Low-Income Housing: A Case Study

Housing in Toronto is at an all time high, through research found it has become apparent that there is a significant problem with affordable housing. Although finding affordable housing is not necessarily impossible, those who are lucky enough to find affordable accommodations end up with other issues that are beyond their control such as pests and property maintenance issues. Many families living in Toronto are considered middle class and could easily afford to live anywhere else, the rent prices are too steep in the city for them to afford. The city is growing at a healthy rate and there is already a significantly high homeless rate in the city. The purpose of this proposal is to introduce a few organizations that have plans to help this

The Lack of Affordable Housing in California Lowers the Quality of Life for its Residents

Affordable housing has become the paramount issue of cities and dense urban areas. San Francisco is the posterchild of an unaffordable city that regardless of immense investment from blue chip firms like Google, Facebook, and their ilk of startups evaluated at $1 billion or more, policymakers and elected officials must wrestle with the housing affordability crisis that is considered endogenous to swaths of homelessness and record statistics on crime. In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio has made affordable housing the centerpiece of his legislation and championed the cause as a social justice issue—neighborhoods must remain affordable to maintain diversity for all races, ethnicities, and low-income families. A small sample of 827 New Yorkers by the NY1-Baruch College City Poll found the main concern of respondents was affordable housing while crime, jobs, and homelessness were peripheral problems (Cuza, 2016). The public discourse on how to address housing across the United States has pointed to negative externalities that surround rent-regulation and homeownership. Conversely, for this essay I will present various cases in order to illustrate the housing crunch is influenced less by housing and land regulations, or antagonistic homeowners but is induced by global market forces.

This all seems great, a savior program that allows people who cannot afford to pay rent normally. Section 8 is utilized by the elderly, disabled, and families with and without children but is it really a golden program? Stated above, section 8 provides for vouchers for all types of apartments and even condos in certain states; however, are these opportunities open to all races? 41.6 percent of African Americans are on housing assistance programs, as in this county’s displaced history on minorities, the voucher program produces elements that affect minorities. Although African Americans make up the overall higher percentage when it comes to housing assistance programs, according to National Low-Income Housing Coalition, surprisingly Caucasians make up 49 percent of the project-based section 8. Yet, National Low-Income Housing Coalition mentions that African Americans as of 2010 shows that black and Hispanic public housing residents are four times more likely than their Caucasian counterparts public housing residents to live in high-poverty neighborhoods. Black and Hispanic voucher recipients are about three times as likely as their white counterparts to live in high-poverty neighborhoods. Analyzing this data; furthermore, as of 2010, 28 percent of white voucher recipients live in the lowest poverty neighborhoods! Reviewing this data Caucasians obtains overall nationwide more voucher approvals that African Americans living in the highest of poverty neighborhoods and that comes

In the first step of establishing a plan for impoverished children residing in section 8 communities housing would be to identify the problem. In order to understand a plan that needs to be made for the human rights and social and economic justice for these individuals, there must be an understanding of what aspect of their rights and justice is not already being met by society. After establishing what is the problem, having an understanding of why it’s a problem helps better set up the next step of collecting information on that issue and coming to a conclusion of how it happened to gain a better angle of how to solve it. In order to have an effective advocacy plan, we need to do research on finding out what is not being offered to them that is being offered to other children that are not residing in impoverished section 8 housing. If better and

New Hope Housing likely had strengths related to their employee development program, their effectiveness in housing people in need, and their niche for ensuring individuals who would typically be rejected housing. Some of their weaknesses likely related to their secured funding and current dependence on government funding. Some of their opportunities relate to finding solutions for permanent housing, as this is currently a struggle for the people they serve. Lastly, their threats likely also have to do with their government funding. As budgets change, money is moved around and can impact this organization for the better or for the worse.

Housing First, Consumer Choice, and Harm Reduction for Homeless Individuals with a Dual Diagnosis. American Journal of Public Health, 94 (4), 651-656 . Retrieved June 14, 2008, from database.

