Faith-Based Housing Movement Grows

The growing ‘Yes in God’s Backyard’ movement is gaining support in faith-based communities around the country, reports Rachel M. Cohen in Vox, as more churches and faith institutions find themselves called to make an impact on the affordable housing crisis. According to Cohen, “The Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley estimates that, across California, there are more than 47,00 acres of land owned by faith-based organizations that could potentially be developed into affordable housing.”

“And amid a thicket of local land-use regulations that complicate the construction, some elected officials are looking for ways to nudge these efforts along.” Cities like San Diego have adjusted their zoning laws to allow places of worship to build housing on their properties, and California followed suit with the statewide Affordable Housing on Faith Lands Act.

Faith leaders are also interested in housing because congregations are declining, making church properties less useful. “Some religious institutions want to build housing as a new way to welcome strangers and care for poor people in their midst, while others are thinking more about their overall institutional legacy, especially as their membership continues to shrink.”