From Inman News Service
Despite seven decades of government sponsored affordable housing strategies and the shift of such programs from the federal level to the state and local levels, the nation remains in the grips of a growing affordable housing crisis with more than four million working families spending more than half their incomes on rent or mortgage payments.
Lack of income, and not housing inadequacy or overcrowding, is the primary barrier to affordable housing, according to a study recently released by the Brookings Institution and Urban Institute.
The study, “Rethinking Local Affordable Housing Strategies: Lessons from 70 Years of Policy and Practice,” aims to help state and local government develop successful housing policies that will avoid the pitfalls of past strategies, some of which were well-intentioned but detrimental because they created pockets of impoverished racially segregated neighborhoods, according to the study.
Past and current efforts to increase affordable rental housing, low-income home ownership and affordable housing through land use and regulations have produced mixed results promoting stable families and healthy communities, according to the study.
The success of future affordable housing agendas hinges on policies that aim to preserve and expand the supply of good-quality housing units, make existing housing more affordable and more readily available, promote racial and economic diversity in residential neighborhoods, help households build wealth, strengthen families, link housing with essential supportive services and promote balanced metropolitan growth, according to the study.
The study included a summary its most relevant findings:
• Effective, sustainable rental assistance programs that help the most needy families require deep subsidies, should avoid clustering affordable housing in low-income neighborhoods and include efforts to raise household incomes.
• Low-income home ownership programs, including improved access to mortgage credit and programs that educate potential home buyers on the pitfalls and benefits of home ownership, have increased the number of low-to middle-income homeowners. The programs should continue cautiously because promotion of home ownership in poor and distressed neighborhoods may not have had the hoped-for revitalization and stabilization effects and may prove costly for the families who have purchased such homes.
• Land use and other regulatory policies have profound effects on the location and supply of housing, yet regulatory policies are often neglected as potential tools for affordable housing. Traditional exclusionary land use and zoning policies, including banning multifamily home development and zoning for large lots, and growth controls can be big deterrents to building affordable housing. Planners should implement well-designed, regional growth management or land use strategies that use a mix of regulatory tools to increase the supply of affordable, multifamily housing and make way for higher densities, while also advancing other goals, including open-space protection, access to public transportation and central-city revitalization.
• The decentralization of jobs and residents is an ongoing pattern that has intensified over the past decade as more and more residents leave the cities for the suburbs. This shift reinforces the link between city and suburban health in shaping the growth and development patterns in metropolitan areas. Enabling low-income families to live closer to employment centers in the changing regional economy will help reduce commute time, meet employer need for workers and ameliorate other negative consequences associated with current metro growth plans.
• Lack of income remains the principal barrier to affordable housing and policies that help increase incomes can help alleviate the problem. Enhancing access to federal assistance, including the earned income tax credit, nutrition assistance, healthcare and childcare can help raise incomes.
• Federal affordable housing policies have contributed to residential segregation. While some progress has been made, long-established patterns of segregation continue to exist and local policymakers’ efforts to diversify communities are unlikely to succeed as long as the realities of segregation and ethnic inequalities are ignored.
• Implementation matters. Historical housing policies are replete with examples of well-intentioned policies that have produced harmful outcomes because of poor administration. Before launching new housing programs, policymakers should critically assess the implementing organizations’ operational capacity and ability to build effective partnerships. Clearly defined performance measures and systematic performance monitoring can strengthen implementation.