It Is More Than A Shelter, It Is Home

Affordable housing has been a hot button issue in recent days. With the cities ballooning and the housing prices flying due to limited housing supply, this topic has been gaining increasing attention with the public. This problem highlights the issue that everyone needs a place to live but not everyone can afford a place to live. Hence the issue titled “Affordable Housing”. 

To get started, what is Affordable Housing? Affordable housing means housing that is reasonably priced, usually costing around 30% or below of a family’s monthly salary, for those with a median income in the area. This includes housing that is rented or sold. 

Affordable housing is different than the term Low Income Housing since low income housing is usually public assisted housing that is subsidized by the government. These housings are meant to help house the people with incomes that are significantly below the median income in the areas that they live in. The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (US HUD) created low income categories to help determine those that are most in need of housing assistance. The categories for low income housing are: 

• Lower Income: Earning 80% of the median income in the area
• Very Low Income: Earning 50% of the median income in the area
• Extremely Low Income: Earning 30% of the median income in the area

The extremely low income and very low income categories have been consolidated under the Consolidated Appropriations Act in 2014 but not every state or local government in the US considers them the same category. For more information see the FAQ from US HUD in the Resources’ section below. 

This is a topic mostly focused on growing urban centers that are experiencing population expansion and increased demand for housing. With more concentrated wealth at urban centers, overcrowding, and gentrification, housing has become more and more expensive in the cities, which is where most of the world’s people are living in now. 

That is it for our blog for the week of 8/30! I hope that gives everyone a basic understanding of what Affordable Housing means. Next week we will look at what is happening now with affordable housing in detail and our first podcast on the issue will be released as well, on 9/8. As always, find us on social media and tell your friends about us. And tell us how we can improve the program for you! Leave a comment or write to us, we love to hear from our readers and listeners. 

Thank you for joining us and have a wonderful Sunday night.