September 2017
America's Tomorrow Newsletter, September 20
Overview
When Housing Is Affordable, Everyone Wins
If renters paid just what they could afford in rent, the average household would have $6,200 a year more in their pocket to spend on groceries, childcare, medical care, and education—things one in five households have been skimping on to make rent. Collectively, that would amount to $124 billion that can help fuel economic growth.
Renters in dozens of U.S. cities are organizing demonstrations this week under the banner of “National Renter Week of Action and Assemblies.” The purpose is to push back against the Trump Administration’s threat to cut billions from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and make the case that renters rights are human rights.
September 2017
FRAC Interactive Data Maps: Poverty and SNAP by State and Congressional District
Overview
On the heels of the release of the 2016 Census American Community Survey findings, Food Research & Action Center (FRAC) has launched new interactive data tools illustrate poverty rates and SNAP participation rates at the state and congressional district levels. Policymakers, advocates and others will be better able to pinpoint the extent of poverty in their communities and to understand the importance extent to which SNAP (formerly known as food stamps) is bolstering households struggling with inadequate incomes. The new maps complement previous FRAC mapping of SNAP participation in every U.S. county.
Here’s What U.S. Cities Gain If Housing Is Affordable
This week, as part of the #RenterWeekofAction, September 18 to 23, renters in over 45 cities will take to the streets to demand better protections from displacement and more community control over land and housing.
Recognizing the severity of the housing affordability crisis facing renters from Oakland to Miami and the need for policy solutions, the National Equity Atlas, a partnership between PolicyLink and the USC Program for Environmental and Regional Equity, analyzed the growth of renters in the nation and in 37 cities, their contributions to the economy, and what renters and the United States stand to gain if housing were affordable.
Houston was a relatively affordable city before Hurricane Harvey. The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment was in the low-$800s, putting it among the least expensive cities to live, according to Apartment List. Not only is Houston’s average rent well below that of cities of similar population sizes, like Philadelphia and Chicago, but it also was the largest city to see rent prices drop between this year and last.
Today (September 18), renters in more than 45 U.S. cities kicked off “Renter Week of Action,” a week of direct actions aimed at addressing rent increases, mass evictions and cuts to the U.S.Department of Housing and Urban Development. Right To The City
L.A.'s Housing Crisis Is Now the Nation's Housing Crisis
The impact of Los Angeles' postrecession housing crisis became clear in 2014, when a UCLA report found that L.A. is "the most unaffordable rental market" in the United States. Since then, L.A. has seen renters become the majority of households in the market. And earlier this year, a report marked a 23 percent rise in homelessness countywide, a number that some experts say is directly tied to out-of-reach rents.
To kick off an awareness campaign called the Renter Week of Action this week, a number of organizations released an analysis of the city's and nation's increasing rent burdens, noting in a summary that renters from coast to coast now "face a toxic mix of rising rents and stagnant wages."
September 2017
When Renters Rise, Cities Thrive: National and City Fact Sheets
Overview
Renters now represent the majority in the nation’s 100 largest cities, and contribute billions to local economies. Yet renters face a toxic mix of rising rents and stagnant wages, both of which add up to an unprecedented affordability crisis that stymies their ability to contribute to the broader economy and thrive. This analysis, produced in support of the Renter Week of Action occurring September 16-24, reveals what renters and the nation stand to gain from addressing this crisis. We find that nationwide, if renters paid only what was affordable for housing, they would have $124 billion extra to spend in the community every year, or $6,200 per rent-burdened household. Download the national fact sheet and press release.
You can also download fact sheets for the following cities: Alameda, Atlanta, Baltimore, Birmingham, Boston, Bowling Green (KY), Brooklyn, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Durham, El Paso, Jackson, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Lynn (MA), Miami, Minneapolis, Nashville, Newark, New York, Oakland, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland, Providence, Reno, Rochester, San Diego, Santa Ana, Santa Barbara, Santa Rosa, Seattle, Spokane, Springfield (MA), St. Paul, Washington DC.
As Silicon Valley, my home and place of work, dreams up what's next, so, too, does the world dream up the next Silicon Valley.