Finding ways to sustain housing affordability in Missoula while planning for growth dominated a debate on Tuesday between Missoula Mayor Andrea Davis and challenger Shawn Knopp ahead of the upcoming mayoral election.

Davis and Knopp disagreed about how to manage the city’s budget and what role the Missoula Redevelopment Agency (MRA) should play in development projects during a debate sponsored by the Missoula City Club.

But the two largely agreed the city must increase housing construction to bring down living costs and work with the private sector to make affordable housing projects possible.

“This is the kind of community that people want to be in,” said Davis, who was formerly the executive director of affordable housing nonprofit Homeword. “So whether you are here now, or whethe

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