Thank you Nicholas for posting this article! Too many people have no idea what a crisis this is. Thanks also for shouting out PadSplit - we are working to combat this every single day.
A really good article honing in on the core issue: Not enough housing. I live in WA state and you can't find housing anywhere, both affordable and outrageous pricing as well. People are living in RV's and parking them where ever they can find space. RV park prices have skyrocketed to being unaffordable too. A person making 25,000 a year will have a hard time paying park fee's of 850.00 per month and then add utilities to that. Codes need to change so homeowners who have the space can rent to folks. I had a very nice lot with 3 spaces with water, sewer and power. The county shut me down. These were good folks who were trying to get by on a low income. They weren't druggies or criminals. I don't advocate turning private properties into RV parks. But certainly we can write codes and laws that meet the need of the times.
I so wish you could have run for Governor. I hope you will try again in the future. The ideas outlined in your article are exactly what we need to help solve this crisis. As someone living on disability and working a part-time job, it is essential for me to be able to have an apartment or a room to rent that is within my budget. I live in Vancouver, WA. Our city is fast becoming completely unaffordable for the working class and lower income folks. Currently, I'm lucky enough to split rent with a family member. I fear the time when they are no longer alive and I will have to find another place or another roommate. Our economy doesn't work for people like me. Keep up the great writing. You give me hope.
Excellent article. I wish Tina Kotek or Tobias Read had written it. I compare the two of them in my post on Friday and note that they can be distinguished by how adamant they are that people leave sidewalks. I read nothing comprehensive from them. Tina is making the mistake you avoided; she comes across like "continuity." Tobias finally is comin across in his branding more clearly as "change." I mention you by name in my headline, but the post is really about the two of them. http://peterwsage.blogspot.com/2022/04/oregon-governor-campaign-democrats.html
I'm helping some young people find housing (in Portland), and get notifications every day. Studios start at $1000, and the wait for affordable (income-based) housing is months or years. More housing will only help if it is affordable. How can we close the gap between what someone can pay and what building and operating apartments costs? Simpler, shared housing will help. But salaries or rents will need to be subsidized to close that gap, and the funds for that subsidy will need to come from somewhere. Shift priorities and/or tax high incomes more.
Thanks for this article, Nick. We need more voices in the public square addressing the fundamental problem with housing (namely, supply). In the last 40 years, we've more than doubled the square footage per (housed) person in the US. Amazingly, if you took empty bedrooms across the US and used them to house people, we'd actually have more than enough housing *today*. Not a single additional unit required.
In the last 4 years, PadSplit has added around 3,000 units of affordable housing in Atlanta. In that same period, the city of Atlanta has spent $700M on affordable housing and has produced 8,000 units. Not that there isn't a role for government in the affordable housing crisis, but clearly a path needs to be cleared for private actors to contribute.
There are of course social roadblocks (e.g., familiarity with coliving/willingness to share your home with a stranger), but beyond those are the legal and governmental roadblocks (e.g., number of unrelated parties allowed to live in a home, parking requirements, lack of public transit). A few simple changes to zoning could go a long way.
Thank you Nicholas for posting this article! Too many people have no idea what a crisis this is. Thanks also for shouting out PadSplit - we are working to combat this every single day.
This is 100% on-point, and appreciate the shout-out for PadSplit!
A really good article honing in on the core issue: Not enough housing. I live in WA state and you can't find housing anywhere, both affordable and outrageous pricing as well. People are living in RV's and parking them where ever they can find space. RV park prices have skyrocketed to being unaffordable too. A person making 25,000 a year will have a hard time paying park fee's of 850.00 per month and then add utilities to that. Codes need to change so homeowners who have the space can rent to folks. I had a very nice lot with 3 spaces with water, sewer and power. The county shut me down. These were good folks who were trying to get by on a low income. They weren't druggies or criminals. I don't advocate turning private properties into RV parks. But certainly we can write codes and laws that meet the need of the times.
I so wish you could have run for Governor. I hope you will try again in the future. The ideas outlined in your article are exactly what we need to help solve this crisis. As someone living on disability and working a part-time job, it is essential for me to be able to have an apartment or a room to rent that is within my budget. I live in Vancouver, WA. Our city is fast becoming completely unaffordable for the working class and lower income folks. Currently, I'm lucky enough to split rent with a family member. I fear the time when they are no longer alive and I will have to find another place or another roommate. Our economy doesn't work for people like me. Keep up the great writing. You give me hope.
Excellent article. I wish Tina Kotek or Tobias Read had written it. I compare the two of them in my post on Friday and note that they can be distinguished by how adamant they are that people leave sidewalks. I read nothing comprehensive from them. Tina is making the mistake you avoided; she comes across like "continuity." Tobias finally is comin across in his branding more clearly as "change." I mention you by name in my headline, but the post is really about the two of them. http://peterwsage.blogspot.com/2022/04/oregon-governor-campaign-democrats.html
I'm helping some young people find housing (in Portland), and get notifications every day. Studios start at $1000, and the wait for affordable (income-based) housing is months or years. More housing will only help if it is affordable. How can we close the gap between what someone can pay and what building and operating apartments costs? Simpler, shared housing will help. But salaries or rents will need to be subsidized to close that gap, and the funds for that subsidy will need to come from somewhere. Shift priorities and/or tax high incomes more.
Thanks for this article, Nick. We need more voices in the public square addressing the fundamental problem with housing (namely, supply). In the last 40 years, we've more than doubled the square footage per (housed) person in the US. Amazingly, if you took empty bedrooms across the US and used them to house people, we'd actually have more than enough housing *today*. Not a single additional unit required.
In the last 4 years, PadSplit has added around 3,000 units of affordable housing in Atlanta. In that same period, the city of Atlanta has spent $700M on affordable housing and has produced 8,000 units. Not that there isn't a role for government in the affordable housing crisis, but clearly a path needs to be cleared for private actors to contribute.
There are of course social roadblocks (e.g., familiarity with coliving/willingness to share your home with a stranger), but beyond those are the legal and governmental roadblocks (e.g., number of unrelated parties allowed to live in a home, parking requirements, lack of public transit). A few simple changes to zoning could go a long way.
Have you talked to Alan Graham about the Community First! Village in Austin?