As gentrification of housing stress continues, Local Government Areas (LGA) will lose lower income groups and assimilate into a predominance of higher income groups, effectively homogenizing the population and decreasing diversity. This trend will drive the housing market price up, decrease housing affordability and deter outsiders into joining the community. The existing housing units will experience financial hardships, housing stress, and a gradual deprivation of a means to cope with increasing basic living costs. In order to combat this ongoing issue, speculative approaches by the City have been in consideration.¬¬¬¬

Furthermore, it also represents a great compromised to those who advocate for it, because while communities might be facing the changes done by it, there would still be parcels of land entrusted to community stewardship. Right now Austin is currently just doing single plots of land, but what if other trusts invested in whole city blocks or neighborhoods? Such in areas like Detroit, where housing is affordable and in need of community investment that will give back, whole areas could be possibly saved from losing their character and identity in the process. This is in a way, responsible gentrification because individual communities themselves as well as their residents taking control of their communities and not outside speculators. According of Melora Hiller the executive director of the Community Land Trust Network, other cities such as Baltimore, Maryland are forming trusts to turn vacant homes for the homeless, so not only are these helping the alleviate the fears of lower income people they are also helping to fight back against a social issues that have long been ignored. Therefore, this source was very informative for my paper, because it helped to shape my part of my solution for gentrification, which is we need more individuals and communities to take

Currently the entities developed to increase the success of at-risk populations in San Antonio are dependent upon local, state, federal, and private funding. Research shows that stable housing is an essential part of creating a positive and fluid transition. Although the federal and state governments have created legislation and programs to assist state and local governments ability to provide services for at-risk populations, they are not complete. As a part of community development, Traditional Neighborhood Developments (TNDs) and Transit-Oriented Development (TODs) have been used to revitalize the neighborhood/community through the enhancing the built environment. The idea is that by enhancing and transforming one’s physical environment, you are creating an environment that promotes and nurtures healthy, sustainable, and affordable living. Aside from those services devoted to alleviating current community afflictions, this paper illustrates the possible benefits that combining the elements of TNDs and TODs may have for at-risk populations.

The Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative is a perfect example of such efforts in Boston, Massachusetts. The neighborhood was plighted with all the aforementioned disadvantages, such as red lining, burnt down houses, and then the empty lots became a dumping grounds. Through the neighborhoods efforts, they raised awareness of their issue and got changes in policy to prevent dumping. They also utilized imminent domain to reclaim the abandoned lots in their neighborhood and then through the creation of their own Community Development Corporation were able to build new affordable housing in its place. Though all this, they were also able to get banks to reinvest in the area so they can continue to develop. Other cities can and have utilized similar methods and practices but the results are deeply dependent on the participation of community members and the willingness of the city to assist. DSNI was able to circumnavigate the city’s lack of cooperation in investing through the creation of their

This report is concerned with the connection between homelessness its historical framework and the governance of the pervasive ‘victim blaming’ ideologies and the social issues it brings to society. Structural issues create different risk levels among certain populations. (Heinz, 2005, p. 61) The homeless have been regarded historically as objects of empathy and disparagement in the media, political, and the economic domains. (Farrugia, 2011a) These sentiments are tied to how homeless people view ideologies of productivity, personhood, and stability within the culture of Australia. (Heinz, 2005, p. 61) This study inspects how these ideologies are associated with the relationship amongst the capitalist economy, and homeless

This book generates a needed discussion about the issue of poverty, housing, discrimination, and the role an eviction plays the devastating downward-spiral that most often effects women and children who are already an economically the edge, the truth about the renter’s conditions in American society, and numerous other problems that

Matthew Desmond believes that the alternative, a public housing building program, would not work but by bringing in better rent regulation and controlling the greed of landlords might be solve the poverty in low income neighborhood. Also by improving wages and providing decent benefits while reducing the huge tax subsidies handed out annually to the rich.

In today’s society, it may seem that gentrification can eliminate poverty and increase neighborhood opportunities. Low-income residents and property owners will be the first to be altered by gentrification. In an email to the editor at the Atlantic, Freeman, the director of the Urban Planning program at Columbia states “ Gentrification brings new amenities and services that benefit not only the newcomers but long term residents too. Full service