Creating Problem Statement Week 4 Notes
How do municipal planning authorities promote affordable housing in densifying cities? To
answer this research question, we apply a neoinstitutionalist analysis approach and proceed in
two steps to better understand
(1) the basic mechanisms of how policy instruments impact affordability, and (2) why local
planners activate specific instruments to defend housing affordability objectives
Housing affordability refers to a situation in which households are able to pay a certain
percentage of their income for housing costs so that they will have enough left for other
necessities of life (Stone 2006).
Housing is a resource that is economically significant. Traded on the free market, housing is a
commodity with enormous economic potential which is why it is often treated as a highly
valued collateral. Especially in cities, where demand for housing is high and the potential for
capital accumulation is lucrative, the competition between actors interested in using urban
land for housing is rising and rents constantly increase (Aalbers 2017:543-544). In addition, in
many cities, the prohibition to build outside municipal boundaries and the obligation to densify
within the built environment has even reinforced this competition. Due to scarce land
resources, the prices for land and the housing stocks which are built on intensively increase
(Burton 2000:1976). we analyzed the municipal authorities’ strategies when activating specific
policy instruments for affordable housing provision
Debrunner, G., & Hartmann, T. (2020). Strategic use of land policy instruments for affordable
housing – Coping with social challenges under scarce land conditions in Swiss cities. Land Use
Policy, 99, 104993. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104993
Although the coalition’s work began in raising awareness
about risks arising from displacement due to HUD building contracts expiring, its work was
altered by COVID-19. This article thus outlines how community-based initiatives were
involved in protecting older residents from risks at the intersections of poverty, housing, and
health amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Perry, T. E., Kilgore, Z., Appel, M., Watkins, M., Sanford, C., & Archambault, D. (2021). Affordable
senior housing maintenance and renovations, COVID-19, and the precarity of residents' health
safety. Generations (San Francisco, Calif.), 45(2), 1-12.
Many concerns for the health and well-being of residents during building renovations are
timeless. Information should be communicated to residents keeping in mind literacy levels
and communication modality (email, paper delivery under door, signs posted in hallways,
telephone calls, linguistic use among residents). Also, if residents are going to live in the
same unit throughout construction, mitigation of dust and noise that can contribute to the
exacerbation of existing health concerns, particularly asthma, must be incorporated into
plans.
Perry, T. E., Kilgore, Z., Appel, M., Watkins, M., Sanford, C., & Archambault, D. (2021). Affordable
senior housing maintenance and renovations, COVID-19, and the precarity of residents' health
safety. Generations (San Francisco, Calif.), 45(2), 1-12.
First, there is enormous unmet need for affordable rental housing for older adults. Over 10
million households headed by someone 65 and over are cost burdened (paying more than a
third of their income on housing); half of these pay more than 50 percent. Nearly three-quarters
of renters earning under $15,000 per year are cost burdened. To compensate, households often
cut back on food and medical care, which can be detrimental for those with chronic health
conditions. Renters, often on fixed incomes, are particularly at risk of rising housing costs, and
have a much smaller personal safety net: in 2019, the median older renter had a net wealth
under $6,000.
At last measure, over 2.2 million older, very low-income renter households had “worst case
housing needs,” defined as having severe cost burdens, living in severely inadequate housing, or
both. Only 36 percent of income-eligible older adults receive federal housing assistance, and
trends point to greater demand for support in the coming years: the number of income-eligible
households will increase with population growth and widening income disparities, and
rentership rates are rising, in part because people now nearing retirement were particularly
hard hit by the foreclosure crisis. Expanding rental assistance can provide needed stability to
these households—and also help address a growing homelessness crisis among older adults.
Affordability challenges are disproportionately felt by older people of color. Longstanding
disparities in access to well-paying jobs and homeownership opportunities have resulted in
steep gaps in homeownership with white households and greater financial insecurity,
particularly for older Black and Hispanic households.
Second, very little of the nation’s housing stock offers even the most basic of accessibility
features. Our analysis shows that less than 4 percent of homes offer a no-step entry, single-floor
living, and wide enough doors and hallways to accommodate a wheelchair. Older people are
also most likely to report difficulties entering, navigating, and using different parts of their
homes. Support is needed for renters and property owners, as well as older homeowners, to
make modifications and maintain housing in safe condition.
Third, the need for assistance and services that support older adults with activities of daily living
and household tasks is escalating. Service-enriched affordable housing has been shown to
support independence—and reduce healthcare costs—but need outstrips supply. Demand will
grow for supports and services delivered to middle-income older adults who typically cannot
afford assisted living settings.
Fourth, our research shows that many older adults live in places that lack livability features,
such as neighborhood services, transportation alternatives, safe streets, and opportunities for
engagement. These all contribute to wellbeing, and can even combat isolation and loneliness,
both serious health issues in their own right.
