The Urban Housing Crisis
By Councilman Albus Brooks
As a leader in this city, the question of how to fix our housing crisis is what keeps me up at night. I’m unable to fully celebrate Denver’s countless economic successes without sitting with the countless stories I’ve heard about those being pushed to the margins, and beyond, unable to benefit from our current boom.
Like leaders in this city, and others like it, I am antagonized by this reality. Nationally, no city has adequately addressed this concern, and even though we’ve recently established Denver’s first dedicated fund for affordable housing, we must do more.
I recently read “The New Urban Crisis” by Richard Florida, and in it he discusses income inequality and our urban housing crisis. He makes a point that is of interest to discussions about our affordable housing crisis. He points out that, ironically, the same economy that has caused these divisions in our cities will be the same one that fixes them.
To close Denver’s economic gaps we don’t need a new economy — we need to adjust the one we have and make it work better for the Denver that residents deserve.
One with more victors and fewer victims.
This week Denver City Council approved a plan to allow developers to build higher in certain parts of northeast Denver if they provide much-needed affordable housing. Using zoning to provide affordable housing is an example of adjusting the economy we have, and this is the first time we have done something like this as a city for all housing prototypes.
This is the thought behind these height amendments — beginning to capture the value that developers receive from increased density in a way that provides much-needed community benefits like workforce housing, art space, and neighborhood retail.
The proven economic rationale of supply and demand in cities tells us that height restrictions limits supply, and with increasing demand for housing we will see soaring costs and greater displacement. This plan puts density where it belongs: near high-capacity public transit, following healthy national principles around transit-oriented development. To find balance and inclusion for all, Florida says, “Ultimately, our only way forward for our economy and society is more, not less urbanism.” This plan promotes more housing density, increased affordability, safer pedestrian activity, less congestion from single-occupancy vehicles, but most importantly the clustering of diverse people — and it uses our economic engine to do it in a balanced and inclusive way.
This is the deepest challenge when it comes to our housing crisis: when all new development and taller buildings are perceived as bad for the neighborhood. But I think this goes deeper than just “NIMBYism” or holding onto an old way of doing things in a new economy; it speaks to a fear of change. The changes that come with Denver’s growth come with their own set of pains and anxieties, and it’s critical for Denver’s residents to know that I feel that pain and carry the stories of those on the margins with me every waking moment.
The irony is that zero development will lead to higher housing costs and greater displacement.
Like most of life’s toughest challenges, the answer lies somewhere between the two extremes. In the tension. In the liminal space. Somewhere between soaring skyscrapers and soaring housing costs lies the answer, and it is in this space where we are most teachable, and where truly profound transformation takes place.
So this is where we found ourselves as a city this week.
To close Denver’s economic gaps we don’t need a new economy — we need to adjust the one we have and make it work better for the Denver that residents deserve.
One with more victors and fewer victims.
This plan is one small, but important, piece of a larger plan to do just that.
