The solutions for the U.S. housing crisis caused by the economic wreckage of COVID-19 will also provide relief in the future, according to this article.
"There’s never been a more urgent moment for big, bold, public action on housing," writes Dan Bertolet, who includes ideas on exactly how the federal government could achieve that kind of big, bold action to help alleviate the pre-existing housing affordability and homelessness crisis with the COVID-19-induced crisis of paying rent and mortgages while most of the nation is staying home and millions are suddenly out of work.
Bertolet's first recommendation is for the federal government to "put public funds toward direct financial support for those who are most vulnerable to losing their homes right when they need those homes the most: renters."
The second recommendation is for the federal government to stop funding cities that "impose zoning laws that reserve close-in neighborhoods near jobs and transit only for the most expensive homes, pushing lower income workers out to the margins."
Bertolet provides a lot more detail on each of these recommendations, echoing previous calls for crisis level funding for the federal housing voucher program as well as examining the recent and current legislative efforts to achieve the land use reforms of the second recommendation.
According to Bertolet, these two approaches represent a "one-two punch" for the housing crises of the past, present, and future.
FULL STORY: A FEDERAL ONE-TWO PUNCH TO PROTECT RENTERS—PANDEMIC AND BEYOND
'The Affordable City' Offers Solutions for the U.S. Housing Affordability Crisis
An excerpt from the new book by Shane Phillips, "The Affordable City," published by Island Press.
A New, Renter-Friendly Politics Emerges
There are signs that politicians at every level are responding to the concerns of renters like never before. If only renter-friendly housing policies were matters of simple consensus.
Biden Wants to Incentivize Inclusionary Zoning
Traditionally the purview of local governments, single-family zoning has come under fire as ‘exclusionary.’ Now, the federal government wants to encourage cities to loosen restrictions.
Depopulation Patterns Get Weird
A recent ranking of “declining” cities heavily features some of the most expensive cities in the country — including New York City and a half-dozen in the San Francisco Bay Area.
California Exodus: Population Drops Below 39 Million
Never mind the 40 million that demographers predicted the Golden State would reach by 2018. The state's population dipped below 39 million to 38.965 million last July, according to Census data released in March, the lowest since 2015.
Chicago to Turn High-Rise Offices into Housing
Four commercial buildings in the Chicago Loop have been approved for redevelopment into housing in a bid to revitalize the city’s downtown post-pandemic.
DC Bikeshare System Breaks Ridership Record
Capital Bikeshare users took over 20,000 rides on one day in March.
EV Infrastructure Booming in Suburbs, Cities Lag Behind
A lack of access to charging infrastructure is holding back EV adoption in many US cities.
Seattle Road Safety Advocates Say Transportation Levy Perpetuates Car-Centric Status Quo
Critics of a proposed $1.3 billion transportation levy say the package isn’t enough to keep up with inflation and rising costs and fails to support a shift away from car-oriented infrastructure.
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