Those who could afford the high-end apartments flying up all around Greater Washington in the pre-Covid days haven’t felt much of an effect, financially, from the pandemic. Meanwhile, those who were already struggling before the pandemic to afford D.C.’s steep rent prices, and the fewer among them who bore a mortgage, also happen to be the workers who watched their jobs disappear since: waiters, cooks, janitors, hotel workers — a healthy concentration of whom are people of color. Suddenly, even the affordable housing that developers are racing to build around the region has become out of reach for these renters.

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As protests in the District and nationwide call attention to police brutality and systemic racial inequities, advocates are calling on lawmakers to strengthen investments in budget areas that support community stability, rather than policing. Affordable housing is one such area that, if supported with robust, recurring funding, can provide long-term safety and stability, particularly for low-income communities and Black and brown communities facing skyrocketing housing prices in the District. DCFPI, along with our partners, urges the DC Council to make strong investments in public housing, affordable housing production, and preservation in the fiscal year (FY) 2021 budget.

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Affordable housing organizations are concerned primarily with helping as many low and moderate income households as possible achieve decent, affordable housing. But housing units do not exist in a vacuum; they affect the neighborhoods they are located in, as well as the lives of their residents. The mission statement of Minnesota Housing (stated above) reiterates the connections between housing, community, and quality of life. This study explores the ways in which affordable housing impacts such community and quality of life factors.

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The Office of Planning and Department of Housing and Community Development collaborated to produce the Housing Equity Report. The report provides an analysis of current affordable housing distribution and proposes specific targets to achieve Mayor Bowser’s bold goal of building 36,000 new homes, including 12,000 homes affordable to low-income residents, by 2025.

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Despite the lawsuits, media spotlight and conventional wisdom, affordable housing developments built in poor, heavily black communities can lead to greater racial and income integration, according to new research by Stanford economists. Such housing, funded by federal tax credits, also raises property values and lowers crime in surrounding neighborhoods as higher-income white residents move in, the researchers found.

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