I’ve always thought it was perfectly appropriate to respond to the current affordable housing shortage in the way we respond to a natural disaster. It certainly is a disaster, but one that’s human-made rather than “natural”.

Extending the metaphor, just as weather forecasts provide us an opportunity to prepare for severe conditions, the current housing market forecast is giving us an opportunity to mitigate the effects of a brewing “Perfect Storm”. As KPBS News notes: San Diego is in the midst of its worst housing crisis in recent memory, with low vacancy rates, rising rents and a growing number of people living on the streets. As bad as things are… they’re likely to get worse. Thousands of homes set aside for low-income people are set to become market rate, meaning struggling renters could see their housing costs skyrocket. KPBS metro reporter Andrew Bowen says experts are calling it a perfect storm.

For folks who are concerned about what’s happening at the national level with the Department of Housing and Urban Development, there’s an eye-opening account at the New York magazine of recent troubling events: “Is Anybody Home at HUD?”

 

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