The Southeast’s Affordable Housing Crisis

by Andrea L. Gomez, National Organization of Minority Architects (NOMA) Fellow,
with guidance from LS3P

Rising land values, stagnant working class wages, lack of transportation options, zoning laws, “not in my backyard” mentalities, gentrification, reverse white flight or new attraction to urban living, developers not partaking, and lack of federal funding are just some factors that contribute to the growing affordable housing crisis in the United States.

The purpose of this paper is to create a resource guide to the issues around affordable housing in each of LS3P’s eight cities: Charlotte, Wilmington, Greenville, Myrtle Beach, Raleigh, Savannah, Charleston and Columbia. The extent of the problem- and it is an astronomical problem and the underlying causes of how we got here will be determined. Specific main challenges pertaining to each city will be discussed, as well as each city’s actions and corresponding outcomes. Furthermore, analyzing the extent to which solutions are effective and successful is integral to tackling the crisis.

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