Affordable Housing Roundtable

Irayda Ruiz Bode, FAICP

Senior International Infrastructure Planning Consultant, Guatemala, the World Bank

President - Federación Iberoamericana de Urbanistas. 

Andrew Gast-Bray, Ph.D., AICP, CNU 

Planning Director - Monongalia County Planning Commission, WV, USA

Selmah Goldberg

Assistant Director, MIT SPURS/Humphrey Program

Salvador Herrera

CEO, founding partner, Urbanistica, Mexico

Brian Loughlin, AIA

Principal - Magnusson Architecture and Planning PC

Chair - APA Housing & Community Development Division. USA

Carina Arvizu Machado

Ministry of Housing & U.D. (frmr) Mexico

Nicolas Maggio

President & CEO, Foro de Vivienda Sustentabilidad y Energía, Argentina 

Anindita Mitra, AICP

Principal - CREÄ Affiliates, llc, USA 

Mai Nguyen

consultant, International Finance Corporation, Vietnam 

Bishwapriya Sanyal, Ph.D.

Professor, Director of MIT SPURS/Humphrey Program, USA

Krishna K. Shrivastava, AICP

Principle, Founder, LIKAplan, Las Vegas, NV, USA

Jing Zhang, AICP (Host)

Chair, APA International Division

1. General

1. Housing affordability is a multifaceted and multi-stage issue. 

a. Major topics need diverse perspectives from different viewpoints. 

b. It would be beneficial to categorize problems and solutions. 

c. What is the role of government, finance institutes, developers, non-profits, communities, academics, and professionals?

2. The Market Force

1. Luxury housing projects are often more profitable than affordable housing projects.

2. Affordable housing projects often incur higher administrative costs and confront regulatory barriers, such as time, predictability, and chilling effect, making those developments impractical or unattractive.

3. Some urban theories, such as supply and demand, may not work as expected when applying to housing. 

3. The Role of Government 

1. Government interventions in the housing market can lead to unintended consequences, causing delays and increased costs for affordable housing projects. 

2. It is beneficial to specify the target beneficiary population of affordable housing policies (low-income families, middle-income families, or both). 

3. The government should support low-income families. Low-income populations require government support for housing.

4. Successful government policies for public housing in New Delhi can serve as a model for the middle-income population in a similar context.

5. Explore success stories where government interventions have positively impacted lives.

6. Consider revisiting policies, such as tax incentives for second property purchases.

4. Housing as a Right

1. Housing is a basic human need. Considering housing as a right is appealing and inspiring, but it is unclear if it is effective or implementable. It is particularly challenging to translate the concept into coherent public policies. 

2. Defining housing as a right needs deliberation with the constraints of a finite political and economic system. Caution against undue simplification. 

3. Defining housing as a right may lead to legal complications. Encourage involving legal experts to connect housing issues with legal considerations.

5. Focus on Existing Housing Stock

1. Addressing affordability and environmental concerns requires significant investment in existing housing stock, particularly in Latin American countries. 

2. Focusing on existing housing stock includes improving informal/squatter settlements. 

3. Major benefits of investing in existing housing stock include sustainability, cultural preservation, social cohesion and stability, and cost saving. 

6. Social Housing

1. Embrace a positive but conditional attitude toward social housing (a yes-but approach).

2. Paying for housing versus paying for policing individuals without housing.

3. The change in how housing is viewed, shifting from a basic necessity for individuals to an investment for financial gain, has a direct impact on the affordability of housing.

4. Recognize that the term "social housing" is less commonly used in the United States compared to "public housing." 

5. Poor countries struggle to allocate sufficient resources to address housing affordability. Existing initiatives often remain at the pilot project stage, insufficient in scale.

6. Examine the perceived and actual role of governments in providing housing, comparing approaches among different countries.

7. Informal Settlement and Squatter Settlements

1. Squatter settlements can evolve into working-class neighborhoods over time, as shown in many Latin American cities. 

2. Private efforts by low-income families to improve their homes contribute to urban development.

3. Acknowledge that having housing does not necessarily mean having qualitative housing. Qualitative housing includes accessibility to services and transportation options.

4. The informal housing topic extends beyond Latin American countries and is relevant to communities in the United States.

For interested individuals, whether participated in this meeting or not, we invite you to

• Select one or two subjects that resonate deeply with you, and write a short essay (approximate 250 words). 

• Write about a particular policy that worked well, emphasizing contextual factors that contributed to its success.

• Write about a particular policy that didn't work well, emphasizing contextual factors that contributed to its failures.

One of the long-term products of this program could be a toolkit that categorizes affordable housing issues and solutions.