Part 1. Affordability, Price, and Measuring a “Crisis”
When we talk about housing in Seattle, affordability dominates the conversation. Close behind are parking and design issues that tend to bother neighbors, and after that is the notion that somehow we’ve grown too much, too fast and the quality and character of life in Seattle is changing for the worse. But housing prices, expressed […]
Collaboration: Minneapolis Knows How, Seattle’s Council Doesn’t Have a Clue
There are a bunch of protections in state law against discriminating against people who are wanting to rent an apartment based on sex, religion, or race. They make sense, and in fact, they ought to be expanded to include sexual orientation. We think those decisions are best made at the state level. Why? Because Seattle […]
Master Builder: Reducing Costs of Building is in Everyone’s Interest
In this month’s Master Builder Magazine, I’ve articulated our argument for getting more efficient in the way resources are being used to produce non-profit affordable housing in Washington State. Bringing up this point, that low-income units produced by non-profit organizations are very expensive, makes many people unhappy. They often say, “Your math is wrong,” or, […]
