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“Inside the Bricks: Woodhill Homes” shares personal stories from one of the nation’s earliest public housing neighborhoods as it faces a complete rebuild.

Guests Announced for Final 'Inside the Bricks' Episode

Jeff Patterson (left) and Jeanette Marbley (right) are among guests for the final episode of Inside the Bricks: Woodhill Homes. [Laura Fillbach / ideastream]
Jeff Patterson and Jeanette Marbley are shown in a photo from 2019.

As the end of the year approaches, the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) faces a big deadline.

That deadline is December 16, and it's the date by which CMHA must submit its second application to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for $35 million in funding to help rebuild Woodhill Homes.

Woodhill Homes, as many ideastream listeners know, is a public housing neighborhood that opened in 1940 on Cleveland's East Side. Just under 1,000 people live there.

Mid-December is also when ideastream will wrap up its series Inside the Bricks: Woodhill Homes. The series, released as both a podcast and aired during live broadcasts of the Sound of Ideas, has introduced listeners to life at Woodhill through the eyes of residents.

Our fifth episode drops December 8, and it focuses on stories of growing up at Woodhill — fitting, since half of the neighborhood's residents are kids. Then comes our sixth and final episode, on December 15. It'll feature excerpts from a pre-taped discussion about the future of the neighborhood.

We'll also hear what panelists have to say about some of the stories we've heard to date on the show, which have covered everything from health and safety to employment to the arts.

We're partnering with The City Club of Cleveland on the panel, and all are welcome to join us live. No registration is necessary; you can sign up for a reminder here.

Our panelists will be Jeff Patterson, chief executive officer of CMHA; Joy Johnson, executive director of Burten, Bell, Carr Development Inc.; Jeanette Marbley, president of the Woodhill Homes residents' council; and Edward Goetz, a professor of urban planning at the University of Minnesota and author of the book New Deal Ruins: Race, Economic Justice and Public Housing Policy.

What's that you say? It feels like Inside the Bricks: Woodhill Homes just got started?

We feel the same way. But thanks to your feedback on the project ( it's not too late to tell us what you think), ideastream is planning to do more storytelling in a similar vein, telling stories of people and how they live in their communities.

Justin Glanville is the deputy editor of engaged journalism at Ideastream Public Media.