Is Grand Rapids headed in the right direction on housing, public safety, and economic development?

Housing is the defining issue and the city is failing on it. The IURA's own housing needs assessment says we need 8,000 new units by 2030 and we're permitted to build 1,200/year. The missing middle reform package has been in commission for two years with no floor vote. Rents are up 41% since 2019. The same administration that gets credit for downtown investment is the one that has stalled the only policy intervention that could actually help working families.

GRPD response times in the Heartside and South Division corridors average 9.2 minutes for Priority 2 calls — nearly double the department target of 5 minutes. The city cut 18 officer positions in 2023 and hasn't refilled them. The same neighborhoods that get the community benefits agreements in development deals are also the neighborhoods where police response is slowest. You can't call that progress with a straight face if you live in those neighborhoods.

The city owns 240 vacant lots and has a stated goal of 100% disposition by 2028. As of March 2026 it has disposed of 31. The Vital Streets program has a 10-year road reconstruction queue and is three years behind schedule. These are implementation failures, not funding failures — the money has been appropriated. The commission sets good priorities and then the administration doesn't execute. That's the pattern and I don't see it changing.