The Emerald City's affordable housing difficulties mirror those of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and others: too much demand and too few resources.
David Kroman weighs in on why affordable housing is difficult to come by in Seattle, where rents have risen out of range for lower earners. While steps have been taken to address the shortage, steadily rising prices and bureaucratic snags have exacerbated the problem.
Recently, "Mayor Ed Murray's Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda (HALA) taskforce has set out to add 20,000 affordable units over the next ten years, a two-thirds increase from Seattle's current stock." This goal is an admitted "stretch," even though it probably falls short of the city's need.
Kroman describes how affordable development plans in Seattle face opposition from NIMBYs, difficult approval processes, and a general lack of enthusiasm from profit-minded developers. Seattle's situation—vast need and limited resources—mirrors the situation of high-rent cities across the nation.
FULL STORY: Why it’s so hard to build truly affordable housing in Seattle
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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.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
New York City School Construction Authority
Village of Glen Ellyn
Central Transportation Planning Staff/Boston Region MPO
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions