Sound Solutions for Tackling the Affordable Housing Crisis

As part of a series of editorials outlining the priorities President Obama should tackle in his second term, The New York Times looks at how the federal government could help support the increasing number of American's in need of housing assistance.

2 minute read

December 6, 2012, 7:00 AM PST

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


With "nearly nine million households teetering on the verge of homelessness," and recent congressional cutbacks to the nation's key federal programs for providing affordable housing, "[t]he administration obviously needs to do better" to relieve the country's crisis in affordable housing. Public housing needs have "grown significantly" during the recession. "Last year, for example, 8.5 million very-low-income families without housing assistance paid more than half their incomes for housing — an increase of 43 percent from 2007. These families skimp on food and medical care to make the rent and tend to move often, making it difficult for their children to be successful at school. They are also more prone to homelessness, which is traumatic for them and extremely costly for the municipalities that run shelters."

Yet the deepening crisis has flown beneath the administration radar thus far. "President Obama’s budget for the 2013 fiscal year is not much of an improvement; given inflation, Congress would have to increase appropriations just to keep treading water, when, in fact, what the poor in this country need is a significant jump."

The Times editors make note of several policy changes that could help bolster the main federal programs design to help low-income families find housing - "traditional public housing, for which the government provides operating expenses, plus two different programs under Section 8 of the housing law, in which rents are subsidized in privately owned properties."

Tuesday, December 4, 2012 in The New York Times

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Get top-rated, practical training

Wastewater pouring out from a pipe.

Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage

Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”

April 13, 2025 - Inside Climate News

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

2 hours ago - Diana Ionescu

Black and white photos of camp made up of small 'earthquake shacks' in Dolores Park in 1906 after the San Francisco earthquake.

The 120 Year Old Tiny Home Villages That Sheltered San Francisco’s Earthquake Refugees

More than a century ago, San Francisco mobilized to house thousands of residents displaced by the 1906 earthquake. Could their strategy offer a model for the present?

April 15, 2025 - Charles F. Bloszies

View of downtown Seattle with Space Needle and mountains in background

Seattle Voters Approve Social Housing Referendum

Voters approved a corporate tax to fund the city’s housing authority despite an opposition campaign funded by Amazon and Microsoft.

1 hour ago - Next City

Hot air balloons rise over Downtown Boise with the State Capitol building visible amidst the high rises.

The Five Most-Changed American Cities

A ranking of population change, home values, and jobs highlights the nation’s most dynamic and most stagnant regions.

1 hour ago - GoodMigrations

View of cars in traffic from behind with visible tailpipe emissions

USDOT Repeals Emissions Monitoring Rule

A Biden-era regulation required states to report and plan to reduce transportation-related emissions.

4 hours ago - Smart Cities Dive