Resources
Below you will find various resources relevant to the topic of affordable housing.
Housing Justice is Racial Justice
Charlottesville’s affordable housing crisis is getting worse every day. We now have a shortage of over 3,300 affordable rentals, record high rents, and long-time residents getting priced out and pushed out of our community. This is not just an economic problem, it’s a racial justice problem: Black residents are being hit hardest of all. The situation isn’t new. It comes out of a history of racist “urban renewal” programs that bulldozed Black-owned homes and destroyed Black-owned businesses here in Charlottesville. Our city is on track to become a playground for millionaires and tourists, with almost no options left for lower-income people, the backbone of our economy. It doesn’t have to be this way. The city has done almost nothing to fix this problem for decades, but that can change. We call upon our government to take action immediately.
A 2020 Report on the Impact of Racism on Affordable Housing in Charlottesville
A comprehensive report on how racism has impacted the issue of affordable housing in Charlottesville, including policy recommendations for how to address this. Click here to read this report.
A Letter to the Planning Commission on behalf of The Charlottesville Low-Income Housing Coalition
The following letter was submitted to the Planning Commission on March 7, 2018:
Dear Ms. Green and Members of the City Planning Commission,
We are glad that the Planning Commission is making an effort to solicit community input on the upcoming 2018 Comprehensive Plan. Meaningful, participatory dialogue is required to create a plan that reflects the real needs of the community. However, we have significant concerns with the ability of any comprehensive plan to address the real issues affecting very low-income residents at this time. We would like to ask you to address the following issues:
1. A Housing Strategy is needed before the Comprehensive Plan moves forward. The strategy should be based on the real housing needs of our community, and the Comprehensive Plan must incorporate our community’s commitment to racial justice and truly affordable housing for very low-income people. The Housing Strategy needs to be responsive to community input, especially from the people most harmed by the affordable housing crisis. Until the city has a Housing Strategy to address our community’s affordable housing needs, any measures put into place by the Comprehensive Plan will be piecemeal at best.
2. Any changes to the Comprehensive Plan must take race into account. We have asked City Council several times for updated information about racial changes in city neighborhoods and have not even been given a timeline for when we will receive it. Please join us in calling upon NDS to provide this information. As we have shared before, between 2000-2012 there was a 12% decrease in Black families in the “Strategic Investment Area.” Data relating to changing demographics and racial diversity in each city neighborhood must shape all future planning decisions.
3. Zoning changes threaten to further increase displacement and decrease diversity. As we have asked before, if the city plans to move forward with a Form Based Code, please show us how it will not harm low-wealth people.
4. Changes to density and height restrictions must be structured to ensure the creation of truly affordable housing. Incentive structures like height bonuses have been proposed as one way to create additional affordable units. However, no real evidence has been offered showing that these incentives will be successful in creating units that will be affordable for very low income people. Any incentive program must be shaped by economic analysis of the housing market, and must be rooted in a formal Housing Strategy.
Housing justice will only be possible if the city formalizes a cohesive strategy on housing, addresses the real needs of the community, and listens to community members’ input. Please take action on these issues and help make Charlottesville a just community with opportunity for all.
Why Is Affordable Housing Important?
The need for affordable housing in Charlottesville far exceeds the supply. The City of Charlottesville has an obligation to meet this need, and its residents have made clear that meeting this need is a priority to the community. Furthermore, Charlottesville is a city with plentiful resources that can be put towards addressing this need.
Aggressive development in historically Black neighborhoods without accounting for the historical context of discrimination in decision-making is an attack on Black communities. The Black population in Charlottesville is rapidly decreasing as housing costs skyrocket in the city.