Foreword
by Troy Anderson
While this election season has focused primarily on the economy, the war in Iraq, and who is best qualified to lead, there has been relatively little mention of one issue that has great bearing on many of the other crucial topics that will come up for debate – affordable housing.
Invariably, when I tell people outside the field that I work in affordable housing, their response is either “Habitat for Humanity?” or “What affordable housing?!” I suppose it’s all right that people don’t know the intricacies of how the housing market is made to serve the needs of our communities and our neighbors. It is understandable that people may not always identify the many advocates and organizations working in their communities to get loans made and homes built for working families, rentals affordable, homeless housed, and blight torn down. However, we should all understand the effects of this work.
First, there’s the “where” factor.Where you live determines the caliber of public education that kids in your neighborhood receive. It impacts your family’s safety. Where you live relates directly to the quality of the air you breathe, the price of gas you will pay, and the language people will speak at restaurants, gas stations, and voting booths.
Then, there’s “how." How much money you have saved is often determined by your home equity and the distance you travel to work. Don’t get me started on who, what, and why -- you get my point. Your home, your neighborhood, your savings, and your pursuit of happiness all directly inform numerous issues that our leaders will need to address. Ironically, many of these issues are relegated to the back pages rather than the national spotlight.
Housing does benefit from the work done on such critical matters as health, education, transportation, jobs, and other “big ticket” election issues. However, housing can also help solve some of the challenges of these issues. Thus, if the benefits from housing extend to other areas, perhaps a little more focus is warranted. With this hypothesis, we at KnowledgePlex asked Lora Engdahl, our stalwart Week in Review editor, to work on a summary piece on affordable housing, with the goal of getting people up to speed on the topic before the election. We knew the task would be big but, now, after reading it, it seems even bigger. Not only is foreclosure and subprime lending just one part of the affordable housing issue, it might not even be the biggest challenge before us.
In November, you will have the chance to determine the focus of this country’s next leadership on affordable housing and its wide-reaching implications. In this Special Report, we hope to provide you with some questions – and answers – to ponder before making your voice heard.
Troy
CEO, KnowledgePlex, Inc.
Hot-Button Housing Issues for Voters and Candidates
By Lora Engdahl, Editor, KnowlegePlex Week in Review
In this election season, foreclosures and the broader economic tailspin fueled by housing and credit market woes have cast a spotlight on housing. However, foreclosures and mortgage markets are just one piece of the housing puzzle that candidates and voters should consider. A whole range of housing and community development issues are affecting Americans, their communities, and the nation's overall economic and social health. This overview introduces some of those issues and the players who have long-shaped the way in which they are addressed.
More families are juggling rising food, gas, and utility costs with housing expenses, and they are taking an interest in the health of the massive infrastructure that provides habitation for nearly 302 million people nationwide. The shape of this housing infrastructure -- some 130 million housing units -- is greatly affected by responses to a range of critical questions.
What happens to low-wage workers and increasingly moderate-income workers like teachers and police officers, who cannot afford decent, safe housing in their communities? How do we make sure that fixed-income seniors or disabled people have roofs over their heads and adequate care? Do we shelter families that have temporarily fallen on hard times? Where do we house people with criminal records, mental health problems, or education deficits that make it hard to get or sustain employment? What do we do about distressed neighborhoods so lacking in jobs and other educational opportunities that they ill-prepare their residents for work? The way in which voters and their elected officials answer these and other questions will determine the number of Americans who will experience the nation's promise of equal opportunity. Where we live has much to do with who we can be and what we can achieve. It is the foundation for a stable family life, a solid education, and good health. A family who, after paying housing expenses, has enough left over to fund a child's education or save for a rainy day, is preparing the next generation for advancement. A child who grows up in safe, decent housing instead of substandard housing in a high-crime neighborhood is starting off on a better foot. The 2000 Census, however, found just over 25% of the low & low-moderate income population (those making 0 to 80% of area median income) paying 50% or more of their income on housing.
The sector that has grown up around the goal of strengthening the local housing infrastructure for lower-income Americans and their neighborhoods, and ensuring fair housing for all, is known as the "affordable housing and community development" (AH/CD) sector. For fiscal 2008, some $57 billion in federal appropriations and estimated tax expenditures were budgeted for this sector (see breakdown below). This federal outlay for affordable housing and community development supports many things: affordable housing construction; rental subsidies and home-buying assistance; housing and services for homeless individuals and families, including veterans; housing counseling; enforcement of fair housing and lending laws; and aid to distressed urban neighborhoods. Assistance goes to local projects and people through state and local governments, private investors and lenders, and nonprofits, each of whom add additional resources to the efforts. The amount of effort, engagement and organization that goes into the sector is vast and extends well beyond federal programs (see list of key organizations below).
Issues around how sector resources are distributed, who it helps, and where it goes have been debated in communities long before the current crisis began. Some AH/CD issues are being raised anew as economic distress spreads housing instability to more families. These issues will likely remain when the housing market has recovered. Americans will soon cast presidential ballots, as well as those for local and state officials. Thus, with an eye to the future, we are presenting some of the hot-button housing and community development issues that merit consideration when choosing our leaders.
