Housing is a basic need around which our health and stability is built, our neighborhoods are centered and housing (through homeownership) is a cornerstone for wealth building. Thus access to safe, quality and affordable housing is one of the biggest issues impacting communities across the US. History has taught us that housing policy has played a significant role in creating segregated communities and perpetuating systemic racism.

In order to advance racial equity we need to enact new policies and allocate new resources to make sure we have affordable rental and homeownership options available in every neighborhood.

Read through the following questions and answer them based off what you learned from the readings:

1. How do you define affordable housing? Where is affordable housing located in your city? Who do you see as needing affordable housing? The U.S. The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) defines affordable housing as housing on which the occupant is paying no more than 30 percent of gross income for housing costs, including utilities. Does this change your perspective?

2. What are some factors that impact housing accessibility and affordability in your opinion? What did you learn from the essay materials?

3. Is gentrification occurring in your community? Where? What has that process looked like? Are there any policies in place to protect against it?

4. How did the interviews and/or podcasts impact you? What issues or solutions did they raise that resonate with your and/or are present in your community?

Agra-hood

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/b8107b1888304f1eb11ecee28947cc8c

Better Housing Coalition

https://www.betterhousingcoalition.org/

Community Land Trusts

https://localhousingsolutions.org/housing-policy-library/community-land-trusts/

Partnership for Housing Affordability

https://pharva.com/about/