Affordable Housing Crisis

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We are amidst a massive affordable housing crisis throughout the United States. While the need for affordable housing in urban areas is prevalent and widely publicized, much of rural America lacks adequate housing for low-income groups. There have been many systematic issues stemming from public policies from the early 1930s that have contributed to the affordable housing crisis we see today. In addition to these policies, much of rural America's lack of affordable housing stems from technological advancements that have hindered the economic development of these rural areas. While implementing effective solutions will not be easy, federal funding to provide housing assistance to both rural and urban areas will be fundamental. In addition, the …show more content…
They found that not a single county in the United States provides safe, affordable housing to 100% of its low-income residents. On average, researchers of the study found that "there are only 28 adequate and affordable housing options for every 100 extremely low-income households" (Abazajian, 1). In order to be considered affordable housing, housing costs should not exceed more than 30 percent of income (HUD). By this definition, over one-third of American households live in housing that exceeds the amount, based off of their income that they should be spending. Furthermore, researchers at the Urban Institute found that 28 percent of those renting housing units pay over half their incomes for it (Abazajian, 5). These individuals are considered severely burden by their housing costs. Without federal aid to these severely burdened households, millions of Americans will continue to pay for housing that they cannot afford and, in many cases, is in inadequate conditions. The affordable housing crisis is not a new problem that America is facing. However, it does appear to be becoming more severe. The National Low Income Housing Coalition published a 2017 report titled The Gap: The Affordable Housing Gap Analysis, where researchers found that there is a shortage of 7.4 million affordable and available rental units for the nation's 11.4 million extremely low-income renter households (NLIHC, …show more content…
Since low-income households spend so much of their incomes on rent or mortgages, they spend 39% less on food and 65% less on healthcare each month (Harvard, 2014). With less money to spend on food, many select energy-dense sweets, and fats that are tasty, cheap, readily available, and convenient over fresh and expensive produce. According to an Economic Research Service (ERS) report for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, "11.5 million Americans are both poor and live in low-income areas over a mile away from a supermarket that offers healthier food variety" (Mukherjee, 2013). An article published by the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health found that the "risk of bad perceived health was three times as high" as those in high income groups (Stonks et al, 1998). While their nutritional health is falling; many also chose, or have no other choice, that to forgo routine doctor's appointments which are vital for preventative care. Recent research from the University of Georgia has shown that low-income people are more likely to have high blood pressure, cholesterol, and become obese or diabetic (Brody, 2013). These four diseases have been found to be passed along to children, making them genetically predisposed to develop them (Li et al, 2016). Thus, the affordable housing crisis indirectly is contributing to the long-term health decline prevalent
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