Affordable Housing
Environmental Science 115
Dr. Kip Thompson
Tony Baker
11 May 2014
Affordable Housing
Are poor people priced out or can it be they can’t afford housing in select areas? “Rising mortgage interest rates will price out some potential buyers (usatoday.com, 2014).” However, looking at what is affordable and what is not, one has to look at the location as well as characteristics of what type of home is being built. “The average share of the home’s sales price which goes to the construction costs jumped from 59 percent in both 2009 and 2011 to 62 percent in 2013(eyeonhousing.org).” The land the home is built on is a small percentage of the value of the home as well. Home prices are also based on classes of how the home is constructed and location. The usual four classes of homes built in the US can be categorized as economy home, average home, custom built, and luxury built. In some areas homes can be priced well below the construction cost. In large areas of country, like outside of city or rural areas, the price of purchase will come even closer to construction cost. Cities and suburbs on the other hand is where the prices of homes is much higher than the cost of new construction. Even though they do not represent the norm, this can be construed as pricing certain individuals out of cities and suburbs.
Supply and Demand
Why do some areas fair better than others when it comes to home prices? High cost areas fair better due to certain attractions, the center of gravity were all the action is. People are willing to pay more for areas they feel more secure along with other amenities like good schools, good weather, and job growth. Growing up, I can say I have experienced both, living in high cost areas and low cost areas. Just as my father, I was driven to succeed and to make things better for my family than what I perceived growing up in a nine member family in a two bedroom apartment. I don’t think the limitations on where you can live is immoral or unethical. Is society responsible for the well-being of others? Personally, I think it is a matter of choice and how much you are willing to succeed for your next generation. Even though uncomfortable, we could have stayed in our comfort zone, close to extended family and friends, but my father choose not to. He worked hard to move us out to a better place.
Urban Renewal
According to a dictionary reference; urban renewal is defined as “the rehabilitation of city areas by renovating or replacing dilapidated buildings with new housing, public buildings, parks, roadways, industrial areas, etc., often in accordance with comprehensive plans (dictionary_reference.com).” It may enhance existing communities, and in some cases result in the demolition of neighborhoods. For the business person, this plan creates more growth and prosperity for business, on the other hand for the generation of families affected in neighborhoods, the thought is where we go from here. To them urban renewal means moving out the poor. It’s like some of those retail giants that come in and bulldoze those small mom and pop shops out of business. Shops that were pillars of their community, were everyone knows everyone.
Urban Sprawl
Urban sprawl is the spreading of a city and its suburbs over rural land at the fringe of an urban area. After studying environmental science I can under the negative impact of this type of development. According to a web search, “the term urban sprawl generally has negative connotations due to the health, environmental and cultural issues associated with the phrase (en.wikipedia.org).” The environmental issues come with the increase of human activities, in this case potentially moving miles away from the city and your job. This adds to transportation requirements which in turn adds more air pollution to the environment. Boulder, Colorado has taken great efforts to control urban sprawl, but at what cost? “The city's surging job growth and limitations on residential growth have had a significant impact on housing demand in adjoining communities. This regional imbalance between jobs and housing has created tremendous problems with traffic congestion (more CO2), lack of affordable housing and school facility needs (lincolninst.edu).” The effects of urban sprawl increases as the distance between the haves and the have-nots becomes greater and greater.
