Why fixing America’s housing crisis requires repairing older homes—and not just building new ones

The United States is in the throes of a housing crisis, framed by the media as a crisis of affordability. People pay too much for housing—and the solution, it seems, is to increase the supply to drive down the cost. But the national conversation on housing affordability ignores the issue of housing quality. Most people find affordable housing not through public subsidies but by purchasing or renting older housing in the private market. For older housing to be affordable, it is almost always in disrepair and/or is in a disinvested neighborhood with low market values. Little noticed by the media, millions of American homeowners and renters live in unsafe and unhealthy housing.

The Other Housing Crisis brings attention to the neglected issue of housing deterioration and makes the case for more investment in home repairs. Contributions by expert researchers and experienced practitioners examine how housing deterioration harms the physical, mental, and financial health of residents and damages the environment. Chapters highlight innovative home repair programs in cities across the country—from Austin to Memphis to Philadelphia.

The analysis and recommendations in The Other Housing Crisis will help policymakers and practitioners to curb the loss of affordable housing and place housing deterioration and home repair squarely on the national policy agenda. Addressing America’s housing crisis is not a matter of either increasing the supply of housing or preserving existing housing. We need to do both—now.