The Next Crisis: Mass Eviction
Sources + Links
Abstract:
The United States is facing a massive shortage of affordable housing. Rent prices have been steadily rising as the median American income has continued to lag. This, combined with the economic severity of the Covid-19 pandemic, has set the stage for an onslaught of evictions in 2020.
Slide 2 - A Disturbing Trend
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Since 1990, over 2.5 million affordable housing units have either disappeared or become prohibitively expensive.
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Every year, over 80% of newly constructed rental units are luxury buildings that the average person cannot afford.
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As property developers and cities continue to ignore low-income communities, affordable housing in the U.S. is vanishing.
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(Sources: Harvard University, RealPage Analytics)
Slide 3 - Pre Covid vs. Post Covid
Pre-Covid:
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3.6% of the U.S. population was unemployed.
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Roughly 1 million people were evicted each year.
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550,000 people in the U.S. were unhoused
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(Sources: Congressional Budget Office, Evictionlab.org)
Post Covid:
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8-11.5% of U.S. population will be unemployed.
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23 million people face eviction by October 2020
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U.S. cities are bracing for 250,000+ additional unhoused individuals
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(Sources: Congressional Budget Office, Covid-19 Defense Project, Columbia University)
Slide 5 - Racism and Housing
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Between 1934 and 1962, $120 billion dollars were given in housing loans. Only 2% went to nonwhite families
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Communities of color were designated as “hazardous” and denied housing financing in a process known as redlining
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Homeownership is generational, and today nonwhite households are 50% less likely to own their home than white households
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(Source: Center for American Progress)
Slide 7 - What Needs to Change
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More affordable housing needs to be built, or else 80% of homes will be too expensive for 90% of homeowners
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Cities and states must protect renters from eviction and enact rent control as the economic crisis worsens
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The government must remedy the effects of racist and classist zoning laws
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(Source: RealPage Analytics)
Sources:
https://www.jchs.harvard.edu/sites/default/files/Harvard_JCHS_State_of_the_Nations_Housing_2018.pdf
https://www.cbo.gov/publication/56368
https://inequality.org/research/luxury-development-making-housing-crisis-worse/
https://evictionlab.org/national-estimates/
https://research.columbia.edu/covid/community
All illustrations by Robert Neubecker
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