|
|
Lack of affordable, attainable housing in many communities combined
with escalating prices of middle income homes makes housing a chronic problem.
Traditional models create only a temporary solution. For example, contracts
with private developers expire after 15 or 30 years causing thousands of units
to revert to market rate every year. Also, rental housing requires constant
resources to maintain quality standards.
While there are new models in the wings, such as community land trusts,
implementing a new model is difficult. It requires bringing together all the
parties -- public and private funders, regulators, interested community groups,
residents, housing developers, non-profits. This is a major challenge for
communities or agencies trying to effectively implement a housing program
that draws broad support and truly meets a communities housing needs.
Here are two examples of how these communities faced their housing
challenges:
The Future of Affordable Housing in
Scottsdale Arizona
In
this rapidly growing, upscale community, local teachers, police, and
civil servants could not afford to live where they work. The housing
crisis raised many fears. As one community member put it, "I'm
concerned that our children will not have the opportunity to choose to
live in this community after they grow up." Another said, "Seniors
might have to move because of rising prices and taxes and fixed
incomes"
The community, divided
over the issue of housing, decided to see what a future search could
do. "We chose future search as a proactive way to involve citizens in the housing
issue. Positive benefits that resulted from the Scottsdale future search
included a general community awareness of the complexities of Scottsdale's
housing shortage, and a level of citizen activity around the housing
issue that Scottsdale had never witnessed before."
During the future search,
participants joined action groups which included: 1) Public outreach
to educate the community on the concept of affordable housing; 2) An
analysis of current policies having an impact on housing affordability
with the intention to update the housing element of the general plan
to reflect meaningful principles and incentives; and 3) Forming a nonprofit
CDC that would focus on improving the health and vitality of its low-
income neighborhoods.
"Several
months after the future search, I began seeing advocates for the
housing issue start agreeing with "subsidized" housings greatest
critics, and vice versa. It turned out that neither side really had a
disagreement about the end product; they simply disagreed on the road
that would take them there."
(un-attributed
quotes are from Brian Swanton, Housing Development Manager, City of
Scottsdale, AZ)
|
Housing in Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz, California:
A future search in this community, resulted in a collaborative
commitment among developers, funders and community groups which resulted
in the
following: 1) A $10,000 rental assistance fund for local Families
in Transition program, 2) A fund raising effort to increase the farm-worker
loan fund from $250,000 to $350,000, and 3) A $5.5,000,000, 36
unit
low-income housing project was started.
In addition citizens
discovered that, they could act together on a wide range of shared
concerns. Together they made action commitments that initiated an extensive
cleanup program following a disastrous flood, worked for job and business
creation, supported art & literacy education, created a diversity-training program and began the effort
to transform a decaying area into a Latino marketplace.
|
Future search is a high-participation planning process for building
commitment and implementing action among people with diverse needs and perspectives.
A typical future search on housing might include neighborhood groups, social
service agencies, planning & transportation agencies, government, business, citizens who need affordable
housing and others.
Check the links to the left for a deeper understanding of the
future search theory and methodology.
|
"For me, did
the future search work? No question about it. It provided a living model
of democracy."
-
Tony Hill, Community resident, Santa Cruz
|
Outcomes from a typical future search addressing
housing:
- Planning for regional housing needs with neighboring jurisdictions
and cooperating agencies.
- Effectively coordinating a development project that involves
a number of agencies.
- Planning for housing in a local, state or federal jurisdiction.
- A shift from contentious paralysis to committed action.
- Uniting and recruiting a geographical or community of interest
to cooperate on a development project.
- Coordinating a wide range of stakeholders to learn about and
begin to act on a new approach to housing development such as a community
land trust.
top
|
