Perspective
How Cities Address the Housing Crisis, and Why It’s Not Enough
Local officials from across the U.S. are gathering to discuss ways to address the affordable housing crisis but, they say the federal government must do more.
It’s a simple idea: Everyone should have a place to live. But we are failing badly at this most basic of goals, in every part of the country.
In Brooklyn and Minneapolis, where we are city council members, skyrocketing prices push families out of the neighborhoods where they’ve lived for years. It’s impossible for young people to find a place to rent, much less own. Homelessness is at record levels, and in cities like Detroit, as many as one in five renters face eviction, part of a nationwide eviction epidemic.