MILWAUKEE — Milwaukee residents are taking housing accountability into their own hands through a citywide effort to survey 40,000 properties.
As Milwaukee marks the year of housing, trained surveyors are spreading out across the city to track the condition of homes and vacant properties, aiming to flag problems and keep landlords accountable.
The surveys are part of Reclaiming Our Neighborhoods, a coalition using real-time data to pressure landlords, alert city leaders, and push for change.
Watch: Milwaukee residents survey properties to hold landlords accountable
"Many people need new roofs, new porches… and what we’re also learning is that the majority of those properties in desperate need of repairs are owned by landlords… now we need to figure out how we’re gonna use that data to hold people accountable," JoAnna Bautch of VIA Community Development Corporation said.
"I think constant accountability—the way that we’re building collective power— is the way that we’re gonna be able to have something to stand on for accountability," Bautch said.
‘J.R.’, a resident surveyor who grew up in the Amani neighborhood, is documenting property conditions to fight for the future of the place that raised him.
"I'm seeing a lot of vacant lots, a lot of roofing that needs to be done, chipped paint, something wrong with foundations, abandoned houses—more than half of the houses need some type of repair too," J.R. said.
"I see something going on in my neighborhood, and I got the power to help and fix it—that means something," J.R. said.
For longtime Amani resident Barbara Smith, the power is not just in the numbers, but in the people behind them.
"It’s great, because again, the data that we’ve collected, we have proof. So it’s not just that we’re saying, we’re giving you our opinion," Smith said.
"We need to collectively get together—one voice telling the same story—that gets the attention," Smith said.
The collected proof could help connect families to critical repairs before small problems become bigger ones.
"We are able to identify what our residents’ needs are, advocate for what we need in our communities and get them resources to help make repairs so people can stay in their homes as long as possible," Britney Roberson said.
"We are in the year of housing—yeah, we need new housing, but we also got to make sure our existing housing stays intact," Roberson said.
As surveyors fan out across the city, residents say the effort is about making sure the people who live in Milwaukee have the power to shape what happens next.
"That’s meaningful. That feels very hopeful. It’s all around Milwaukee that has the same things to say—as a city unified—they gotta listen to us," J.R. said.
"The greater community should know that there’s a lot of work to do. They should get involved. We are only stronger in numbers, and so the more neighbors that get active, the stronger we are and the louder we are," Bautch said.
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