SOC 436 Impacts to Affordable Housing Crisis

SOC 436 Impacts to Affordable Housing Crisis

SOC 436 Impacts to Affordable Housing Crisis

List three consequences to the affordable housing crisis and identify at least one social problem related.

In downtown Syracuse, New York, one in four children has elevated lead levels in their blood, according to a Reuters investigation. These children face developmental delays and will likely suffer physical and mental challenges for the rest of their lives. For context, the rate of child lead poisoning in downtown Syracuse is more than five times higher than in Flint, Michigan, at the height of the lead crisis there. But just five miles east of Syracuse in the well-heeled suburb of Dewitt, barely any children are exposed to hazardous amounts of lead.

[ READ: America Has a Health Equity Problem ]
The main difference lies in the housing. Most of the housing in Syracuse was built long before the U.S. government banned lead paint in 1978. Even when painted over, lead paint chips and crumbles, leaving a fine dusting of lead in the house for children to breathe and ingest. In Dewitt, most of the housing was built later, or has undergone abatement to mitigate the dangers of lead in the paint and plumbing.

Lead poisoning is just one health consequence of living in substandard housing. Without costly and time-consuming maintenance, both apartments and single-family homes can deteriorate rapidly. Leaky roofs, damp basements and clogged plumbing can lead to toxic mold and mildew. In colder climates, homes without adequate heating and insulation can reach dangerously low temperatures in winter, while in parts of the South and West, homes without air conditioning can become stifling in summer. Insects and rodents can cause food spoilage and the spread of disease.

The connection between housing and health is nothing new. The public health movements of the late 1800s coalesced around the issue of unhealthy living conditions in tenement housing: severe overcrowding, vermin infestations and a lack of ventilation, heating, plumbing, kitchen facilities and fire escapes. Modern building standards have vastly improved the safety and quality of most newly built housing in the U.S. Many of the tenement buildings that remain standing have been converted to high-end apartments or luxury condominiums. However, without sufficient financial resources it is difficult to ensure that aging housing units receive the ongoing investments they need. Renters often have little direct control over the maintenance of their housing units, and some homeowners cannot afford needed upgrades or repairs.

These longstanding housing problems have been intensified by the spectacular rise in housing prices over the past several decades, which has left many families struggling to afford a place to live. Rents have risen faster than inflation since the 1980s, accelerating in the 2000s and really taking off since 2010. Home prices rose to unprecedented levels during the boom of the 2000s, tumbled with the foreclosure crisis of 2008, and have now reached new heights. Housing affordability issues now extend beyond expensive coastal cities: a recent Pew study found increases in severely cost-burdened households throughout rural America.

[ READ: Better Housing a Key to Better Health ]
After paying their rent or mortgage, cost-burdened families have little left over for other necessities such as food and medicine. Some teeter on the edge of losing their homes, facing the trauma of eviction or foreclosure and the prospect of moving into motels, garages, trailers, cars, or onto the street. Children growing up in unstable housing situations are at increased risk for developmental delays and hospitalizations, and adults’ physical and mental health often deteriorates as well.

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Rising housing prices also worsen disparities in access to healthy housing and neighborhoods, which predictably fall along lines of race and class. While the Fair Housing Act of 1968 prohibits overt discrimination by government agencies and mortgage lenders, racist practices continue. Real estate agents commonly steer Black and Latino homebuyers away from homes for sale in mostly White neighborhoods. Black and Latino mortgage applicants are much more likely to be denied a loan than White applicants.

These disadvantages compound across generations. Families excluded from homeownership have missed out on decades of wealth accumulation. This leaves parents with less capital to help their children purchase a home—and parental assistance is often necessary for young people to buy a home in today’s overheated housing markets.

As a result, America’s legacy of segregation is alive and well. While racial segregation declined somewhat after the Fair Housing Act, it has been climbing again since the 1980s. And economic segregation has widened in cities across the country: wealthy and higher-income people increasingly cluster together, leaving poorer people to live in poorer neighborhoods.

People living in economically distressed neighborhoods are often exposed to multiple environmental hazards on a daily basis, from pollutants in the air, water, or soil to the stressors of constant noise or the threat of violence. The toll adds up. There is evidence that children who grow up in disadvantaged neighborhoods are more likely to experience a range of health problems throughout adolescence and adulthood, including obesity, depression and other mental health disorders, cardiovascular disease and premature death. And researchers have found that when exposed to similar levels of air pollution, older adults who live in more stressful neighborhoods have reduced cognitive function compared with those who live in less stressful places.

[ MORE: Air Pollution Rates Higher in Historically Redlined Neighborhoods ]
Of course, housing and neighborhoods can also support good health. Some vibrant communities offer resources such as green open spaces for walking and recreation, top-notch schools, health care facilities and grocery stores. The problem is that these neighborhoods are few and far between in U.S. cities, and those fortunate enough to live there tend to discourage newcomers by opposing nearby housing development.

As income inequality and economic segregation grow, the gap widens between health outcomes for the rich and poor. The housing affordability crisis affects health and well-being at every stage of life—from children growing up in unstable and stressful environments, to young adults moving back in with their parents because they cannot afford housing on their own, to aging renters and homeowners on fixed incomes trying to find a place to live.

To ensure that future generations have a chance at a healthy future, we need to address housing needs, starting with policies that protect vulnerable tenants and homeowners. Any long-term solution will require sustained investments in aging housing and struggling neighborhoods, not motivated by profit but by the well-being of the people who live there.

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