Affordable Housing, is it a good idea?

The Story:
Union Square in Somerville, MA is struggling with a common issue in today's societal and political world. How do we appease the voters on both sides of the story while allowing private companies to create jobs and help boost the economy? The Somerville Community Corporation purchased an unused Boy & Girls Club building and want to renovate the space into 40 affordable apartments, some of which will be Section 8 housing. Section 8 housing is designated for those individuals / families that can not otherwise afford housing due to low income and thus receive government assistance. Affordable units is an industry term in real estate to describe reduced rent apartments to allow families with an opportunity to support themselves by paying a reduced rent compared to the open market.

The battle going on in this story is a struggle between those who would like to allow the project to move forward, provide housing to low income families that need a place to live, as well as provide additional jobs to perform the construction renovation. This project would also help workers across the country because a single construction project of this size can directly or indirectly affect thousands of workers. From factory workers producing the thousands of materials needed in order to complete the project, to the truckers who are essential to delivering the construction materials to the stores and job site, to the food vendors that make their living selling break and lunch time food to the workers. It's a big deal even for a small project like this one.

On the flip side, there are homeowners that are concerned about the societal impact from 40 new apartments entering the market, designated to families of lesser means. They're concerned the already dense living situation in Somerville (the most densely occupied city in Massachusetts), will become even more dense without any relief to assist in transporting all these new tenants. The city was promised (nearly 30 years ago) the state would extend the T line and improve bus routes, to date, there is talk about cancelling the T plans due to costs and transportation deficits as well as cutting back on bus routes and leaving the city without many options.

The concerned residents in this community are the voice for many towns and cities throughout the country. They are villified, made out to be heartless cruel individuals that think of themselves first before helping those that may be in need. The politicians are caught between helping the project move forward and risk upsetting the existing base, or help the project and upset those in favor of the project. Keep in mind, while all this is going on, there is a private corporation that just wants to use it's right to make money and build the project.

Where do you stand? Is this an easy answer? Do we need to reinvestigate how housing is provided for those who can not afford it? Should we close the door to them and say, "if you can't afford living here, move elsewhere; that's what I have to do if I want to better my situation"? Let me here your thoughts. This isn't a problem that's going to go away soon...and may be coming to your town next!

For more on this, follow the link to the original article.
http://somerville.patch.com/articles/affordable-housing-proposal-in-union-square-causes-conflict
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