The Lehigh Valley serves as the starting point for most of the projects within the Small Cities Lab (SCL), though the lab hopes to expand its reach throughout Pennsylvania. One area of growing national interest is faith-based housing. As the country faces an ongoing housing crisis, many churches are also experiencing declining membership. With fewer congregants, these spaces may offer an opportunity for innovative housing solutions, ones that align with their longstanding philanthropic missions.

“They don't really have the financial or social capacity to keep their buildings going, but they do want to see kind of a transition in a way that keeps their missions in mind,” explains Isabelle O’Toole ’25, researcher in the SCL.

Lehigh’s Small Cities Lab develops and community-facing, action-oriented research projects focused on contemporary urban change in American cities with populations under 250,000. The lab partners with municipalities, nonprofits, industry, and resident stakeholders to better understand the most pressing challenges facing small- to mid-sized cities, working to bridge knowledge and resource gaps. O’Toole got her start in the lab with the Alley House Program which aims to revive historic “alley houses” to help build economic and social resilience while also addressing housing solutions.

Read the full story from CAS News.