Solution journalism spring 2023: Affordable housing crisis

“Affordable housing is defined as housing that is sufficient in quality and location, and is not so costly that it prevents its occupants from satisfying other basic living needs.” 

“The most common rule to determine how much you can afford to spend on housing is that it should be no more than 30% of your gross monthly income; that 30% includes rent and utility costs like heat, water, and electricity.” Desire Area neighborhood in New Orleans had a median household income of $30,381. According to the 30% rule, residents should only dedicate $759 a month to housing. (Average rent in New Orleans is $851). If residents of the Desire Area neighborhood used the  50/30/20 budget, half of their monthly income should be used on expenses that can’t be avoided, like housing, food, and transportation. Using the average monthly income of the neighborhood ($2531), there would be $1681 dollars left after paying rent in New Orleans. Of that amount, only 416 dollars should be used for other necessities like bills, food, and transportation. The most recent government estimates of food costs for one month is, on average 230$ dollars per person, higher for males and people ages 14-50. The Desire Area Neighborhood has an average household size of 6.8 people. Using a six-person household, it will cost the household $1380 dollars to eat for the month. In all, $2230 dollars would be spent on necessities, leaving the household with $301 dollars for wants or savings/debts. In the Desiree Area Neighborhood, people are spending, on average, 88% of their monthly income on necessities. 

Hurricane Katrina in 2005 displaced about a million people and damaged the same number of homes. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development explained, “The more severe the damage in a neighborhood, the longer the neighborhood took to rebuild and the greater the likelihood of not rebuilding. Recovery speed was even worse when the damage was concentrated over an entire neighborhood.” The four main housing developments funded by the Government to aid in affordable housing C.J. Peete, B.W. Cooper, Lafitte, and St. Bernard neighborhoods, were destroyed and took over ten years to rebuild. 

When discovered, New Orleans was a swamp in the Mississippi River floodplain. As settlers tried to make the city liveable, they discovered the best areas were the ones with the highest elevation. Early wealthy settlers “bought up that land and settled there, forcing lower-income residents, including free people of color, to make homes on what was leftover – the low-lying back swamp.” A  1924 law “in the City of New Orleans prohibited racial integration in neighborhoods except on the written consent of a majority of the persons of the opposite race inhabiting such community.” That law paved the way for redlining because it was now easier to segregate neighborhoods based on wealth and race. In the 1930s, The Federal Home Loan Bank Board brought up zoning policies. They wanted the Home Owners Loan Corporation “to determine residential security across the U.S. by marking maps in 239 cities to indicate whether mortgage backers should support them. The classifications were based on the same idea of racial segregation. Green “Type A” neighborhoods were determined to be “safe” suburbs. Yellow “Type C” neighborhoods were considered “declining” areas that could be riskier investments.”

A map of New Orleans redlining plan, with colors representing Type A-Type D

Redlining made it difficult for low-income families to access credit or loans to purchase property. It was based on race and forced black people in New Orleans into Type D neighborhoods. The neighborhoods were “largely black, poor and working-class — were determined “hazardous” for their “infiltration of inharmonious racial or nationality groups.”” 

Redlining was outlawed by the Fair Housing Act of 1968. The original redlining map of the 1930s shows the Lakefront and City Park neighborhoods in green, while Central City, downtown, and Garden District neighborhoods are red. 

Throughout the years, areas in green, like Metairie, stayed green. The Metairie Jefferson Parish is one of the highest elevated areas in New Orleans. According to the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation, in 1932, Metairie Jefferson Parish consisted “of homes of uniform construction with evidence of pride of home ownership and zero negro population” Today, that same area in Metairie has a median household income of $165,156 and is 95.3 percent white.

 The HOLC categorized the City Park Area as “the most desirable residential section in downtown New Orleans” There were no Black people, and the occupation was Mostly Executives, business, and professional men. In 2019 the median household income of the City Park neighborhood was $76,679. The median household income in New Orleans is $45,615. City Park also has a higher percentage of males in almost every occupation: management occupations, business and financial operations, computer and mathematical occupations, legal, healthcare, and sales. The average is only lower for the service and construction occupations, which have the lowest pay.

The Lakeshore neighborhood in New Orleans had a median household income in 2019 that was more than double the rest of New Orleans; $108,030 to $45,615. The value of houses in this neighborhood is, on average, about 535,358 compared to New Orleans’ average of 317,842. The average number of cars or other vehicles available in this neighborhood is 36 compared to the average of 1.7.

In the Lakeshore and City Park neighborhoods, the percentage of the population below the poverty level is 1.5 and 7.3 percent compared to the rest of New Orleans’ 23 percent. These areas also average a higher education level and almost 200 percent more students K-12 enrolled in private schools.

