The Rent is Too Darn High
Let’s Talk Affordable Housing.

Confused by the title? Click here. And yes, we used the clean version for our newsletter.
The global trend of urbanization shows no signs of letting up — by 2030, one in three people are expected to live in cities with populations of at least half a million. This influx into the world’s cities puts pressure on the availability and affordability of housing, often pricing out existing residents who are unable to adapt to gentrifying neighborhoods.
In the US, home prices have hit new pre-crisis level highs, but residential construction has not recovered. Homebuilders blame a shortage of both construction labor and vacant lots. City-by-city data shows that folks who seek urban lifestyles strive to be almost exclusively within 5 miles of city centers, driving up home prices in those interior regions at much higher rates. To make matters worse, these current restraints lead homebuilders to construct fewer, larger units targeted towards wealthier occupants in those areas. One option to stop this trend is for voters and their elected officials to rewrite zoning rules to allow for denser construction. Outside of the regulatory angle, however, programs have been established to tackle the housing crisis so that all contributors to city economies can attain safe housing. In the US and abroad, these solutions range from providing financing, improving designs and manufacturing processes, creating dwellings that can be purchased or rented at lower prices, and devising ways to find shared living spaces. At FWP, we’re still watching Urban.Us, which invests in startups that aim to make cities a better place to live.
Milo Tong, Summer Associate



After a tragic fire consumed Grenfell Tower and left 110 families homeless in London, Dolphin Living announced that it raised £24.7 million via a retail charity bond offering. Proceeds will be applied towards its mission of building 1000 affordable homes in London by 2020.

A couple weeks ago, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative put $5 million into a fund for Landed, a Y Combinator startup that helps educators in a few of the highest-cost school districts in California buy homes. Landed works to make home ownership more accessible by paying up to half of a 20% down payment, with zero interest or monthly payments– instead taking up to 25% of the appreciation or depreciation of the home’s price when it is refinanced or sold.

Downsizing does not have to come with sacrifice. These creative micro-homes around the world show that small can not only be beautiful and functional, but can also save time, money, and energy.

