Theory: In 20 Years

What do you hope will be true for your community (at any scale) in twenty years, and how can you use your professional life to help achieve that vision? All comments, especially to the contrary, are welcome!

In Columbus, affordable housing in safe areas is deteriorating. What once were beautiful homes with manicured lawns, now have become run-down apartments in neighborhoods that aren’t safe. German Village, where I live now, has seen an enormous influx of wealth in the past 30 years, where people with the means have restored the neighborhood to more than its original beauty. But not more than a few blocks away, the neighborhood isn’t so nice; the rent is cheap and the houses are in shambles, and its all some people can afford.

So middle-income people, who can’t afford the large prices for small places near downtown either buy older houses in gentrifying areas and renovate them, or move to the suburbs, where they can get brand new houses for affordable prices. But people without cars or the means to renovate do not have these options.

I was responsible for making site visits every two weeks to a Section 8 housing project in Toledo, Ohio. The 40-ish houses were spread over a few dozen blocks of bad neighborhood – contractors were robbed on the job, neighboring houses burnt to the ground, furnaces and garage door openers couldn’t be installed until there were residents because they would be stolen in broad daylight, only to be found in a yard a block away. One house had a bullet through every window pane. The houses we built were affordable and well-built, with garages and porches and air conditioning, but they did not change the neighborhood. People wanted nice, safe homes to raise their children, but were stuck in a neighborhood where few had futures. This is not affordable housing; this is housing with a huge price.

I say people deserve to have pride in their neighborhoods; maybe people were upset that we had converted empty lots and abandoned houses into nice places, maybe they didn’t want new people moving in who might be more concerned about crime in their neighborhood, but no matter what, I think that if they had more pride in the place they lived, they might be more hesitant to destroy the good that was coming in. Just infilling a neighborhood with new housing does not make it a place that people want to live.

So the answer seems to be a whole new neighborhood of housing. Economically, multi-family buildings make the most sense, but aren’t always the best socially. Without having any street frontage, an area for curb appeal or personalization, it may be hard for families to have an area to claim and have pride in. This would be magnified by each unit being accessible only from the inside of the building; a common entrance can either foster familiarity and community, or anonymity and ignorance. And, since we are talking Columbus and families, outdoor space seems to be key, whether individual yards or larger public green space, and large multi-family buildings don’t foster the most green space. Individual spaces seem to make the most sense, as another place for people to have pride in their homes as well as a safe place for kids to play away from streets. Parking is another issue, especially in urban environments. Surface parking is sometimes the most economical, but walking a distance to the house with groceries and children running through the parking lot is not the most safe. Having a garage on the property within a few steps of the door would allow for safe vehicle storage, a place for outdoor toys, bicycles, and lawn equipment. Safe vehicle storage is most important in this scenario, as being late for work because the car is covered in ice or someone sideswiped the vehicle on the street would most likely not be tolerated.

Building a new development near downtown brings up other concerns, such as land availability and flood zones. New developments are often built on sub-prime land and separated from necessities such as grocery stores, banks and the post office, not to mention jobs and schools. Infrastructure is important, as some families would not have cars, and children will have to get to school safely. Ideally, the community would be in part self-sustaining: groceries, banks and schools would be available within walking distance.

Now we have single-family homes as part of a mixed use community. There are plenty of HUD and Section 8 websites that have a laundry list of items that make good affordable housing: covered entries, lever door handles, full basements, front knobbed stoves, minimum 10’x10’ bedrooms. While I can appreciate what they are trying to do, which is ensure that affordable housing doesn’t become cheap unusable housing, I think it takes more than a select few “luxuries” to make families feel at home, especially when someone who does not live like them has chosen which options they will have.

My goals for the year 2027 in regards to affordable housing is for there to be a choice of good-designed housing available for those who need it. I still feel the best way of accomplishing this is through pre-fabricated units, although as a goal I don’t think it is the most important thing. By good-designed housing I would say energy- and space-efficient houses that easily fulfill their intended uses and are easily adaptable by the families or individuals that inhabit them. What good is the laundry list of choices if they don’t agree with the lifestyle of those people who will be using the spaces? Schools in Ohio are identical in terms of program and square footages, because a board determined it was exactly what students of a particular age group needs. How can it be said that low-income inner city students learn in the same way as wealthy suburban school children? But to provide a list of spaces, finishes, lighting, windows, technology – rooms can be arranged to fit individual lifestyles.

In 20 years, Baby Boomers as well as young families will be in need of affordable housing. A secondary wave of development – after the first wave in the 1960s and 1970s, which probably included the same Boomers – will be center stage, as older Americans begin to sell their 2-story suburban homes and look for smaller, more efficient homes that are easily accessible. Having a mixed use development would foster community between generations, and pre-fabricated units could allow for the same pieces to be used differently in a house for a young family and a house for a retired couple.

Tax credits are available for low-income and senior housing developments in historic buildings throughout Ohio. These buildings are often in the center of town, with limited parking but plenty of walkability. However, fitting enough units into a building to make it economically viable causes spaces that often aren’t well-designed or completely useable. At this point I don’t know what assistance is available for other low-income or senior housing.

Although there has been a housing boom going on in much of the country, little has been done to alleviate the disparity between higher-income and lower-income housing, and much of the building has been in higher-income and more desirable areas. Affordable housing is in need of design just as all other housing is.