Written by Denilson Saavedra
Smart technology will soon become synonymous with affordability; we are beginning to research how to implement this in our projects.
If you drive around Chicago’s South Side, you will notice vacant lots engulfing crumbling infrastructure and older housing. Everyone can see that is an issue that needs to be fixed. Urban Equities, Inc. sees potential in the emptiness with the help of the emerging collection of affordable smart technology.
Every designer knows that the first step in design is research. So, when we decided to find a solution for Chicago’s lack of low-cost housing, we began by researching four different South Side neighborhoods: Bronzeville, South Shore, Washington Park, and Woodlawn. We looked at several metrics including renter household income, owner household income, age of structures, and two affordability indices.
Every designer knows that the first step in design is research. So, when we decided to find a solution for Chicago’s lack of low-cost housing, we began by researching four different South Side neighborhoods: Bronzeville, South Shore, Washington Park, and Woodlawn. We looked at several metrics including renter household income, owner household income, age of structures, and two affordability indices.
Key Takeaways
|
|
Although this is a group of visually dissimilar neighborhoods, there are two terrible bonds that hold these places together: extremely low housing affordability and a gap between renters and owners.
If you are paying more than 30 percent of your income on housing, you are defined to be cost-burdened. We found that renters in these four neighborhoods were incredibly burdened financially due to high housing costs; 64.4 percent of renters in South Shore were cost-burdened in 2016. We saw that owners were doing better financially than renters, yet around 40 percent of them were still cost-burdened. In addition, we noticed the housing stock in these neighborhoods was old, the housing was mostly built before the 1950s, which could be a reason for these high housing costs.
With more efficient housing and smart design elements, we believe we can lower the affordability housing crisis in these communities, alleviating some of the tensions in households and ultimately improving lives.
If you are paying more than 30 percent of your income on housing, you are defined to be cost-burdened. We found that renters in these four neighborhoods were incredibly burdened financially due to high housing costs; 64.4 percent of renters in South Shore were cost-burdened in 2016. We saw that owners were doing better financially than renters, yet around 40 percent of them were still cost-burdened. In addition, we noticed the housing stock in these neighborhoods was old, the housing was mostly built before the 1950s, which could be a reason for these high housing costs.
With more efficient housing and smart design elements, we believe we can lower the affordability housing crisis in these communities, alleviating some of the tensions in households and ultimately improving lives.
Researching the communities was the first part of this series of blogs. We will be discussing smart appliance research in our next part and then finishing the series with site research.
|
Denilson Saavedra is a Project Associate at Urban Equities and a contributing editor for the Bulletin Board. In his off time, Denilson enjoys listening to music, watching videos on YouTube, doing anything involving basketball, and working on art.
Connect with Denilson Saavedra
|
RSS Feed
