Each year, members of Penn’s Institute for Urban Research engage a distinguished group of experts to address a pressing urban challenge. This year, 13 leading voices in housing policy, urban planning, and finance were asked to share their perspectives on a critical question: “What bold actions or structural reforms are needed to ensure access to sustainable and affordable housing, and particularly to expand supply? What are the effective strategies that national and subnational governments can use to address this challenge?”
The 13 leading experts on affordable housing—Vidhi Anderson, Angel Cardenas , Henry Cisneros, Lance Freeman, Laurie Goodman, Julia Gordon Benjamin Keys, John Landis, Marc. H. Morial, Johnathan Reckford, Vincent Reina, Anacláudia Rossbach, Jenny Schuetz —delivered four central themes that emerge from their responses. They are: breaking down barriers to supply-side affordability; enhancing financing mechanisms for affordability; prioritizing sustainability and equity; and collaborating and leading boldly.
They agree that addressing the housing crisis will require an “all hands on deck” approach, with coordinated actions across all levels of government, the private sector, and civil society.
Among their answers, researchers point out that high insurance premiums and high building and development costs stand in the way of home ownership. They call for regulatory land use reform for more affordable housing, more thoughtful zoning and more transit-oriented housing development. Additionally, researchers call for assistance at the executive level, and the creation of a housing crisis council.
Read more at Penn IUR.
