Jason Booms over at Spartan Considerations wrote a post today presenting a list of questions regarding housing and inviting answers.
And boy, do I have answers. But before I get to it, it's important to note that housing is an incredibly complex topic with a lot of nuance. Housing problems cannot be solved by simple, singular solutions, but rather, by multiple solutions working in tandem - such as more supply at all income levels, more subsidies, and tenant protections. Additionally, it i...
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housing
<p>Howard County (Maryland) blog posts covering the topic of housing, especially affordable housing, public housing, subsidized housing, NIMBYism, and inclusive communities.</p>
Unfair Housing
I live in Howard County District 4, specifically in Harper's Choice Village in Columbia. Like our neighbors in Wilde Lake and Hickory Ridge, our village's socioeconomically diverse population is evident in our housing. Stand at the edge of a cluster of single-family homes, and you can throw a stone across Harper's Farm Road and reach a group of mid-priced apartments. Walk toward our village center - where we shop for groceries, grab a cup of coffee, get takeout, and enjoy Italian ice on hot sum...
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Fact or Crap: Affordable Housing Edition
Disclaimer: it has become commonplace that whenever I correct misinformation regarding housing, affordable or otherwise, people demand to know if I have a financial stake in the development or real estate industry or other conflicts of interest. Let the record show that aside from owning a home in Howard County, I have no financial stake in real estate or development whatsoever. I simply believe in getting people housed, and I read a lot. So shut it.
A long time ago, a coworker of mine re...
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The Case for Affordable Housing
Recently, a woman contacted Columbia Community Care needing assistance; she was living out of her car in Harper's Choice Village in Columbia, but it was in need of repair and a jump start. She had lost her job earlier in the pandemic, and she now had a new job, but she needed her car repaired so that she could drive to work. The woman, a veteran of the U.S. Army, updated the CCC Facebook group some time later and thanked them for their support and helping her get into a shelter.
There's a ...
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Housing is a Human Right
I recently read Matthew Desmond’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City. It was an eye-opening read that made abundantly clear the link between housing and the downward spiral into lifelong poverty that is a reality for many Americans. Desmond's firsthand accounts shine a light on what poverty looks like, how easy it is to fall into, and how impossible it can be to extricate oneself from it. Most importantly, his writings reveal the central role of housi...
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