The affordability of housing is one of the most critical factors that determine the well being for Californians. Housing affects people’s lives in terms of education, recreation and choices for jobs. On the state level, the cost of housing has important impact on California economy, affecting the extent to which employers are able to hire and retain workers and influencing their preferences on whether to work and remain in California.
The cost of housing is high in California. Home prices are much higher than they are in other densely populated states. By 2015, the cost of a typical California home was $437,000, more than double the U.S. average, $179,000 . Besides the high absolute value, the home prices and rents in California have grown
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Low-income households spend more on housing due to the increased home prices. As a result, they have to spend less money on other essential spending. In terms of local cost of living, California’s poverty level is the highest nationwide and about 9% higher than the average . This is primarily resulted from the high housing costs.
PROBLEM CONTRIBUTORS
With regards to the causes of the housing supply shortage in coastal areas, main contributors that lead to the issue are local finance structures, community resistance and environmental reviews.
Local Finance Structures
In California, the finance structure of local government gives them more incentives to approve commercial (non-residential) housing development. Cities and counties find fiscal benefits come primarily from the commercial development, such as hotels, restaurants, and retail establishments. The tax revenue received from these establishments could often offset the cost for a local government to provide public services. On the contrary, the affordable housing developments cause more local costs than yielding high tax revenues. Therefore, local governments have the motivation to develop commercial establishments by zoning considerable lands for such purposes. Consequently, many cities and counties have approved their land use planning disproportionately towards commercial
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In the decision process, both growth controls and project reviews could inhibit the new housing development in the coastal areas.
First, growth controls exist in many cities and counties in the coastal metros. More than two-thirds of the cities and counties in California coastal areas have enacted policies limiting housing growth . Some of them adopted policies that directly cap the number of new homes to be built in a specific year, or limit the densities of the building A common indirect policy to limit new housing growth is to require a supermajority, of the local boards to approve the construction project. However, such supermajority often is hard to reach, leading to the project to be scotched.
Second, the project reviews in coastal areas often are cumbersome. Housing projects are required to go through multiple layers of review before approval, each of which increases approval time and complexity. Local government in California coastal metros takes about seven months to issue a building permit, while a common U.S. metro takes less than five months . Additional project review time is related to housing prices as well. In the Bay Area, every additional layer of review is associated with 4% increase in home prices
In the Late nineteenth century the population was growing at a rapid pace. The country had people flooding the biggest cities in the country such as New York City and Chicago. These populations were gaining more and more people every single year and the country has to do something to make places for these people to live. The government would go on to create urban housing programs. These programs were created to make homes for these people to live in. At the time it provided a place for people to live but as the populations grew it became a more cramped and rundown area because of the large populations in one place. These reforms eventually led to these areas becoming dangerous, they were rundown, and it created a hole that was difficult for people to get out of.
As stated by Richard F. Burns and Thomas G. Vaccaro in Unaffordable Housing: A Root Cause of Social Inequality, 80% to 120% of area median income—also struggle to find affordable rental units in all 50 states. This lack of “workforce housing” results in their inability to live in or near the places where they work. Not being able to live near work if results in higher cost of living because you end up having to pay for either a car or, you could rely on public transportation or even have to pay forward gas money to another person. Housing also ties(“is also tied to”) to cost of living which turns out is very expensive. According to DePersio, Greg in "How Much Money Do You Need to Live in Los Angeles?, As of August 2015, the average rent in Los Angeles is $2,296 per month. Even if someone is only looking for a one-bedroom apartment, the average cost sits at approximately$1,950 per month. A two-bedroom apartment averages slightly over $2,500. So as one can see that they have to make at the very least $13 an hour just to pay rent, this does not even include food or utilities let alone if they have kids forget it. Because of unaffordable housing has left millions without homes making them fall under the category of
For those of us with warm roofs over our heads and groceries on the table the problem of affordable housing does not often surface. But for low-income families, where half the income can disappear simply trying to keep the family sheltered in an acceptable home, the problem is a daily one. President of the BRIDGE Housing Corporation Donald Terner and columnist Brad Terner argue that affordable housing is a problem that should involve everyone. From your local supermarket clerk to your child’s science teacher, the problem of affordable housing can affect us all.
From reading the author’s book “Ecology of Fear,” Mike Davis’ main thesis for writing this book was to make readers become aware of the underlying problems and threats which have existed or currently exist in Southern California and how these problems shape the way we live today and in the imminent future as well. Although Davis did not really provide us with any remedies for the problems facing Southern California, this book made it very clear to the readers that problems do still exist, although at times they may sound subtle in nature. Of the numerous problems which do exist in Southern California, I will discuss only a handful of the problems that Davis provided us insight to. In the following paragraphs, the main problems of Southern California that I will discuss about are suburbanization and how it made Southern California lose its natural beauty and the effects of overdevelopment, the wild fires which occur and similarities and differences the rich and poor communities faced in terms of adversity, how suburbanization brought people closer to the wildlife, and how numerous books and movies portrayed Los Angeles as the center for calamities. The culmination of all these problems clearly shows that there are many glaring weaknesses of Southern California that need to be closely examined.