Housing options are an important part of livability, particularly for those seeking to remain in
their communities when their current home no longer fits their needs. Options can be few in
high-cost locations and in suburban and rural communities dominated by single-family homes,
in part due to zoning barriers. And as the pandemic has highlighted, expanding access to
broadband in older adults’ homes is critical, especially for low-income households and rural
locations.
We can address these challenges with comprehensive and coordinated policies to build,
preserve, and retrofit affordable housing; assist owners and landlords with accessibility
modifications; and connect housing with services and transportation. We can ensure that the
oldest people in our nation have housing that provides a sound foundation for a good quality of
life. But the time to act is now—the need is already great and will only become more so.
Molinsky, J. (2022, August 18). Housing for America’s Older Adults: Four Problems We Must
Address. https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/blog/housing-americas-older-adults-four-problems-we-
must-address
As the general population continues to rapidly grow and live longer, challenges and
opportunities will arise for us as a nation to address the affordable housing crisis facing
thousands of seniors in the United States. According to the Department of Health and Human
Services Administration for Community Living (ACL), in 2014 there were over 46 million
Americans 65-year-old and over-a 28 percent increase since 2004. In 2020, 16 percent of the
nation's population will 65 and over and that share will increase to comprise 19 percent of the
total US population by 2030. Growth projections indicate as each day goes by an estimated
10,000 more Americans reach age 65.
López, A. (2017). Beyond the Housing Crisis: Affordable Housing as a Platform to Address Issues
Affecting Our Growing Senior Population. Harvard Journal of Hispanic Policy, 29, 63-75.
https://go.openathens.net/redirector/liberty.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-
journals/beyond-housing-crisis-affordable-as-platform/docview/1924498528/se-2
Hence, moving to cheaper suburban areas has remained the only option for many vulnerable
and lower income groups
Such concerns complicate passing changes in zoning policy. Thus, for policy, it is essential to
study the local effects of relaxing zoning regulations to understand whether these concerns are
warranted.
González-Pampillón, N. (2022). Spillover effects from new housing supply. Regional Science and
Urban Economics, 92, 103759. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.regsciurbeco.2021.103759
In the urban housing sector, for example, the compact city may improve public transport use,
while at the same time it is likely to mean less domestic living space and a lack of affordable
housing. A rising number of tenants suffer from social eviction, contract termination and
dismissal due rent increase after modernization as a direct consequence of urban densification
(Burton 2003; Chiu, 2003; Bramley et al. 2009).
Debrunner, G., & Hartmann, T. (2020). Strategic use of land policy instruments for affordable
housing – Coping with social challenges under scarce land conditions in Swiss cities. Land Use
Policy, 99, 104993. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104993
Keller, T., & Alsdorf, K. L. (2012).Every good endeavor: Connecting your work to God’s work. New
York, NY: E.P. Dutton. ISBN: 9780525952701.
King James Bible. (2021). King James Bible Online.https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/(Original
work published 1769).
Recurrent shocks — be it geopolitical instability, pandemics, financial crises or climate change
and climate transition effects — pose difficulties to permanently ensure a prosperous economy.
This issue is even more pronounced among Black and Hispanic households, leading to
significant gaps between White and non-White households (Harvard
JCHS, Citation2020).Footnote1
Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies. (2020). The state of the nation’s housing
2020. Harvard University Report.
https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/reports/files/Harvard_JCHS_The_State_of_the
_Nations_Housing_2020_
These affordability disparities are especially dire given these groups’ historical and ongoing
marginalization (R. S. Baker, Brady, Parolin, & Williams, Citation2021; Williams &
Baker, Citation2021), and that housing (in)security is an underlying driver of ethnoracial
disparities in general (Desmond, Citation2012).
Socially, housing plays a monumental role in tackling poverty, promoting
social mobility and improving living conditions. Economically, housing could
be a significant source of wealth to an individual and to a nation
A rule-of-thumb for affordable housing is that low-income households would spend no more
than 30% of their income on housing (Friedman and Rosen, 2018).
The severe shortage of affordable homes for the lowest-income renters is systemic, affecting
every state and metropolitan area. Without public subsidy, the private market is unable to
produce new rental housing affordable to these households because the rents that the
lowestincome households can afford to pay typically do not cover the development costs and
operating expenses of such housing.
Smith (2017) stated that many high level leaders struggle with effectively projecting an
engaging vision for a new initiative which makes it difficult to gain employee buy-in.
In a recent study, Jones (2015) found that employee buy-in was the most critical
determining factor in projecting future success of organizational change.
Proverbs 3:5 (King James Bible, 1979/2017) states, "Trust
