Journalists are drawn to cover issues and when it comes to housing, we know there are plenty. Earlier this month, I published a review essay on three new books about the housing crisis, and it might be easy to conclude, given all the startling statistics and warnings, that little progress is being made.
That would be a mistake. One of my favorite aspects of working at Vox is having the space to explore innovative and promising solutions, and this year we’ve covered some really good topics, especially in housing. After I’m done reporting, after I’m done asking sources all my toughest questions, that’s the kind of idea that really excites me.. Many of these policy ideas not only provide new, creative ways to increase our housing supply or bring people into existing housing, but also help communities tackle other issues such as blight and social exclusion.
Here are six housing policy ideas I feel (cautiously) enthusiastic about as I report in 2024:
1. Converting abandoned strip malls into housing
The Irondequoit Mall in Upstate New York opened in the early 1990s and was once a bustling destination for the suburban town outside Rochester. But over time, brick-and-mortar stores closed as more retail shopping moved online, leaving many empty storefronts. A nonprofit housing developer had the idea to redevelop the mall’s vacant Sears department store into new affordable housing for seniors. His team converted the vacant building into 73 new rental apartments, attached to a new four-story multifamily rental building in the adjacent parking lot.
Policymakers, researchers and real estate developers are paying close attention to the transformation of such malls. Strip malls in particular offer some unique advantages to developers because they usually come with large empty parking lots that make it easy to build. Recent studies estimate that converting just 10 percent of strip mall candidates could create more than 700,000 new homes across the country. In 2022, California passed a new law to help facilitate such transitions, and in 2023 the Biden administration released new guidelines to help leaders and developers navigate the financing process.
Unlike vacant office buildings, many abandoned strip malls nationwide are already decades old and in need of long-standing repairs. They can be a real drag on their communities, and their maintenance can be more expensive than just demolishing and rebuilding. You can read our full story on this idea here.
2. Paying tenants cash instead of housing vouchers
The Housing Choice Voucher Program (formerly known as Section 8) celebrated its 50th anniversary this year, and with more than 2 million families currently using the subsidy to pay for housing, it’s often an inefficient process for those involved. A federal survey found that about 60 percent of voucher-holders can even find a landlord willing to rent to them.
Washington has a quieter pace building to use cash instead. Advocates think a cash-based approach could not only prove more efficient, but more dignified for tenants, and could even save the government money – allowing them to focus more on providing services and building new housing. While policymakers are pitching the initiative as a modest investigation, the officials involved are keenly aware that a small pilot program could lead to massive, permanent changes in the bipartisan $30 billion annual program. You can read that full story here.
3. Mixed-income public housing, where local governments play the role of housing developers
I first covered this concept in 2022: a new model for local governments to build more housing by taking ownership of newly built housing assets as developers. The idea is to use relatively small amounts of public money to create a fund that can finance short-term construction costs.
I wrote about it again this year because the concept no longer exists on paper. One place leading the way is Montgomery County, Maryland, which opened its first mixed-income apartment complex in 2023. With 268 units, it’s not what you might normally imagine public housing to be. It’s sleek and modern, with a fitness center and a courtyard pool. Other cities and states, including Chicago, Atlanta and Rhode Island, are moving forward with their own versions.
I take some pride in this because after we published our story in February, some people in the Biden White House took notice and reached out to one of our main sources for a meeting. About a month later, a proposal supporting the idea was included in Biden’s 2024 budget, and Kamala Harris supported it on the campaign trail. The concept was also promoted at the Bloomberg CityLab conference this year and just this month in San Francisco published a report Confirming the feasibility of the model for their city.
4. Yes in the courtyard of God’s house
The YIGBY movement, short for “Yes in God’s Backyard,” really began in San Diego, where a local black church turned its 7,000-square-foot vacant lot into 25 apartments for seniors and veterans. The YIGBY movement is taking advantage of two different social trends: Religious institutions across America are grappling with growing membership and rising costs, with 100,000 churches slated to close in the next few years; Meanwhile, cities desperately need more affordable housing.
Last year, California passed a law that would make it easier to build housing for churches, temples, synagogues and mosques, bypassing the usual zoning rules that often prevent new development. The potential is huge: California alone has 47,000 acres of trust-owned land suitable for construction.
The idea is picking up steam. States from Hawaii to New York are organizing for similar legislation, and there’s even a federal bill to support these projects nationwide. It’s something of a win-win proposition: For religious institutions, it can be a way to put vacant land to good use and fulfill their mission of helping others while generating new sources of revenue. For cities, this is a creative solution to their housing crisis, and it can help many communities deal with abandoned or deteriorating buildings. You can read more about that here.
5. Placing factory-built housing and ADUs on community land trusts
In August, I wrote about an innovative concept that combines three distinct affordability strategies. The experiment began on a single plot of land in San Bernardino, California.
First, they are building homes in factories rather than on site, which cuts construction costs in half. Because houses are built Meet construction standards As determined by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, they qualify for special financing options, meaning they can be produced more efficiently at scale.
On top of that, developers are adding an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) to the same property, increasing the supply on the same land. And finally, they are using a Community Land Trust (CLT) to make these homes affordable to future buyers. A local affordable housing group owns the plot of land on which the homes are built, and the CLT will effectively limit how much homeowners can resell it for when they’re ready to move on. The city of Palm Springs took notice and is now piloting the concept on three vacant lots owned by the city. You can read about the story and the pilot’s first family here.
6. Affordable dorm-style living using empty downtown office space
One reason we haven’t seen office-to-residential conversions — despite post-pandemic office vacancy rates hovering around 20 percent nationwide — is because the economics of these projects are often not financially feasible. Adult dormitory projects like this one, however, address many of those economic concerns
The idea is to create small apartments with shared kitchens, bathrooms and living areas. In cities like Denver, these units can rent for between $500 and $1,000 per month (well below the city’s $1,771 median rent) while still making a profit. Communal setups can reduce conversion costs by 25 to 35 percent compared to traditional office-to-apartment conversions.
I’ve seen three cities — Denver, Seattle and Minneapolis — that are already strong candidates to pursue this idea thanks to recent zoning changes for this type of co-living. It’s a modern take on the single-room occupancy (SRO) that housed millions of urban workers before cities outlawed it in the early 1900s. While some may balk at smaller units, the central location and affordable rents are likely to make sense for students, young professionals, service industry workers, retirees and urban newcomers. You can read more about that concept here.
The housing affordability challenges ahead are real, but a lot can change when hard-working people pay attention. Lest you’re worried, we’re not wearing rose-colored glasses here. We’ll continue to see how these ideas develop and what they actually look like in practice. We’ll bring you a progress report next year, as well as (hopefully) some new ideas to add to the list. Your readers and financial support make this kind of reporting possible, so thank you.
