinary research center dedicated to reducing and preventing homelessness with an emphasis on
communities of color.

As an educator, scholar, and planner, Dr. Zapata is committed to achieving spatially based social justice by preparing planners to act in the face of uncertain and inequitable futures. She
believes how we use land reflects our social and cultural values.

She was recently named one of Portland’s unelected leaders by Portland Mercury for her role in using research to help understand homelessness. The center’s recent report “Governance, Costs, and Revenue Raising to Address and Prevent Homelessness,” revealed that as many
as 38,000 people experienced homelessness in the Portland tri-county area in 2017, which transformed the conversation about solutions. For more information about her work or the center, go to www.pdx.edu/homelessness
Report: “Governance, Costs, and Revenue Raising to Address and Prevent Homelessness” bit.ly/pdxhomelessness This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx