The Housing Dividend

"The Denver Mayors' Forum, and indeed, many discussions today focus on the needs of working people (municipal employees, secretaries, clerks, entry-level firefighters and police officers, nurses, and teachers, for example) whose incomes are above 50 percent of AMI but who still are not earning enough to purchase their own housing near their places of work. Their problem, according to keynoter John McIlwain, a senior resident fellow for housing at ULI, is that the housing they can afford usually is located far out on the suburban fringe where development costs are lower, which creates inordinately long commutes for them... Inclusionary housing policies are most successful when regulatory requirements are balanced with incentives to address the workforce needs of citizens too well off to qualify for public assistance but unable to afford to buy into an expensive real estate market. A metropolitan approach works best and should account for a balance of jobs and housing, integrated land use and transportation planning, and other comprehensive economic development strategies."

Thanks to Urban Land Magazine