Affordable housing in the district of columbia

Abstract

The development of affordable housing is a nation-wide problem, and should undoubtedly be made a priority across the states. A strong indicator of this affordable housing crisis is income level. Roughly 33,899,812 people received incomes below the poverty level in 1999, this staggering figure being true, it can be assumed that these same people encountered challenges when it came to the issue of housing. This nation-wide problem is also a devastating reality in the Anacostia community of the District of Columbia. Although comparatively the numbers are much smaller, according to the 1999 census data, tract 76.01 (the Anacostia community) had about 955 out of its 4540 total residents receiving an income under the poverty level. Again this figure may seem insignificant, however when considered in the context of that specific community, this is a little over twenty-one percent of that particular community’s population. This is an alarming statistic. With the knowledge of the below-poverty income level of over twenty percent of the Anacostia community, the need for affordable housing is clearly evident. This need for affordable housing is just one of many social issues plaguing the community; however, a solution to this problem will contribute to the eventual improvement of the various other social concerns within the area. Please see Appendix A for a complete layout of the previously stated census data. The ultimate goal of the project, more specifically Faithworks Inc., is to develop affordable housing units (the long-term goal is to develop multiple units) not only in the Anacostia community, but also throughout the entire Ward 8 area. The first phase goal of the project is to establish low-income housing in the Anacostia community. The goal of my research is to determine potential challenges that are faced when trying to establish affordable housing in a low-income community, and to offer solutions for these challenges, or methods to avoid these potential problems—which will be obtained through my experience throughout the project. It is commonly known that the Anacostia community is an extremely marginalized community within the District, in establishing affordable housing in this area, we are hoping to not only fulfill the housing needs of the residents, but to also enrich the quality of living of the community in general