Affordable housing in the United States
The report's key figure, the "Housing Wage," reveals the hourly earnings necessary for full-time workers to afford fair market rental homes without exceeding 30% of their incomes.
The advent of "muckraking" journalism, led by reform-focused journalists in the early 1900s Progressive Era who were focused on exposing corruption and "the realities of the American people" to the public, helped shed new light on the issue of homelessness and displacement.
Riis's photography work revealed the deplorable living conditions of those occupying U.S. slums and tenements, drawing more public attention towards the issue of homelessness.
[20] The homelessness experience for individuals simultaneously coping with severe mental disorders is often intrinsically tied to the extended "institutional circuit"[21] intended to function as a solution to residential instability.
In a 1995 research study that interviewed applicants for a homeless shelter judged to be severely mentally ill in Westchester County, New York, researchers found that shelters functioned as "part of a more extended institutional circuit, as a temporary source of transitional housing, as a surrogate for exhausted support from kin, and as a haphazard resource in essentially nomadic lives.
"[21] This perpetuation of short-term countermeasures to homelessness, all while de-prioritizing long-term options for stable and appropriate housing, raises the issue of whether shelters and existing institutional models are fully addressing the needs of mentally ill clients who have been displaced or houseless.
HOLC and FHA conducted extensive evaluations of neighborhoods to assess their investment risk, a practice known as "redlining," which took into consideration the racial composition of residents.
The report's key figure, the "Housing Wage," reveals the hourly earnings necessary for full-time workers to afford fair market rental homes without exceeding 30% of their incomes.
Eligibility considers various factors such as household income, size, composition, citizenship status, assets, and essential expenses like healthcare and childcare.
[31] An analysis based upon in-depth interviews with 67 low-income Black mothers living in subsidized housing in Houston, Texas found that property owners and landlords often disproportionately surveil minority tenants.
The surveillance that these mothers describe within their residences results in a lack of privacy within the home, increases the likelihood of eviction, and intensifies their financial struggles.
[33] Inclusionary zoning policies aim to promote socioeconomic diversity within communities and ensure that affordable housing is integrated into areas with a mix of income levels.
[34] Inclusionary housing policies were initially designed to counteract the impact of "exclusionary zoning" practices that reinforced economic and racial segregation.
Through this program, developers receive tax credits in exchange for agreeing to rent a portion of their units to low-income tenants at reduced rates.
[36] Eligibility for these tax credits necessitates that the proposed development either encompasses new construction or involves substantial refurbishment of residential units.
[38] In terms of benefits of the LIHTC program, a 2011 analysis published in the Housing Policy Debate journal found that increases in the use of tax credits are linked to reductions in racial segregation in metropolitan areas.
[41] Assessing the impact of rent control on its ability to promote stability for individuals residing in rent-controlled units has predominantly shown positive outcomes.
Additionally, city blocks or neighborhoods can be deemed mixed-income when they encompass a variety of housing options affordable to individuals spanning various income brackets.
[47] Allocating more units for higher-income residents in mixed-income spaces has been shown to enhance maintenance and amenities, fostering economic diversity by competing with market-rate developments.
[48] However, research challenges the assumption that integrating lower-income and higher-income households significantly strengthens social connections within these developments, indicating limited interaction across income groups and no substantial changes in the economic status of assisted housing families.
In 2018, California voted on Proposition 10, which would have lifted state regulations on rent control and allowed local jurisdictions to set their own policies.
The cost of rent and availability of these units for residents will remain consistent, as the city has put in place provisions to make them affordable for at least 55 years.
[63] The new housing project aimed to provide a low-rent area for residents who work downtown but who are unable to live near their workplace because of the high costs.
[62] In 2021, Governor Newsom’s $110 billion California Comeback Plan, which included the passing of Senate Bills 8, 9, and 10, was an attempt to help mitigate the current housing crisis.
[66] While local governance bodies such as the Zoning Adjustment Board (ZAB) have worked to introduce reforms to policies such as single-family zoning in an effort to improve housing affordability, the growing homeless population within the Bay Area also points to shortfalls in addressing the intersection of homelessness with issues of mental illness, anti-homeless sentiments and racial discrimination.
Finding affordable housing affects a large portion of the city's population including low-income, moderate-income, and even median income families.
[67] Several federal and state initiatives have targeted this problem, but have failed to provide enough affordable, inclusive, and sustainable housing for New York City residents.
