Our nation is facing a serious housing crisis, which is part of our infrastructure problem as a whole. We have recently learned of the infrastructure issues in Puerto Rico that are coming to light in the wake of the recent disasters. It ties back to our housing shortcomings and how our government fails to come through for its citizens so frequently in this regard.
In the wake of Hurricane Maria, parts of Puerto Rico have been decimated. What were already issues before the natural disaster struck the area have now been fully exposed. The housing crisis has been lurking beneath the surface of the territory’s dialogue for a while — rising foreclosure rates and failure to pay the mortgage means that already earlier this year, 14 families lost their homes every day and 17,000 homes were being foreclosed. Now with 45 percent of the population not even having access to drinking water, homes need to be created fast.
Up Close and Personal
Recently, Dave Dunn, director of the Olmsted County Housing and Redevelopment Authority in New York, put it to the Rochester City Council that the project to create affordable housing in Rochester has been unsuccessful. Dunn said it currently costs more to build accommodation in the area than what can be produced by cheaper rent without extra support.
Dunn said the only way to solve the housing crisis is to treat it like a part of the county’s infrastructure — to think about housing as one would about sewers and water — as necessities. The reason he believes this is the only option is due to his own first-hand experience of understanding just how many people are desperate for somewhere affordable to live. Dunn noted he receives calls every day from some of the 700 families who remain on a housing voucher waiting list.
In response, members of the council said they are willing to execute and reinforce affordable housing policies. One of these policies would define at which points certain developers would need to create more affordable accommodation. However, the proposals are not good enough, according to many community groups.
Housing Crisis Heroes
In terms of solutions to the housing crisis we are seeing everywhere, exacerbated by natural disasters or complacency, there are some contenders that look promising. The ready-to-go building idea holds great potential for use in areas where people need quality housing installed quickly. These programs are major investments in speculative properties and fully prepared sites. Companies will rapidly speed up the development of much-needed housing in places like Rochester that is otherwise bogged down by bureaucracy and in disaster-hit areas such as Florida and Puerto Rico.
Furthermore, no one is a stranger to the housing crisis in London. Students and workers are spending more and more on rent and being forced to live further and further away. The solution is prefab housing. Legal & General Homes is promising to build thousands of homes every year at their innovative and private factory in Leeds. The houses and flats will be prefabricated and then transported to London and places that need it the most to solve their housing crisis.
Richmond has already signed up to this, as an average semi-detached property fetches over £1m. The new L&G accommodation can be rented out at £600 per month. While they are only 26 square meters, this sponsored housing will go a long way to solving the housing crisis.
Housing is a sought-after commodity, particularly in disaster-hit areas, and is affecting people all over the world. Instead of tweeting and spending thousands of dollars to protest an NFL game, our government officials need to be paying attention to the issues that matter and continuing to work on finding actionable solutions to the very serious housing crisis.
Kate is a health and political journalist. You can subscribe to her blog, So Well, So Woman, to read more of her work and receive a free subscriber gift! https://sowellsowoman.com/about/subscribe/