<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0On8tY_0w7a7kcr00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0On8tY_0w7a7kcr00" width="1200" height="799" ></figure><h2> How the Nation’s Most Populous State Missed Its Housing Targets and What the Rest of the U.S. Can Learn to Avoid Similar Failures. </h2><p> Affordable housing is on nearly every voter’s mind this year. A recent <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://bipartisanpolicy.org/blog/opinions-on-housing-affordability-poll/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank"> poll from </a> the National Housing Conference and Morning Consult found that 74% of voters believe the lack of affordable housing is a “significant problem” in the United States. These concerns have echoed across the campaign trail as both presidential candidates regularly field questions about how they will work to make housing more affordable for regular Americans. </p><nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate><p> Americans’ concerns about affordable housing are well-placed. Estimates show a <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://nlihc.org/gap" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank"> shortage of 7.3 million affordable homes </a> . Meanwhile, rents and home prices continue to climb, putting pressure on low-income families. </p><p> Nowhere is the issue starker than in <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://invisiblepeople.tv/californias-housing-crisis-86-cant-comfortably-afford-san-francisco/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank"> California </a> . </p><p> Since March 2020, home prices in California have increased by 40% up to a median price of $818,100, according to Redfin. That is far beyond the 15% increase in the state’s median household income over the same time period. </p><p> California renters also spend an average of 28% of their income on rent, which is the highest in the nation, a study by Forbes Home found. On top of that, data from the National Low Income Housing Coalition shows the state has a shortage of more than 970,000 affordable homes for its extremely low-income earning renters, or those who earn about $33,000 per year. </p><nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate><h3> California’s Efforts to Address the Affordable Housing Crisis </h3><p> To their credit, California leaders have been working to build more affordable housing. Altogether, the state hopes to create more than 1 million affordable homes by the end of the decade. To that end, Gov. Gavin Newsom strengthened the state’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation law to <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://invisiblepeople.tv/california-sues-elk-grove-after-city-denies-supportive-housing-project-for-homeless-people/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank"> increase penalties </a> for cities and counties that fail to produce enough affordable housing. Local leaders have also stepped in to create incentive programs for developers to pursue affordable housing projects. </p><p> But these efforts continue to fall short. A recent study by the California Housing Partnership, a nonprofit think tank that advises state agencies on housing issues, found that the state’s current toolkit can produce just 531,000 affordable homes over the next ten years. A majority of these homes—accounting for about 371,000 of the total—would be located in Southern California, which has several of the nation’s most expensive housing markets. </p><nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate><p> “If State leaders do not substantially increase current levels of funding, this capacity will not translate into actual production of affordable homes, leaving regions even further behind in meeting their production goals,” the study concluded. </p><h3> Lessons for the U.S. from California’s Shortfalls </h3><p> California’s failure to produce enough affordable housing illustrates lessons that many U.S. leaders need to learn if they want to increase their stock of affordable units. </p><p> First, building more affordable homes must be led from the bottom up. California has been trying to force local jurisdictions to build more affordable units through legal coercion. However, this approach has largely resulted in costly lawsuits that delay housing construction. </p><nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate><p> Instead of legislating the issue, California leaders should rethink the RHNA process and ask local communities what kind of housing units they need. From there, state leaders should create incentive programs tailored to create the housing each jurisdiction needs. This process must be a conversation between community members, elected officials, and developers. No one party needs to dominate the conversation. </p><p> California’s failures regarding affordable housing also show how politics can infect even the most well-meaning policy initiatives. No one deserves to live without a home, but politics makes it seem like some people are less deserving of a home than others. &nbsp;That should not be the case. </p><p> Affordable housing needs to be discussed similarly to road projects and airport upgrades. Housing is infrastructure. It is the glue that holds communities together. Community residents would not be able to build relationships with one another without a safe and affordable home to return to each night. </p><nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate><p> Lastly, affordable housing plans must consider the broader impacts of developments, not just the number of homes that will be constructed at certain price points. That’s why Housing California’s Roadmap Home 2030 plan calls on leaders to focus on “safety, stability, and community” as foundations as they work to build about 1 million affordable homes. </p><h3> Consider the Broader Impacts of Development </h3><p> The impact of new developments can be massive. A <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://nlihc.org/resource/new-construction-has-mixed-short-term-effect-rents-immediate-vicinity#:~:text=A%20working%20paper%20from%20scholars,serve%20as%20a%20comparison%20group." rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank"> study </a> by the University of Minnesota found that new construction can raise rents on lower-priced units for up to two years after a project is completed. Meanwhile, a report from the Government Accountability Office found that every $100 increase in rent results in a 9% increase in local homelessness. Taken together, this shows the need to consider how development will impact a local community outside of the raw housing unit counts. </p><nbtemplate data-id="AdPlaceholder" data-content="JTdCJTdE"></nbtemplate><h3> Support Policies to End Homelessness </h3><p> Now is not the time to be silent about homelessness in California or anywhere else. Unhoused people deserve safe and sanitary housing just as much as those who can afford rent or mortgage. </p><p> Poverty and homelessness are both policy choices, not personal failures. That’s why we need you to <a class="editor-rtfLink" href="https://invisiblepeople.tv/talk-to-your-legislators" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank"> contact your officials </a> and tell them you support legislation that: </p><ul><li> Streamlines the development of affordable housing </li><li> Reduces barriers for people experiencing homelessness to enter permanent housing </li><li> Bolsters government response to homelessness </li></ul><p> Together, we can end homelessness. </p><p> The post <a href="https://invisiblepeople.tv/californias-affordable-housing-struggles-a-cautionary-tale-for-u-s-leaders/" rel="nofollow"> California’s Affordable Housing Struggles: A Cautionary Tale for U.S. Leaders </a> appeared first on <a href="https://invisiblepeople.tv" rel="nofollow"> Invisible People </a> . </p></div></body>

Mountain View, CA

How the Nation’s Most Populous State Missed Its Housing Targets and What the Rest of...