The Genesis of a Medium-Sized City's Affordable Housing Strategy

Bradenton, a medium-sized city on the Gulf Coast of Florida, offers a case study in affordable housing policy.

1 minute read

October 29, 2016, 7:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Bradenton Florida

Famed inventor Powel Crosley made a winter home in Bradenton, Florida, pictured here. | Steve Carroll / Shutterstock

Mark Young reports from the city of Bradenton about the efforts of Catherine Hartley, the city's director of planning and community development, to streamline the city's codes to prioritize affordable housing.

Hired in April, Hartley has spoken consistently for the need to tackle the issue of affordable housing. Next month, the city council will begin to put some of those words to action by hosting "a series of workshops to streamline codes to make [affordable housing] easier."

Hartley is also pushing for incentive programs for affordable housing developers as well as for low-income families to "purchase and renovate vacant homes within the city as part of an infill development program."

Affordable housing standards under federal and state guidelines are income-based, so Hartley would like to see the city push toward a possible home buying assistance program using existing grant programs like the community development block grant and State Housing Initiative Partnership program.

Hartley and the city of Bradenton are also looking to the model provided by their home county of Manatee, which recently "reappointed 11 members to its affordable housing advisory board," and in September, "the committee began looking at the county’s codes in the same way the city will now do."

Sunday, October 23, 2016 in Bradenton Herald

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

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

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.

July 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

July 14, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Worker in yellow safety vest and hard hat looks up at servers in data center.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power

Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

July 18 - Inside Climate News

Former MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood standing in front of MARTA HQ with blurred MARTA sign visible in background.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns

MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

July 18 - WABE

Rendering of proposed protected bikeway in Santa Clara, California.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant

A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.

July 17 - San José Spotlight