On September 26th, the Obama administration released the Housing Development Toolkit, signalling to the country that they are on Team YIMBY (that’s “Yes In My BackYard”). The document outlines the barriers for housing growth that many cities, including Minneapolis and Saint Paul, have been experiencing in recent years. Local zoning laws, outdated land use regulations, […]
Being homeless is tough. Being homeless with children is something I do not even want to imagine. Yet, in its 2015 study of homelessness in Minnesota, the Wilder Foundation counted 3,296 homeless children with their parents. This is considered an undercount as these were children who were found and counted. In that same year, Ramsey […]
Does anyone understand what “affordable” housing really means? Here’s a look at how supply- and demand-side economics can help explain it.
Inclusionary zoning–a local government mandate that some new developments set aside some housing units at an “affordable” price point–is being discussed in Minnesota. Several Minneapolis council members have been supportive of an inclusionary zoning ordinance, and the council gave notice at the end of last year that they’re studying inclusionary zoning with an eye towards […]
I hate moving. It takes physical, mental, and emotional energy. It’s expensive to pay for security deposits, non-refundable pet deposits, first month’s rent and last month’s rent, and professional movers. From 2004 to 2012, I probably lived at 12 different addresses in Minnesota, California, and Scotland. I’m not sure if that qualified me as a […]
Another week is in the books for streets.mn welcoming a new writer explaining the big issue of affordable housing plus some of our regulars with closer looks at bike trails and streets, plus a small assortment of pictures, maps, and videos. Big issue department Affordable Housing Is An Industry, Too is an introduction to the affordable […]
Saturday, April 18, 2015 Macalester-Groveland, Hamline-Midway, Frogtown, Payne-Phalen (Swede Hollow), Downtown, West End, Highland Park Garages: intentionally functional but not usually stylish and seldom worth more than a glance, but today I saw two within a couple of blocks of each other that break the stereotype. It’s not a garage in the strict sense of […]
Last week in my article on self-driving cars, I noted the phenomenon that affordable (say $200,000 or less) new houses simply aren’t being built anymore and speculated that might lead to people choosing longer commutes. As a second part, I thought I’d look at some possible reasons affordable houses aren’t being built any more. For the […]
Watching a new David Simon show is like opening presents on Christmas Day. I loved The Wire (of course), and Treme hit all my favorite sweet spots: jazz, New Orleans, street life, and affordable housing debates. So needless to say, I’ve been watching Show Me A Hero with a big grin on my face, savoring […]
Keeping with this week’s theme of affordable rental housing, here’s a chart from Howard Blackson’s Twitter page (not sure its original source) showing the percentage of income paid in rent, on average: In general, one should not pay more than 1/3 of one’s income to the landlord. The idea behind this chart is that you […]