Exploring Struggling in Affordable Housing- Causes Impacts and Practical Solutions

Exploring Struggling in Affordable Housing- Causes Impacts and Practical Solutions

Affordable housing is one of the greatest challenges in society. With the continuous growth of population, increased economic strain, and high cost of living, individuals often find themselves struggling to make ends meet and provide food and shelter for themselves; as a result, many individuals have multiple jobs to try and reach their needs. Affordable housing challenges are more severe in cities and urban areas as compared to rural areas. Accordingly, affordable housing encompasses; “housing policy, affordable housing supply, barriers to homeownership, measuring affordability and housing goal” (Sirmans & Macpherson, 2003). Therefore, affordable housing is a societal issue that affects all individuals in society, and it is caused by various factors such as industrialization and urbanization. Subsequently leading to an increase in cases of homelessness and poverty in society; however, its implementation in society serves to provide the basic need of shelter.

Unavailability of Affordable Housing

An increase in homelessness cases in society drives the need for affordable housing. Homelessness affects various members of society differently due to the presence of societal classes and groups. This implies that members of society are affected by homelessness for various reasons. Reasons that people become homeless include; substance abuse, poverty, unavailability of affordable housing, increase in demand for affordable housing, discrimination, and segregation (Carter, 2011). Affordable housing poses a solution to homelessness cases.

Affordable housing refers to the units consumed from a household’s income; in many instances, it is estimated to be 30% or less of the income (Corradino, 2021). Affordable housing is challenged by various factors, one of which is the COVID-19 pandemic. Other factors include; changes in supply, land use regulations, poverty, and financial crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic caused an economic crisis that saw many people losing their jobs and thus could not afford to pay their rent; subsequently, homelessness cases increased, and affordable housing was set back. Additionally, changes in the supply of affordable housing units are setbacks because demand and supply never meet.  Corradino (2021) states that the “pace of production — approximately 110,000 units per year” indicates the difference in supply and demand.

Another cause of this challenge is poverty; payment is due to a landlord while renting a space, and therefore, an individual’s income determines the housing they can afford. This indicates that people’s housing depends on their income; those with low incomes in society are more prone to being homeless. With this perspective, the social class is put into focus, with members of minority groups in a society earning less income as compared to the rest of the society. Accordingly, the housing they can afford is limited to their income, thus, limiting their purchasing capabilities.

Other setbacks arise from housing policies. Housing policies affect affordable housing due to issues in the flow of supply and demand (Carter, 2011). Some policies limit the accessibility of affordable housing to all members of society. Discrimination and segregation in affordable housing availability are evident in poverty cases and the underclass who cannot afford to rent in certain neighbourhoods in society (Carter, 2011). Substance abuse is also a vital contributor to this setback due to its contribution to poverty, pushing for discrimination and segregation, ultimately leading to homelessness. All these factors contribute to the existence and persistence of affordable housing limitations.

People Affected by Unavailability of Affordable Housing

Many individuals experience affordable housing challenges. According to Tsenkova (2021), affordable housing shortages affect 1.6 billion people in the world; including families, women, children, and men. The majority of people susceptible to homelessness include previously incarcerated individuals and victims of domestic violence. Accordingly, interventions can be put in place to safeguard the susceptible population of society from homelessness by providing affordable housing opportunities.

Matters at stake

Various aspects of society are affected by the inadequacy of affordable housing. The continuous increase in challenges in affordable housing causes an increase in the susceptibility of society to the increase in homelessness cases (Parsell & Marston, 2012). Subsequently, this will contribute to an increase in health issues putting stress on the healthcare system. Guaranteed housing promotes health among members of society. This strain on the healthcare system will affect the economy, causing financial strain on the local, state, and federal governments. Additionally, it leads to housing inadequacy, whereby the supply does not meet the demand due to various reasons, including the increase in population, and inadequacy in housing. In addition, another probable issue is overcrowding, whereby many people live in a housing unit, which contributes to poor conditions for shelter due to necessities.

Potential Solution

Consistently, with the impacts of the inadequacy of affordable housing, several factors can be put in place as solutions to this challenge. They include; wealth redistribution through taxes collected to ensure affordable housing can be provided in society for all members of society despite their class. One method of achieving this objective is creating and implementing favourable local policies (Corradino, 2021). These policies might overlook land regulation in different neighborhoods in the society allowing for the establishment of affordable housing for different neighborhoods.

Many individuals can be involved in the implementation of this solution, including; leaders from the local to the federal level. Additionally, non-profit organizations and other forms of partnerships can be established to ensure the proper implementation of policies. Subsequently, all parties involved have specific roles in the implementation of these policies (Tsenkova, 2021). First, individuals in society must pay their dues in taxes. Leaders can advocate for these policies, non-profit organizations can fund and manage the projects, and partners can oversee the achievement of objectives to create and increase affordable housing opportunities. The results will include the creation of equality in affordable housing opportunities and preserving the environment, which will provide a solution to the challenge associated with affordable housing (Tsenkova, 2021). This solution will have positive effects on society without any apparent negative side effects.

In conclusion, the continuous increase in population and economic strain has increased the shortages of affordable housing. This limitation stems from the increase in poverty, discrimination and segregation, housing policies, and homeownership barriers. Consistently, with the working partnership between various individuals to solve this limitation, society can be balanced through the redistribution of wealth, which will allow the establishment of affordable housing in all neighbourhoods in society.

References

Carter, G. (2011). From Exclusion to Destitution: Race, Affordable Housing, and Homelessness. SSRN Electronic Journal. doi: 10.2139/ssrn.1808950

Corradino, S. (2021). Council Post: There Is No Easy Fix For The Affordable Housing Crisis. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesnonprofitcouncil/2021/09/07/there-is-no-easy-fix-for-the-affordable-housing-crisis/

Parsell, C., & Marston, G. (2012). Beyond the ‘At Risk’ Individual: Housing and the Eradication of Poverty to Prevent Homelessness. Australian Journal Of Public Administration, 71(1), 33-44. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8500.2012.00758.x

Sirmans, S., & Macpherson, D. (2003). The State of Affordable Housing. Journal Of Real Estate Literature, 11(2), 131-156. doi: 10.1080/10835547.2003.12090125

Tsenkova, S. (2021). Cities and Affordable Housing: Planning, Design and Policy Nexus. Taylor and Francis.

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Assignment Instructions
This analysis project requires you to tackle a problem within your field of study by first exploring it, its causes, and its impacts. Then, if you want, you can recommend one or more practical solutions to solve the problem.

After deciding on the problem you wish to tackle, begin building questions about it. Your goal for the analysis is to answer the questions through your sources. Finding multiple angles and perspectives is ideal so that you explore those possibilities in the final paper before settling on your recommendation. Be sure to identify what is at stake.

Here are questions to help guide your analysis:
What is the problem being addressed (explain, describe, and “prove” that it exists)?
Who is affected by this problem?
Why does this problem exist (identify the root causes)?
Why does the problem persist (identify the major factors that contribute to the problem’s ongoing presence)?
What is at stake if the problem is not solved?
If you decide to include a solution, use these questions to guide you:
Who can take action?
What should they do, exactly?
Why would this help?
What are the positive and negative aspects of your solution(s)?