In contrast, the Desire Area neighborhood has a median income of $30,381, which is $15,000 dollars lower than the New Orleans average. The average household size is 6.8 people, which is comparable to the City Park neighborhood.  

“Due to a combination of dark and impermeable surfaces, New Orleans ranks as the worst heat island of 159 cities in the United States, according to a new report from science news nonprofit Climate Central — more intense than even larger metropolises such as New York City, Houston, and Chicago. “Heat islands occur in high population urban areas in addition to a large presence of infrastructure including roads and buildings. “The statistical probability of extreme heat impacting New Orleans is 100% on an annual basis, with an average of 56 days per year with a temperature over 90 degrees Fahrenheit.” The NOAA reported that in New Orleans, “the extreme maximum temperature is approximately 102° Fahrenheit for the Parish. For the purposes of this plan, extreme heat events are quantified as days with temperatures exceeding 90° Fahrenheit. Given the zonal nature of extreme heat events, they have the potential to impact the entire Parish.” Heat islands cause “converging winds cause air to ascend over the city center and sink along its periphery. The lifting of warm, humid air over the city center often creates clouds that can develop into thunderstorms if the air remains unstable and continues to rise.”  

Half of New Orleans is under sea level, and water doesn’t have anywhere to go when it rains. According to the U.S. Global Change Research Program, “the number of heavy rainfalls was 18% higher between 1986 and 2016 than it was between 1901 and 1960.” Extreme rainfall “puts people in danger and at risk of exposure to dangerous electrical hazards, contamination and fast-moving floodwater which can easily knock over adults and increase drowning risks.” In 2020 The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that “Thirty named storms made this year’s season the most active on record, and five made landfall in Louisiana. With storm frequency and intensity continuing to rise, more people — especially those already financially disadvantaged — are more susceptible to housing challenges as they lose their homes or jobs after damaging storms.

New Orleans underwater, homes flooded after Hurricane Katrina. (Photo by Glen B. Stewart – Flickr)

” In 2019, “thousands in Lake Charles, Louisiana were left homeless after Hurricane Laura destroyed homes and renters faced mass evictions from landlords due to housing repair necessities and unlivable conditions — all during a global pandemic (COVID19).”

Not having adequate housing affects both physical and mental health. Solutions for Change explains, “Minor issues such as cuts and colds can develop into pneumonia or more serious infections if they aren’t properly treated. Maintaining a healthy diet, getting enough rest, and recuperating from injury and illness is almost impossible on the streets and in shelters.” Statistics from Verywell Mind show that “60 percent of an estimated 42 million youths have reported experiencing mental health issues. Anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts are among some of the traumatic ways in which homelessness manifests.” Also, a study from the Boston Medical Center on the effects of housing instability found that “being late on rent and having a homeless child further increased the likelihood of mental health issues.”

  New Orleans is also the 3rd most populated city in the Deep South. “In 2018, New Orleans welcomed 18.51 million visitors, a 4.29 percent increase in visitors compared to the previous year. The city also saw a 3.91 percent increase in total visitor spending of $9.1 billion,” according to D.K. Shifflet & Associates’ reporting.”

Tourism raises the property value in New Orleans while also increasing the demand for housing. WWNO found that “Over the last five years, fair market rent in the metro area — the annual estimated amount a two-bedroom unit typically rents for, including utilities — has increased by about 13%, from $964 in 2017 to $1,089 in 2022.” The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that “workers in the New Orleans-Metairie, LA Metropolitan Statistical Area had an average (mean) hourly wage of $24.41 in May 2021, 13 percent below the nationwide average of $28.01”. 

The Louisianna Fair Housing Action Center explains that “New Orleans is gentrifying at an abnormally rapid rate compared to most U.S. cities .”The National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) released a Gentrification and Disinvestment Report in 2020 and found that “thirteen New Orleans census tracts are actively gentrifying, meaning they are experiencing increases in income, home values, and college attainment despite having recently had home values and incomes in the lower 40th percentile. Gentrifying areas include parts of the Mid-City, Broadmoor, Central City, Treme, 7th Ward, Holy Cross, McDonogh, and Irish Channel neighborhoods.” New Orleans is “gentrifying at an abnormally rapid rate compared to most U.S. cities” because of tourism’s strain on the available housing market. Tourism has forced “the majority of New Orleans households to rent, and many are stretched thin.” 

Limited equity cooperatives “are a type of cooperative housing characterized by restrictions on resale value to maintain housing affordability over the long term. Limited equity cooperatives are specifically designed to provide permanent and affordable housing to low- and middle-income residents, often with more deeply affordable income thresholds than other limited-equity models.”

