The first time I ever heard the term “social housing” was at a Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) meeting in Buffalo, NY, in the fall of 2024. A former colleague of mine invited me to the meeting, which was hosted at Crane Branch Public Library in the Elmwood Village neighborhood where I live. Convening that day was the infrastructure subcommittee in the DSA’s Buffalo Chapter. They were discussing housing issues, which have been a professional interest of mine since my first job in public policy in 2016.