- Schwartz, A. (2019). New York City’s Affordable Housing Plans and the Limits of Local Initiative. Cityscape, 21(3), 355-388.
In this article, Alex Schwartz examines the city’s effort to provide affordable housing to its citizens. He mentions that there are many factors why we can’t have affordable housing yet. Some of them are the high cost of construction and the challenges of working within a regulatory environment. The article focuses on the city’s affordable housing plan, which aims to create more than 300,000 affordable units by 2026. The author also mentions that developers may not want to build units that are affordable to low-income households. Despite these challenges, the conclusion is that there is a bright side, which is preserving existing affordable units. But this is not enough, and policymakers need to pursue a range of strategies and innovative approaches to financing affordable housing.
2.Elmedni, B. (2018). The mirage of housing affordability: an analysis of affordable housing plans in new York City. Sage Open, 8(4), 2158244018809218.
The author Bakry Elmedni talks about the effectiveness of New York City’s affordable housing plans. Even though New York City has made some efforts, the current affordable housing plan relies heavily on the private market. This approach, according to the author, is unreliable. Elmedni suggests that the most effective plan is for the city to directly invest and build affordable housing. He believes that policymakers should focus more on community land trusts in order to address the root causes of the affordability crisis. Last but not least, according to Elmedni, this housing plan is all a “mirage” that fails to address the real issues of affordable housing.
3. Whitlow, J. (2019). Gentrification and Countermovement: The Right to Counsel and New York City’s Affordable Housing Crisis. Fordham Urb. LJ, 46, 1081.
New York City has a long history of gentrification, which has led to the moving of many low-income residents and a loss of affordable housing. The author introduces us to the Right to Counsel (RTC), a program that provides free legal representation to low-income tenants facing eviction. Whitlow provides data on the program’s effectiveness, which includes a decrease in eviction rates and an increase in settlements, where tenants are allowed to remain in their homes. Although RTC covers eviction proceedings, it lacks the ability to address the broader issues of housing affordability. The author suggests that RTC should be expanded to cover housing-related issues such as landlord harassment and rent overcharges. Whitlow concludes that the RTC program is a promising solution to gentrification and affordable housing in New York City.
4. Desmond, M. (2022). Unaffordable America: Poverty, housing, and eviction: American Journal of Sociology. In The Affordable Housing Reader (pp. 389-395). Routledge.
In this article, Matthew Desmond makes a connection between poverty, housing, and eviction in the United States. Some of the reasons for the housing affordability crisis are the high levels of poverty and inequality. Many low-income people have to spend most of their salaries on housing, leaving little money for other necessities such as groceries or going out. Desmond also mentions the reasons why evictions occur, which are a result of non-payment of rent, late payments of rent, or just because the landlord wants to sell a property. Getting evicted can be really frustrating since it can affect your job as well. The reason why America has a high rate of evictions is because of affordable housing. He suggests some solutions to this problem such as funding affordable housing programs and strengthening tenants’ rights. In the end, he mentions that having affordable housing is a human right which is why this problem needs to be taken more seriously.
5. Blumenberg, E., & Wander, M. (2022). Housing affordability and commute distance. Urban Geography, 1-20.
In this article, Evelyn Blumenberg talks to us about the connection between housing affordability and commute distance. Because of the high costs in many urban areas, people are forced to commute much longer because they have to find a house far away from their jobs. Blumenberg and Wander come to the conclusion that low-income and minority residents tend to live in neighborhoods with both high housing costs and long commute distances. They suggest that policymakers should not only consider the cost of housing, but also the location relative to job opportunities. By developing affordable housing with good transit as well, commute times will be reduced, and the overall life quality of people will improve.