The Genossenschaftliche Immobilienagentur (i.e. cooperative real-estate agency /GIMA) in Munich, Germany, now has 23 nonprofit housing construction associations. According to the Goethe-Institut, since the Cooperative Act (Genossenschaftsgesetz) of 1889, “over three million people are now members in one of over 2000 cooperative housing associations, or are already living in one of 2.3 million cooperative homes.” Munich, Germany, “experienced the greatest demand for housing and increase in housing prices in the country, in large part because of young professionals’ migration into the city and European Union citizens seeking jobs in this economic powerhouse.” To combat this, the local Government sold city-owned land at discounted rates of up to 40 percent. The process allowed for a fully operating cooperative paid for by the people that bought this land. 

World War II and reunification caused Leipzig, Germany’s downtown population, to decrease in the early 90s. People were leaving to find better housing in areas that weren’t neglected during the war. Housing Matters explains, “A key part of the revitalization strategy for these difficult-to-finance properties has been the use of new, smaller, and project-oriented cooperative housing models. To make such projects easier to initiate and finance, several nonprofit organizations worked with the city to help interested residents obtain clear titles to properties or contact abandoned-building owners in the hopes of obtaining agreements for their reuse.” As a result, Leipzig became one of Germany’s fastest-growing cities.

WagnisART is a housing cooperative in Germany. Their cooperatives are designed more like villages. One example is cluster apartments where “84 of the total of 138 flats are organized as shared flats: each cluster apartment has a private sphere with its own cooking niche and bath for each of one to three residents. The spacious community kitchen and joint living space are available to all cluster residents, up to 11 persons, depending on size.” WagnisART says, “Cooperative living does not just mean inexpensive rents, but above all an extraordinary engagement for the community – from the concept of the building and surfaces to the furnishing with works of art. Each cooperative member must contribute at least 20 work hours annually.”

Living in a housing cooperative, as stakeholders, members hold power to make decisions that affect the community. Members are also more involved in designing buildings and housing. The Geothe-Institut explains how “architects are more moderators than designers. In a workshop, cooperative members arranged the five volumes of the buildings with shoe-boxes in a circle and connected them with wooden slats as a symbol of community: the birth of the bridges, which despite all resistance and additional costs, remained core planning elements. Even the arrangement of the windows was left to the residents: each member could decide what wall he would later look upon from his flat.”

In order to use Germany’s cooperative housing model in New Orleans, the city has to support them. Residents also have to understand what housing cooperatives are and their benefits. Nonprofit organizations that already feed and clothe people can also teach them. Once the members have been recruited, you need to have vacant spaces or abandoned buildings in order to build the housing cooperative. New Orleans has many abandoned areas as a result of Hurricane Katrina. For example, Six Flags New Orleans is a “200-acre amusement park” that has been abandoned since its “closure on August 21, 2005”. Another abandoned building is the Municipal Auditorium. It was “once the location of swanky Carnival balls, high school graduations, and concerts; the Municipal Auditorium is now nothing more than another boarded up building.”

After identifying an area to build, the Government can work to let these cooperatives purchase abandoned spaces that are city-owned. They can provide either discounted rates or priority to housing cooperatives. 

GoFundMe is a platform that can connect people willing to invest in specific issues or people they connect with. Government-assisted housing programs are not usually ideal for the residents because there is no connection with the people living in them. The Government is working to solve a problem rather than help people. 

GoFundMe can be the platform where the people of New Orleans that struggle to find affordable housing tell their stories. Barbara Bradford connected to millions of people by focusing on the characters in her writing and letting them tell the story. She gained empathy from readers by writing about life challenges, something everyone can relate to. 

Empathy is the “concept that refers to the cognitive and emotional reactions of an individual to the observed experiences of another.” Empathy appeals to the masses because everyone is born with empathy. It is the “bedrock of intimacy and close connection.” Without it, relationships would lack personal connection. Even though “humans are wired for empathy,” it can be hard to show. A study by Simone Roerig says that empathy depends on “what others are willing or able to tell about themselves.” For example, feeling sad about a situation you know little about or don’t understand can be difficult.” 

“Starting a new housing co-op for you and your community usually takes 1 to 3 years. It takes a lot of coordination and dedication”. The main takeaway is that the city and government needs to be on board. The Government does not need to provide funding or run the cooperative; they just can’t be against them. Germany has had success in building housing cooperatives because the “cooperatives in Germany benefit from a strong and comprehensive legal framework.” Germany’s law on cooperatives is “notable for its flexibility which allows for innovation and for new forms of cooperatives to develop. Auditing requirements also ensure that cooperatives are integrated into a strong vertical network, protected against hostile takeovers, and rarely go bankrupt.”