icon Blueprint for January

Filling the Housing Gap

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3 min read

There is a lot of noise both in the air and on the air. A lot of loud and fast talking and a fear of listening. I like to view our magazine as a thoughtful sanctuary from the fracas, a rest stop where you can quietly and patiently mull over ideas, innovations and transactions.

In this polarized environment, it may seem hazardous for an association magazine that serves members with a variety of views to take a strong stand. But sometimes you have no choice – and this is one of those times.

As you will read here, your colleagues and industry experts share the feeling that the current federal administration—despite mouthing promises—is letting this industry and, more importantly, those who want to live in affordable housing down. When you cut through the clamor, their policy is to let other people worry about it. This is not leadership; it is neglect.

Fortunately, governors, mayors and other officials and organizations in regions all across the country are grabbing the bat and stepping up to the plate. This widespread assumption of responsibility to house Americans is impressive and encouraging. In Samantha Power’s memoir, The Education of An Idealist, she writes about how problems that seem insurmountable—such as the sudden Ebola epidemic—can be solved by a committed government.

In this issue we look at an array of people, organizations and programs committed to filling the affordable housing gap. These are just samples of the hundreds of other local initiatives.

We begin with an overview of two national programs that bring organizations together to share their needs and advocate for support. Staff writer Mark Olshaker talks with leaders of the National Low Income Housing Coalitions’ State Partner Project and Enterprise Community Partners’ State and Local Policy team. (Assuming Responsibility)

We then visit various sized regions—states, metropolitan areas, cities, small towns—to see how each is working to solve their local housing shortages:

State – In California, Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration has put significant money on the table for the state’s first Mixed Income Program, as well as developed additional complementary funding options.

And while we are looking at states, Kaitlyn Snyder, NH&RA’s director of policy, offers suggestions of successful strategies for working with state governments.

Regional – In the Metropolitan Boston Area, a regional commission brings 101 communities together to share data, ideas and solutions.

City – In Indianapolis, a not-for-profit commission, the Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Partnership that includes government representatives, has partnered with Cinnaire and Enterprise Community Partners to fund a “land bank” that buys up locations ripe for affordable housing that might otherwise be gobbled up by commercial or market-rate developers.

Town – In the small towns of National City, CA (population 60,000) and Kittery, ME (population 10,000), tiny housing finance agencies and less official small groups of local advocates investigate methods of attracting tax credit-based and other funding sources.

All of this is most encouraging. So please find a place away from the noise and enjoy exploring the real leaders in affordable housing today. To paraphrase Tip O’Neill’s popular quip, all housing leadership now is local.

Marty Bell, Editor