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Property Values |
Crime |
What is affordable housing?
When housing costs no more than 30% of a person's income or leaves residents with enough money to meet other needs after paying for housing costs, it's considered affordable.
- When people pay more than 30% of their income on housing, they're housing cost burdened. People who are cost-burdened face greater risks of housing instability and housing insecurity.
- Levels of affordability are determined by the average median income (AMI) of certain metro areas.
How can affordable housing developments impact the look and physical navigation of my neighborhood?
When any proposed development violates local regulations (zoning, aesthetic requirements, issues with traffic or lights, etc.), it would likely be addressed by city officials during the proposal process and either get rejected or demand that issues are addressed before being reviewed again for approval.
- The Planned Development (PD) zoning designation is required for certain projects to ensure that they follow necessary protocols and generally make sense to build in the proposed location, which happens via public hearings with municipal staff.
- If there is a legitimate concern about a new development causing issues like light pollution, traffic congestion, excess noise, etc., tests can be conducted to ensure that these issues either won't occur or will be addressed.
How might affordable housing impact property values in the neighborhood?
Property values depend on various factors in terms of the level of affluence in a given neighborhood, the condition that properties are left in when they’re sold, etc.
- For the most part, property values surrounding affordable developments have been shown to either not change or increase.
- In some cases, property values in middle-upper income neighborhoods with supportive shelters have continued to go up.
Does affordable housing bring crime to neighborhoods?
Even though increases in crime depend on various factors, there doesn’t seem to be an inherent link between affordable housing and crime.
- It seems like crime might be more likely to occur in areas where low-income housing is highly concentrated instead of being spread across different kinds of neighborhoods.
- If an area has already experienced high levels of crime, it is more likely that crime in the area will persist than to start in a new area as a result of a new affordable housing development.