Low-income neighborhoods in California are consistently known for falling behind in test scores, graduation rates, and most recently highlighted by the press: college enrollment. For decades a variety of solutions have been proposed to come up with a solution based off the belief that equal opportunity in this nation can only be determined by how hard an individual works towards success. Public school’s finances in California come from federal, state, and local levels. Many federal and state funds have faced budget cuts throughout the last decade, but, 57% of the funding public schools use comes from the property taxes paid by the surrounding neighborhoods. Californians are well known for their diversity, being home nearly 39 million residents,
For a lot of different reasons people in California think living there is cheap and affordable; however, housing in California cost more than it does in Florida. The average house costs around $250,000 in Florida. The same house would cost around $1,000,000 in California. A big factor in this situation would be the area you
The root cause of homelessness is largely be explained by economics: people who become homeless have insufficient financial resources to obtain or maintain housing. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2010 American Community Survey (ACS) shows that 75% of households at or below the poverty line are severely housing cost burdened. Unexpected financial crises would jeopardize housing stability and lead to an increased risk of homelessness.
As the lease of my apartment is coming to an end it had me thinking of achieving my own American Dream of home ownership but as I do my research I find the dream is far from coming true. I am sure that the issue of housing prices and rent rates are what most of us Bay Area residents talk about and debate. It is an issue that needs to be addressed by the officials of the area, city mayors, affordable housing committees, social justice activists,lawmakers, and even employers. Skyrocketing prices, low inventory, and investors’ bidding wars are not only pushing the middle and lower classes out of San Francisco and the Bay Area out but will completely eliminate them.
Compare and contrast the ways in which housing inequalities are discussed from the perspectives of social policy and criminology, and economics (TMA 02)
The Social Determinants of health are what people experience in terms of birth, living, work and age all of which can contribute to the overall well being of individuals. This essay will focus on the social determinants of housing, which will examine the issue of income, poverty, overcrowding, the difference between social and private housing, unsatisfactory living arrangements, and green spaces; all of which can go on to affect the individual and their family’s physical health and mental health state.
The American dream was owning a house with a white picket fence. Now this dream is impossible. Individuals and families find it more difficult to find a decent home to rent in a suitable living area. According to Huffington Post, the hourly wage needed to afford a two bedroom apartment in California is at least $26 an hour. This is more than triple the minimum wage. Eviction, relocation, and inflation are the common keywords that associate with affordable housing. I 'm hoping to persuade you to support affordable housing for all. Today, I will be discussing, one, inflation of the housing market that needs to decrease, two, eviction from homes, three having to move to communities far from their work site.
However, I am inclined to detest, because the group that I normally hang out with would rather do something more constructive than throwing up in a brown stale paper bag.... ... middle of paper ... ...(https://www.admissions.ucla.edu/prospect/budget.htm)(http://catalogue.usc.edu/tuition/) (http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/paying-for-uc/tuition-and-cost/index.html) Conversely, the expense of living in California is ridiculous compared to many states, but I believe that's a factor to look into while residing in any urban metropolis. Therefore, if you wish to live in California and don't have a spectacular job, then in my opinion you should live in the outer metro areas.
We have struggled to find good housing that will be sustainable to house all five family members of mine but is still affordable. Due to gentrification we were forced to move out of our home since the rent prices skyrocketed. Luckily we were able to find a home that was more affordable although it is small housing for five people, it was the best we can find. Many others face this same problem and some have not been as lucky as my family to find another housing option near by. According to A Map of Gentrification In the Bay Area published by KQED News and written by Dan Brekke, “The crisis is not half over” — meaning that rising rents and home prices, along with an influx of more affluent people, increase the pressure on low-income people to move to the region’s outer suburbs.” It also states, “Fifty-three percent of of all low-income households in the region live in neighborhoods at risk of, or already experiencing, displacement.” These statistics are frightening and should not be taken lightly. This means that half of the Bay Area has already and if not it will experience displacement. This displacement can leave many homeless, and without any options of other affordable
Gentrification is a highly important topic that has not only been occurring all over the United States, but especially closer than we may have thought. San Francisco is home to hundreds of thousands of people who have been a part of how amazing this city has become. San Francisco is one of the most visited places in the world with many of its famous landmarks, endless opportunities not only for daytime fun but also has an amazing nightlife that people cannot get enough of. People come for a great time and could not be done without the help of the people who have grown up to experience and love this city for what it truly is. The cost of living in such an important city has definitely had its affect of lower income San Francisco residents. For decades we have seen changes occurring in parts of San Francisco where minorities live. We have seen this in Chinatown, SOMA, Fillmore district, and especially the Mission district.
Buying a home is something most people do at least once in their lifetime. Many people dream of buying their own home. The amount of new homes has grown tremendously and many people are buying houses. The median price of homes in California is approximately $500,000. The conventional way of buying a home is a procedure that takes a lot of time and patience. There are a few steps and procedures that are included in buying home. It includes getting pre-qualified by a loan agent to determine the maximum dollar amount of mortgage you can truly afford (real important step in the process), seeking a realtor, searching for homes, making offers, hiring a title company, an appraiser, home inspector, termite company and opening and closing escrow and other various services that benefit both buyer and seller. Buying a home is a complex process and most consumers do not know where to start and lack the education in regards to it.