“Is that person a homeless person or is that person my neighbor?” – Roger Valdez

In discussions about homelessness, I’m always interested in hearing from people who stray from their inherent tribal orthodoxies. Roger Valdez, who directs Smart Growth Seattle, is certainly one of those people. Our wide ranging conversation swings from people camping in parks to migrant housing and name checks Jesus, Hayek, and Milton Friedman along the way. We began our conversation asking about what his organization, Smart Growth Seattle, does and how he began writing about homelessness.