We all know that starting in about 2007 the housing market collapsed in the United States. The collapse of the subprime housing market was actually a precursor to the collapse of the overall housing market. Many mortgage services and lenders offered mortgage products that were just too good to be true like no down payment, adjustable interest rate or interest only payment. Often credit scores had to be falsified for mortgages to be approved. Therefore people owned homes that shouldn’t, and when they couldn’t continue to afford their homes they defaulted their mortgage. With millions of homes being foreclosed on, the market was glutted with cheap homes. Many of these foreclosed homes remain abandoned.
The subdivisions that were abandoned tend to be the ones that were intended as starter rooms and were poorly designed and cheap. They are isolated from other subdivisions, retail/commercial space, and job opportunities. Research has found that people who live in areas with a high degree of urban sprawl are more likely to report chronic health problems. Also the vehicle dependant nature of suburbs is contributing to our national health problem. Developments that are mostly abandoned face higher crime rates.
Contributing to the glut of housing in the suburbs is the fact that consumer tastes are changing. A one report claims that within two decades two thirds of households will prefer smart growth. For all the reasons I have talked about so far, the demand for suburban living is starting to decrease.
Suburbs will always be a popular form of housing in the United States. However many of these abandoned suburbs are unlikely to ever recover on their own. Many experts and myself believe there that Retrofitting or redesigning developments is a possible solution. Retrofitting or reshaping suburbs can address a host of issues like transportation, employments, health, and improve property values.
A retrofit can be comprised of a few simple fixes or it can be a total re-haul. The most basic step is to improve the transportation networks. Connected isolated suburbs to each other and the community is key. It is also important to incorporate the concept of “walkability”. By adding some mixed use and commercial/retail with in a walking distance of homes it creates convenience and instills a sense of community. Besides increasing property values it creates a community better insulated from the economy. Instead of having only similar single-family homes, they contain a mix of housing styles and sizes. Retrofitting sounds amazing, however it is very difficult, almost impossible in some areas. Zoning that allows it and having the capital to do it is rare. In many communities it will not be possible for economic, demographic, or political reasons. However it is a fascinating concept with a lot of potential.
Retrofitting seems to be the best way to achieve environmentally friendly concepts in already existing neighborhoods and suburbs. After reading your blog it seems that the cost of these changes are the main problem we face. Do you think the only way to get around this issue is zoning or do you think we need to get federal or state government policies involved first?
ReplyDeleteSince the housing market collapse, I hope that Americans have begun to rethink their conceptualization of living. I believe that a lot of the causes for the collapse (sub-prime, interest only, etc.) are really only surface issues that are influenced by deeper societal problems. The generation of Americans purchasing homes today are the generation of Americans that were at the beginning of our decline in global education rankings. I wonder whether or not the changing nature of American education and upbringing (which we're now seeing as those children have become adults) has many more subliminal effects than we could anticipate. Responsibility, work-ethic, and general education are all points of common interest between the housing market collapse and failing American childhood.
ReplyDeleteI think this idea of retrofitting is a great way to not only create jobs and create more sustainable living, but it also has a low impact affect on the environment compared to just building more developments at cheap prices to try and revive the housing market. I believe by the time we get the ball rolling with this idea in our country that people in our generation will be starting to enter the housing market. Thus, we will be more aware of the environmental implications that our housing choices have compared to previous generations. So, my retrofitting we won’t only be just creating greener housing, but the consumers will actually be wanting this type of market available.
ReplyDeleteI strongly feel that retrofitting is the way to go. Not only is it environmentally friendly, it provides areas for great economic growth. When communities are designed in such a way that they are somewhat "self sufficient" (What I mean by this is that communities that have a lot of necessary resources all in close proximity to each other) than people in those communities limit the amount of money spent on gas for travel as well as other expenditures that would be save due to well designed communities.
ReplyDeleteOne would think that humans would be drawn to communities where they can live, work, eat, and shop all within close proximity to each other, but there is still that underlying desire to live in a classic American home with a yard, that is located away from commercial activities. So, the answer is all in the design of these communities. How can these developers create communities that satisfy both ideals. Once designs are put in place, I believe that there will be a strong push for these communities and they will be cropping up everywhere.