As owners of valuable urban real estate, some churches are taking up the mandate to serve their community by using their vacant properties to provide housing for people being priced out of their homes.
A project that will provide 12 units of affordable housing on property owned by the Genesis Worship Center in East Oakland "is an early example of a wave of similar projects breaking ground at faith-based institutions across the country," writes Patrick Sisson in Reasons to be Cheerful. The $2.5 million complex "not only provides the church with another way of serving the community, but helps support the ministry during a trying time for urban churches."
Because they own and control their properties, "often located in the middle of residential areas," churches "are uniquely positioned to help solve the affordable housing crisis," writes Sisson. "A 2020 report by Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation found roughly 38,800 acres of developable land in California owned by religious institutions, a combined plot the size of the city of Stockton, with 45 percent located in the state’s highest resource area (neighborhoods with lower poverty rates and greater economic and educational amenities) and 256 acres located near public transit."
To assist in the process, "a constellation of programs have taken shape to help other church leaders do what [Bishop] Matthews did, teaching them the ins and outs of development timelines, construction and housing regulations. The Bay Area chapter of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution, runs a program that is investing $1 million to train religious leaders, connect them to developers and provide small grants to get them started." In California, "a bill that’s repeatedly been introduced and defeated in the state legislature, SB899, would give faith institutions the ability to build 100 percent affordable housing on their land “by right,” meaning they could skip the often onerous zoning approval process."
FULL STORY: Churches Are Becoming Players in Making Cities More Affordable
Affordable Housing Production Grinds to a Halt During Pandemic
Just when the nation needs a functional market for affordable housing, the industry that builds affordable housing supply has stopped functioning, like to many other parts of the economy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Seven Ideas for Tackling the Housing Crisis
One expert's take on the housing crisis and which policy solutions might best counter it.
Locals Vehemently Oppose Venice Beach Homeless Housing
The controversies about homelessness in what was once a beach community full of hippies and surfers has boiled over in response to a large proposed development of supportive housing on a surface parking lot owned by the city.
Georgia's First Tiny Home Village Now Open, and Sold Out
Eight single-family houses on a half-acre of land.
Arizona's Tallest Building Will Soon Be Vacant
The tallest building in the Grand Canyon State will enter a new era.
It's Good to Be a Small Business in These 6 U.S. Cities
Here are six U.S. cities where small companies are thriving.
Nelson\Nygaard Consulting Associates
Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Agency/City of Chattanooga
City of Willits
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
HUD's Office of Policy Development and Research
Valley Vision
Jefferson County
City of Greensburg
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Hand Drawing Master Plans
This course aims to provide an introduction into Urban Design Sketching focused on how to hand draw master plans using a mix of colored markers.
