Sustainable housing meet affordable housing: the potentials of upzoning and downsizing.
A basic human need is in crisis; an affordable housing crisis burdens livelihoods in cities in towns and cities across the globe. Wages are simply not rising at the same rate as housing prices. I have experienced this firsthand having lived in London, Edinburgh, Boston, and Washington D.C. in recent years. One reason for soaring prices in the U.S. is the housing stock shortage in part due to the lack of laborers, not helped by Trump’s recent immigration policies. Due to our environmental crisis, we must look to sustainable efforts to address this crisis. In countries with the largest space consumed per person (i.e., USA, Australia, Canada), there is enormous opportunity to address this crisis by merely reducing our home size; sustainable housing has generally been constructed for the high-end market. Less space inherently means fewer material resources and land consumed, and less energy needed to live in the home. However, there is a desperate need for green design/construction and retrofit subsidies for new builds and renovations, which further reduces costs for households. Increasing urban density has been on the radar of many looking to increase housing stock and drive prices down, and there are several cities and towns with enormous high-density potential. For example, in Washington D.C., where I currently live, 80% of residential buildings are single-family detached homes.
Based on my Ph.D. research on the Tiny Home Lifestyle (THL), people are willing to reduce their home size to live a more cost-effective life, adjusting their ideas of home accordingly. Many, especially Millennials, no longer view a large house as an aspiration. However, just like the THL, increasing urban density potentials is often at the mercy of zoning legislation. And while, upzoning, or changing restrictive zoning laws to increase urban density, is the new buzzword in the affordable housing debate, it has recently ignited impassioned and controversial pushback. Economic geographers, Rodríguez-Pose and Storper, claim that upzoning does not filter down and create more affordable housing opportunities but adds more housing for high earners and worsens spatial inequalities. Conversely, Economist Joe Cortright immediately came to the defense of upzoning, criticizing Rodríguez-Pose and Storper’s methodology and assumptions. I, too, question many assumption made in this study and find this to be a dangerous piece to put in the hands of those fighting against upzoning. Unquestionably, there is so much more that needs to be done to address both affordable and sustainable housing – upzoning isn’t going to fix embedded social injustices or the current failures of capitalism – but it is a start to unlocking exclusionary zoning. Of course these higher density living options must promote socioeconomic diversity and accessibility, offering both market-rate and low-income housing. Cities such as Minneapolis, Chicago, and Seattle are leading the way. Get informed about your city and get active! We must demand equitable and affordable housing - a basic human right.
