Philadelphia Mayor Hopefuls Want More Affordable Housing on Vacant Lots

Candidates running for mayor of Philadelphia are touting vacant city-owned lots as one solution to the city’s affordable housing shortage, calling on the city to improve its “too complex and too slow” current process for building on vacant land. According to an article by Aarol Moselle for WHYY, a combination of Philadelphia city agencies owns roughly one-quarter of the 40,000 vacant lots in the city. But Philadelphia Land Bank executive director Angel Rodriguez “said it currently takes between four and seven months for a property to go to settlement, the final stage of a transaction where ownership of the property is legally transferred from the city to the buyer, usually either a private developer or a nonprofit.” Developers say this time frame makes it difficult to build new housing at a pace that will make an impact.

The city also has uniquely powerful councilmembers under what is known as councilmanic privilege, “longstanding and deep-rooted practice” in Philadelphia. “Any candidate running for mayor in Philadelphia must contend with that reality if they’re elected, particularly if their campaign is pushing for new affordable housing projects, which are viewed by advocates as a significant but not a singular solution to the ongoing housing crisis.”