Bold Policy Vision
Reimagining how housing policy is developed to make communities more
equitable, affordable and climate resilient
Housing policy is inextricable from social, economic, and environmental policy.
If we continue to operate under the same sets of exclusionary and discriminatory policies we see today, the housing crisis will continue to perpetuate racial and economic inequities and increasingly contribute to climate change, leaving no one unaffected.
Through our members, we:
-
Identify, assess, and share promising policy opportunities at the local, state, and federal levels
-
Co-create solutions that address local barriers and drivers of housing underproduction
-
Advance housing policies and practices that are rooted in racial equity and drive housing choice and affordability.
Housing is Out of Reach
Half of Americans now identify housing affordability as a major problem in their community.
Solution
Having enough of the right types of housing would help contain home price appreciation and rental cost increases.
Current Housing Policy Artificially Limits Economic and Fiscal Benefits
Policies and procedures that limit housing stall economic growth and dynamism.
Solution
Providing people across the income spectrum with places they can afford to live would unlock stymied economic development.
Current Housing Policy Drives Poor Climate Outcomes
Building outward requires expanding infrastructure and roads that utilize valuable land and spend natural resources.
Solution
Consuming less land relative to each new unit of housing will lower emissions, enabling communities to improve resiliency to the worsening climate crisis.
How do we get there?
Build housing in ways that elevate choice for communities of color and redress the harm created by historical discriminatory policies and practices.
Adapt the types of housing we build to the changing needs and demographics of the American people.
Create new housing options in places of high opportunity, with access to jobs, transportation, infrastructure, and community assets.
Build new housing in a way that mitigates the worsening climate crisis and increases resilience to its effects.
To solve a problem as big as the nation’s housing crisis, we need the help of everyone it touches.
- Forward-thinking housing practitioners—builders, financers, architects, and suppliers—can team up with advocates to share knowledge and lobby policymakers.
- Housing, social justice, and environmental advocates can join forces with one another and with practitioners to lift best practices and cross-pollinate ideas across cities, states, and regions.
- Federal, state, and local policymakers and regulatory agencies can reform discriminatory and exclusionary land-use and zoning policies.