Housing costs and supply are dominating the news at the moment.  Housing is the highest monthly bill typical Americans face, reaching an average of $1674 a month in 2021. Housing prices have increased far faster than incomes (Miller 2015), making affordable homeownership inaccessible for many aspiri … Continued

This headline from last week would naturally grab the attention of any CED professional: “Affordable mobile homes are disappearing in Asheville; code change could bring some back.” Housing is a basic issue for anyone interested in CED. Behind the headline are a host of issues that both foster hope i … Continued

By most accounts, the need for affordable housing across North Carolina is massive. According to 2019 census data, over a million North Carolina households are “cost burdened,” meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on housing. Almost half of those are “severely cost burdened,” meaning the … Continued

The economic fallout from COVID-19 magnified many of the existing challenges faced by North Carolina communities such as access to open space or the capacity of the local health care systems. Among these issues, the crisis highlighted how stable and affordable housing is essential to the well-being … Continued

Real estate ownership is one of the primary vehicles for wealth creation in the United States, and consequently one of the core drivers of the racial wealth gap after generations of disinvestment in and displacement of BIPOC communities. Andre Perry, senior fellow at Brookings Institution and author … Continued

The Brookings Institute recently published an article detailing some of the benefits and drawbacks of the planning practice known as upzoning: the rezoning of a parcel of land from a lower allowable density to a higher one. One of the primary purposes of upzoning is increasing density, both of resid … Continued

Sprawled on roughly 40 acres in Charlotte, N.C., The Renaissance is the first Purpose Built Community in the Queen City. Its purpose: be more than a housing option. Developed by Laurel Street Residential in 2016 on behalf of the Charlotte Housing Authority (Now InLivian), The Renaissance offers crad … Continued

The federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) established Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (“FRF”), which will be distributed to state and local governments for the purpose of responding “to the public health emergency with respect to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID–19) or … Continued

Prior to suburban flight, living in urban centers was commonplace, and business owners often lived in their commercial properties. Commonly referred to as live-work units, architect Thomas Dolan defines live-work as “a building, unit, or compound in which residential and work activities are pursued … Continued

In 2017, a CED blog post asked if wages in different parts of the state were sufficient to sustain a person who wants to live and work there. For example, in 2016, nursing assistants in Goldsboro earned $11.83 an hour (median wage) for a mean annual salary of $24,610. Things have improved in terms o … Continued