The housing crisis is a national issue, but it hits close to home in some particularly challenging ways. The result: there is just not enough affordable housing for those who need it, and it’s a problem that’s been building for years.
In Rhode Island, the number of housing starts fell from the late ’80s until it was last in the nation, on a per capita basis, in 2021. A recent study done for the Rhode Island Foundation found that a third of households are cost-burdened, meaning they pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing.
In Massachusetts, it’s a similar story. The National Low Income Housing Coalition estimates a shortfall of more than 175,000 affordable rental units for extremely low income residents.
We’ll be following this story as it develops over 2023, exploring efforts in the political arena and the private sector to address the housing shortage and reporting on the realities of the situation for those who simply can’t find a place to live.
Priced out of Newport, Jeffrey Marcus calls his SUV his home
Newport is one of the few communities in Rhode Island that exceeds the state’s mandate for affordable housing. Yet, local officials say Newport has a housing crisis and risks losing its diverse community, as tourists, part-time residents and investors drive up rents and home prices. It’s becoming more common for local residents to fall on…
In Charlestown, limited progress and lots of discord on affordable housing
Like in other South County towns, home prices have skyrocketed in Charlestown in recent years, as young people and families are being priced out of a shoreline community that’s becoming increasingly attractive to out-of-state buyers. But Charlestown is also near the bottom of the heap with its neighbors in creating affordable housing. The town is…
URI grad fought for affordable housing in Middletown. Now he’s priced out, too
Rhode Island’s Low and Moderate Income Housing Act says every city and town in the state needs to have at least 10 percent of its housing stock be affordable. But decades after the law went into effect, only six municipalities have met the goal. In the third installment of our series, “Falling Short: In search…
“It’s a relentless pursuit”: How one organization has secured housing for hundreds of homeless Rhode Islanders
In the second installment of our series, “Falling Short: In search of affordable housing,” we look at Amos House, a local nonprofit that entices landlords to house homeless people by offering them thousands of dollars in cash incentives.
Rhode Island faces a long haul to tame its housing crisis
Rhode Island’s housing crisis has climbed to the top of the state’s political agenda. But making progress remains difficult due to a number of factors. In this first installment of our new series, “Falling Short: In search of affordable housing,” we look at what happens when the rubber meets the road.