Affordable Housing Needs Assessed Ahead of Cincinnati's May Election

Cincinnati voters will consider the controversial and consequential Issue 3 at the ballot box next week, potentially guaranteeing $50 million in annual funding for the city's Housing Trust Fund.

Supporters and opponents of Issue 3 have been arguing the point for months now, as documented by Planetizen in March.

Analysis by Dan Horn for the Cincinnati Enquirer digs into one of the sources of the controversy surrounding Issue 3: disagreement about how much affordable housing Cincinnati needs.

"Much of the debate has focused on a 2017 study that estimated Cincinnati needs about 28,000 more affordable housing units for poor and working-class families. A competing analysis recently asserted the number is closer to 8,000 units," according to Horn.

"The Enquirer tackled the affordable housing question with a different approach last year," adds Horn, producing the conclusion that 88,000 Cincinnatians are in danger of losing their homes due to cost concerns every month.