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Pitzer Senior Theses
Designing affordable housing for adaptability: principles, practices, & application.
Micaela R. Danko , Pitzer College Follow
Graduation Year
Spring 2013
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Environmental Analysis
Lance Neckar
Paul Faulstich
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© 2013 Micaela R. Danko
While environmental and economic sustainability have been driving factors in the movement towards a more resilient built environment, social sustainability is a factor that has received significantly less attention over the years. Federal support for low-income housing has fallen drastically, and the deficit of available, adequate, affordable homes continues to grow. In this thesis, I explore one way that architects can design affordable housing that is intrinsically sustainable. In the past, subsidized low-income housing has been built as if to provide a short-term solution—as if poverty and lack of affordable housing is a short-term problem. However, I argue that adaptable architecture is essential for the design of affordable housing that is environmentally, economically, and socially sustainable. Further, architects must balance affordability, durability, and adaptability to design sustainable solutions that are resistant to obsolescence. I conclude by applying principles and processes of adaptability in the design of Apto Ontario, an adaptable affordable housing development in the low-income historic downtown of Ontario, California (Greater Los Angeles). Along a new Bus Rapid Transit corridor, Apto Ontario would create a diverse, resilient, socially sustainable community in an area threatened by the rise of housing costs.
Recommended Citation
Danko, Micaela R., "Designing Affordable Housing for Adaptability: Principles, Practices, & Application" (2013). Pitzer Senior Theses . 35. https://scholarship.claremont.edu/pitzer_theses/35
Since May 03, 2013
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The effects of income inequality on housing affordability
The climbing costs of housing, is one of the main concerns across the United States. Housing is considered affordable when it consumes less than 30 percent of total household income, and although the average household spends a quarter of its income in housing, low-income household devote between 50 and 70 percent of their income to housing. The issues with housing affordability have become evident since the 1970s, around the same time that incomes at the top of the distribution started to experience sharp growth. This thesis examines the effects of income inequality on housing affordability for the years 2011-2017 post-Great Recession, at the different levels of the income distribution and by demographic characteristics in the State of California. This study uses data from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS) from the American Community Surveys (ACS). Data includes seven sample years from 2011 to 2017, with a total of 649,766 observations of households from the State of California with individual characteristics filtered by head of household.
Based on existing literature and the results of the empirical model presented in this paper, income inequality has a significant effect on housing affordability as it increases housing costs as a share of income (house price income ratio and rent price income ratio). This effect is most noteworthy for the lowest income households, and it fades as it gets closer to the top of the income distribution.
- Masters Thesis
- Marquez, Leidy Alexandra
- O'Keefe, Suzanne
- Economics Department
- California State University, Sacramento
- Housing affordability
- Rent affordability
- Gini coefficient
- Income distribution
- Housing price income ratio
- Homelessness
- oai:alma.01CALS_USL:11267555060001671
- http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12741/rep:11205
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COMMENTS
2017, there were 1.7 million very low and low-income households in California who spend more than half of their income on housing (Walters, 2017). As of 2015, eight out of ten low-income households in the 200th percentile of the federal poverty line experienced high housing costs.
preserve affordable housing to help ease the pressures on the housing market. The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) is one critical tool on the table to help increase the housing stock by building more affordable housing for low-income individuals and families to ease the constraints on a tight housing market. The LIHTC is commonly a bipartisan
In conclusion, the difficulty of crafting a thesis statement for affordable housing is undeniable. The intricate nature of the topic, coupled with the need for precision and relevance, poses a ...
May 3, 2013 · While environmental and economic sustainability have been driving factors in the movement towards a more resilient built environment, social sustainability is a factor that has received significantly less attention over the years. Federal support for low-income housing has fallen drastically, and the deficit of available, adequate, affordable homes continues to grow. In this thesis, I explore ...
Aug 21, 2024 · Recommendations include revising zoning policies, increasing the supply of affordable housing, enhancing social services, and promoting sustainable housing models like Community Land Trusts (CLTs). The thesis emphasizes the importance of stakeholder engagement, adequate funding, and continuous evaluation for successful implementation.
Affordable Housing & Economic Security High housing costs leave low-income families with little left over for other important expenses, leading to difficult budget trade-offs. Affordable housing in-creases the amount that families can put toward other important household needs and savings for the future. Housing Stability & Education
May 5, 2023 · The climbing costs of housing, is one of the main concerns across the United States. Housing is considered affordable when it consumes less than 30 percent of total household income, and although the average household spends a quarter of its income in housing, low-income household devote between 50 and 70 percent of their income to housing.
rent and amounts of available, actually affordable housing move in opposite directions the amount of people having to live in subways, on the streets, and in shelters increases. As of July 2017, over 75,000 units of “affordable housing” was added to NYC under Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Housing New York (HNY) Initiative (NY Times). However, only a
Providing affordable housing options allow people and families of all income to live in proximity of career opportunities, and valuable resources and services. According to the EPA“,Preserving affordable housing using tools like deed restrictions, housing trust funds, rehabilitation assistance, and Low -Income Housing Tax Credits can maintain
1 In comparison, very low income (VLI) households make between 30% and 50% of the area’s median income, and low income (LI) households make between 50% and 80% of the area’s median income. 2 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development income limits for Santa Clara County as of May 2023: