Cities Face a Daunting Problem in Addressing Homelessness

What are the state of the art approaches for addressing homelessness in the U.S.? In his article, "The Limits of Housing First," Christopher Rufo offer lots of facts and figures but no optimism. Homelessness is a massively daunting problem and U.S. cities are struggling for answers. An excerpt:

In Los Angeles, this could spell disaster. In the most optimistic scenario laid out by the controller’s office, the city will build 5,873 supportive housing units at an initial cost of $1.2 billion, plus an estimated $88 million in annual service costs associated with the Housing First model. The recipients of this housing will not meaningfully improve their lives in terms of addiction, mental illness, and spiritual well-being — and there will still be 60,000 people on the streets across Los Angeles County. In other words, even under its own theoretical assumptions, Proposition HHH is doomed to fail.

The City of Los Angeles did not return a request for comment.

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Serious about the environment? If so, build an earthship

If you're really serious about preserving the earth's resources, you can build and live in an "earthship." Each type of earthship is defined by the following set of principles: * Thermal/Solar Heating & Cooling * Solar & Wind Electricity * Contained Sewage Treatment * Building with Natural & Recycled Materials * Water Harvesting * Food Production For instance, with regard to electricity,

Earthships produce their own electricity with a prepackaged photovoltaic / wind power system. This energy is stored in batteries and supplied to your electrical outlets. Earthships can have multiple sources of power, all automated, including grid-intertie.

Lots of photos and details regarding earthships can be viewed at this website. There are many varieties, including retrofitted pre-existing housing, described here, this section serving as another review of the basic principles. Here is a video introduction:

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Banks and Republicans are blocking short-sales of homes

A middle-aged couple who bought a home in my neighborhood are in a terrible situation. They paid too much for their new house, which needed a lot of repairs, and they failed to aggressively work to sell their existing home. Therefore, they now have two houses. They continue to live in their original home while their new house (two houses away from where I live) has been vacant for three years and it is falling apart. I’m not talking about chipped paint. There are huge holes in the roof that are causing the house to rot out. Check out the garage roof too: Image by Erich Vieth[/caption] People who know a lot about rehabbing houses tell me that if this house and garage don’t get immediate attention, they will need to be completely torn down.

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Housing and Transportation costs will keep the cities relatively affordable

Should you live in the suburbs or in the city to keep your housing and transportation costs in check?  According to this interactive site developed by CNT and its collaborative partners, the Center for Transit Oriented Development, the answer is clear--live in the city. The bright red color-codings you'll find…

Continue ReadingHousing and Transportation costs will keep the cities relatively affordable