What the world can learn from Singapore's safe and squeaky-clean high-rise housing projects

It takes political will to create mixed-income housing and manage the social impacts of gentrification. In contrast to New York, the London borough of Hackney has taken steps to fix its housing crisis by putting the interests of residents ahead of the interests of developers. Several housing developments slated for development in the East London neighborhood now blend subsidized and market-rate units.

Cities around the United States look to tiny homes as a solution to the national homeless crisis. From Kansas City, Mo. to Seattle, Wa., community members and city officials come together to build tiny homes and provide access to a stable community.

Limited Equity Co-ops provide a long term, affordable housing solution for tenants. The method began in the 60s and is slowly rising again. In a LEC the value of the housing unit can’t go up to market value, and therefore preserves affordable prices for a longer period of time. “The history of limited-equity co-ops is full of residents who work together to fight eviction and take care of their building.” There are an estimated 160,000 LEC’s nationally.

For a megacity with more than 18 million people in its metro area, Mumbai, India is not a particularly vertical city. Many of its inhabitants squeeze into low-rise slums crammed into the urban space. But an ongoing slum rehabilitation program seeks to clear these corrugated metal shacks and relocate the slum-dwellers to new high rises.

The city of Chamberlain, South Dakota, purchased 60 acres of land for $900,000 and gave away buildable lots through a lottery system to anyone who promised to construct a home within 18 months. The city invested $4 million in taxpayer funds and grants to install roads, sewer, water lines, and other infrastructure, creating the Smokey Groves subdivision with 30 housing lots and 11 commercial lots. Since 2018, seven homes have been built in the subdivision. The municipal investment has strengthened the city's tax base while addressing housing shortages that prevented growth.

Tiny homes are being used to address the state’s homelessness crisis by providing a more permanent housing solution to those in need than tents or encampments. The city is currently operating 600 tiny homes and working to build more as they’ve seen a 10% decrease in the city’s unsheltered population. Of the 1,500 people who have lived in the tiny homes, 48% have moved on to permanent housing.

Charlotte's tight housing market can prove unaffordable to young professionals, with high rents equal to half a person's income. The "essential housing" niche, a middle ground between luxury homes and lower-cost "affordable" housing, provides an opportunity to economize on construction costs and pass those savings on to renters. Fewer apartment floor plan options and fancy amenities can translate into rents up to $700 less, a marketing strategy that has given the developer a strong rental business – and its younger customers a relative bargain in an expensive market.

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.

Eighteen "purpose built communities" across America have revitalized neighborhoods through a comprehensive approach that includes building mixed-income housing, providing better educational opportunities and offering health and wellness services. The model focuses on establishing a strong "cradle-to-college education pipeline" which attracts upper-income families and creates socio-economic diversity. Community centers, green spaces, and grocery stores all revitalize and bring new development to these neighborhoods. Rivercrest, a neighborhood in Montgomery, Alabama is seeking to replicate the model.

Minneapolis serves as a model for other cities as it addresses the affordable housing crisis by de-incentivizing the development of single-family houses. By changing zoning laws to benefit the construction of duplexes and triplexes, the city makes room for more low-income families to afford to live in city limits.