Rural Housing
Rural Housing Development a 7th step?
Should there be a national housing policy for rural housing development? Is there something unique about rural housing that makes it another leg of the national housing policy? Or is rural housing policy really infrastructure development (roads, internet access, health care, schools, and civic capacity).
March 25, 2024. Daily Yonder. New Center Focuses on Preserving Rural Rental Housing Units. "The head of a new Center at the Housing Assistance Council (HAC) focused on rural renting housing said a U.S. Department of Agriculture-funded program supporting low-income tenants is at-risk of losing housing units if more is not done to preserve them. Kristin Blum was recently named to HAC’s new Center for Rural Multifamily Housing Preservation. The Center will provide technical assistance and expertise to preserve the long-term affordability of rural rental housing, particularly properties financed through the USDA’s Section 515 program. 'So we feel that preservation of these existing units is vital to meeting the affordable housing needs of communities, because there’s not going to be new units. It’s more cost effective to rehab a building that needs some repairs…[for] it to be a quality, healthy place for people to live....' "
Lets question these assumptions:
there’s not going to be new units.
It’s more cost effective to rehab a building that needs some repairs...
Interviews with Rural Organizers. This ongoing series from Barn Raiser will amplify the organizers, changemakers and underrepresented voices in rural communities across the nation who are seeking to renew a sense of civic vitality and the social imagination. This feature is not really housing focused but since rural housing issues are uniquely intertwined with rural development...it's worth a look.
March 7, 2024. The Ohio Newsroom via WKSU. Can ‘heritage homes’ help solve Ohio’s housing shortage? 'I think too often we look at our older homes simply as things that need to be done away with or demolished. And we've underestimated what the market opportunity is in this new remote work environment.' Lane and his team studied a portfolio of those houses. They calculated the cost to fix them up, and then calculated the economic impact that doing so would bring. 'We found that rehabilitating an older house has a large economic benefit in the community....'" If you build it will they come?
But...Rural Broadband and Technology could be a housing game changer in rural Ohio. Anecdotes aren't policy, but.... When RHINO's community manager retired to the woods, access to broadband was a key factor. There is only one ISP to choose from and way too expensive, but a necessity for remote work. Our household stick built on inherited property. Replacing lead pipes, bringing electrical service up to 21st century standards, and removing or encapsulating lead paint would have been more expensive than building new. Ten years later, there's still no cell service, but VOIP works fine on our recently upgraded fiber cable.
MAR 11, 2024. Vindy.com. Internet provider investing $11M in Niles. Bryant McAfee, Director of Business Development for Omni Fiber, said the project is going to be privately funded. No local tax dollars will be involved. 'We don’t utilize any state, local or federal funding,' he said. McAfee said Omni Fiber has two goals when approaching the city of Niles — to provide its services to residents and businesses and to boost the local economy by filling jobs with local residents." Wait, there's more: "McAfee highlighted the importance of Omni Fiber’s fully funded plan by noting that while billions of federal dollars are scheduled to fall to the state of Ohio for broadband internet improvements, Niles does not qualify for the money as it already has “high-speed internet” per federal guidelines." And the kicker: "Niles Mayor Steve Mientkiewicz said residents of the city now have two internet providers to choose from — Spectrum and AT&T."
JCHS adds to the confusion over what is rural and whether it matters.
What do you think about adding Rural Housing to the Six Steps for rental housing transformation?