[HN Gopher] What Affordable Housing Means
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What Affordable Housing Means
Author : PaulHoule
Score : 16 points
Date : 2023-08-10 16:59 UTC (6 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (darrellowens.substack.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (darrellowens.substack.com)
| trappist wrote:
| So it's defined as policies expected to produce affordable
| housing, whether or not housing turns out to be affordable under
| those policies. And it's not affordable without those policies in
| place, regardless of price.
| marcusverus wrote:
| It's an old trick. Hayek described it well, way back in the
| '40s:
|
| > "The most effective way of making people accept the validity
| of the values they are to serve is to persuade them that they
| are really the same as those they have always held, but which
| were not properly understood or recognized before. And the most
| efficient technique to this end is to use the old words but
| change their meaning. Few traits of totalitarian regimes are at
| the same time so confusing to the superficial observer and yet
| so characteristic of the whole intellectual climate as this
| complete perversion of language."
| dkarl wrote:
| Despite asking, "So what's affordable housing, luxury and market-
| rate mean?" I don't think the author gives sufficient attention
| to the term "luxury." Their best point is made in the photo of
| the sign advertising "affordable luxury rentals." In reality,
| "luxury" is a meaningless marketing team slapped on virtually
| every new apartment or condo development, even if it's cheap
| housing in distant suburbs for service workers displaced by
| prices in the core city.
|
| This is important, because the marketing use of the word "luxury"
| is exploited by NIMBYs to stop the construction of new housing.
| They oppose the construction of affordable housing by using dog
| whistles and other dark arts to appeal to classism and racism.
| They oppose the construction of "luxury" housing by co-opting
| progressive rhetoric about the need for affordable housing,
| saying the construction of high-end housing will only make our
| affordability crisis worse.
|
| Since there is no room for middle ground between "affordable" and
| "luxury," as the picture in the article shows, their anti-luxury
| playbook complements their anti-affordable playbook to let them
| oppose any new dense housing of any kind.
| brailsafe wrote:
| The only part I don't think is entirely accurate, is your use
| of "co-opting", insomuch as the rhetoric is used by the people
| who are NIMBYs, who are one and the same group that make up
| "progressives". The progressives are the NIMBYs as much or
| moreso than apparent conservatives, and always have been. Not
| to say there aren't also true YIMBYs in both groups, but
| there's a hell of a lot of overlap between those who vote
| progressive and are ostensibly liberal, and those who gain the
| most in home appreciation and/or oppose denser housing near
| their SFH. It's what defines a NIMBY, because it's fine as long
| as it's elsewhere, and is inherently hypocritical.
|
| I like George Carlin's bit from the 90s on this; right out the
| gate he perfectly describes not just this idea, but also a
| series of other examples of idiotic rhetorical posturing we
| embrace unironically in 2023.
|
| [0] https://youtu.be/YjONsL4thQQ
| sokoloff wrote:
| The HUD disagrees with the author.
|
| Author: what [affordable housing] actually means: subsidized,
| rent regulated, usually awarded, housing.
|
| HUD: Affordable housing is generally defined as housing on which
| the occupant is paying no more than 30 percent of gross income
| for housing costs, including utilities. (
| https://archives.hud.gov/local/nv/goodstories/2006-04-06glos... /
| https://www.huduser.gov/portal/pdredge/pdr-edge-featd-articl...)
|
| HUD defines affordable housing in terms of, well, its
| affordability. The author attempts to define it in terms of
| attributes secondary at best to affordability.
|
| To the extent there's a discrepancy between the definitions of
| the federal government agency in charge of such matters and a
| random author on substack (who cites no source for their
| definitional claim), I'm going to go with the agency.
| chung8123 wrote:
| The issue with HUD is it doesn't define a house. Is it a room
| you can rent? A studio, 1bd, free standing home? What is weird
| to me is we use different definitions on what is acceptable by
| area instead of what human needs we have. In Texas a studio
| might be small but in NYC it is a luxury.
| shortrounddev2 wrote:
| I think it's important to note that not all affordable housing
| is subsidized. We can achieve affordable housing without*
| direct government manipulation of prices
| sokoloff wrote:
| Exactly (to your first sentence)! Affordable housing is
| affordable, period.
|
| Affordable housing may or may not be subsidized, may or may
| not be rent controlled, may or may not be awarded, etc.
| twoodfin wrote:
| If market-rate housing is affordable already, what is there
| to argue about?
| patrickmay wrote:
| "Direct government manipulation of prices" never works (see
| rent control data for just one of many examples).
|
| The root cause of lack of affordable housing is zoning based
| on NIMBYism. If you want the price to go down, you need to
| increase the supply. That's a good way to not get re-elected
| in a lot of places.
| shortrounddev2 wrote:
| Yeah sorry meant to say without. Fat fingered the keyboard
| twoodfin wrote:
| That definition doesn't work in this context. Plenty of Bay
| Area tech wizards are not paying 30% of their gross income for
| their housing.
|
| It doesn't make their housing "affordable" in the same sense
| that zoning committees insist on "affordable" unit splits for
| new development.
| kshahkshah wrote:
| Exactly, there are real definitions for these things. There are
| also great programs for people making 80% or less of the area
| median income (AMI) - HomeReady/HomePossible that not enough
| people take advantage of.
|
| Ultimately home builders over indexed on building
| large/expensive homes as there was an easy to get market there.
| Not enough starter homes were built. This plus no major capital
| investments in public transportation in.. oh... 75 years has
| resulted in making commute times longer and longer therefore
| driving up prices which are commutable.
| ke88y wrote:
| More-over, the government agency is using a much better
| definition!
|
| Affordable should mean affordable, not taxpayer-funded.
| ilaksh wrote:
| It's very problematic when phrases are co-opted for marketing
| purposes like that.
|
| It is an example of how disconnected the public can be from
| important details relevant to public policy.
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