Researchers Unearth 100-Year-Old Affordable Housing Solution

A nonprofit grocery store in Washington, D.C. brings fresh, affordable food to regional food deserts. Through community engagement, public partnerships, and the willingness to learn from failure, Good Food Markets brings small grocery stores into communities that need them most.

Communities United a grassroots organizations in Chicago is solving the city's housing crisis with a program called ROOTS (Renters Organizing Ourselves to Stay). The organization is bringing together financiers, development organizations and partners to make housing more affordable. ROOTS managed to significantly improve renters' rights law by making amendments to the city’s affordable housing ordinance.

California coastal towns address homelessness by supporting individuals who live on their boats - and those who want to move back to land. While many counties destroy or condemn boats that have been anchored long-term, areas like Half Moon Bay and Marin county work with individuals who want to find stable housing.

Durham, North Carolina works to maintain diversity of communities and perspectives by evaluating the inequities built into their current housing laws and economic opportunities. In redevelopment planning, the city also incorporates artists and activists into planning to ensure the city doesn't lose diversity of culture in its renewal plans.

Cities are contending with a rise in short term rentals which is exacerbating the already limited supply of affordable housing. The effort to rein them in includes fees being redirected to affordable housing funds, stricter regulations, and technology that helps enforce city regulations.

Short-term rental taxes are contributing to affordable housing projects in Colorado. In places like Telluride, where rentals account for about 35 percent of the housing stock, the new tax has not impeded rentals and has created a consistent revenue stream for affordable housing.

A new rent-to-own development is providing an affordable housing option. Known as My Belmont, the new solution is combining affordability with walkability as well as access to public transportation - a combination that is hard to find. Although the new project offers limited spots, it’s being highlighted as the type of mixed-used housing developments that can help alleviate the issue of affordable housing and provide a better quality of life.

Canadian cities lack the housing supply to keep up with demand and zoning laws are partly to blame. Land is designated specifically for single-family homes, which is the least efficient use of space, generates the lowest tax revenue, and contributes to more traffic and fewer public transportation options. The zoning rules are meant to prevent one problem, overly dense cities and their attendant problems, but its unintended consequence is a market that's priced most people out of it.

Affordable housing in Singapore has resulted in one of the highest rates of home ownership in the world. In 1964 the government embraced a "Home Ownership for the People Scheme" in which it gave lower and middle-income citizens access to affordable home ownership. Subsidized apartments were sold at low prices and were not to be sold for at least five years after which the real estate value had risen significantly. Apartments sold in 2009, for example, gained almost half a million dollars in value by 2020. New subsidized apartments are under construction and 16,000 have already been sold in the past year.

In Minneapolis, a long-term affordable housing plan takes a comprehensive approach by addressing climate change, zoning, and equity as inherent in the modern housing crisis. By reducing single-family housing, cutting building costs with green technology, and asking neighbors to be a part of the decision-making process, the city is chiseling away at its affordable housing crisis.