How to Make an Affordable City More Affordable

Pittsburgh is considered one of the most affordable cities in the U.S., if not the world. Still, that doesn’t mean it’s affordable for the 17,241 households that make less than 50 percent of the city’s median household income. Compared to other cities, that’s a modest number; in fact, the National Low Income Housing Coalition ranks Pittsburgh among the metropolitan areas with the highest availability of affordable rental units. However, Pittsburgh is currently benefitting from a burst of economic growth, a quickly sprouting tech industry, and a plethora of “most livable” designations—all of which are setting the table for that pesky visitor named “gentrification.”

That’s why Pittsburgh city council member Daniel Lavelle created a task force in January 2015 to get in front of the affordability issue before it became a severe problem. In May, that task force recommended that the city set up an inclusionary zoning policy, increase the use of federal low income housing tax credits, and to set up a housing trust fund. Lavelle introduced legislation for the trust fund this summer, which the city council passed this week, committing the city to depositing at least $10 million annually. So far, the affordable housing campaign in Pittsburgh has seen little resistance—no council members voted against it.