Housing is a basic need and a human right. Whether for renters, owners, or people without a place to call their own, housing shapes so much of our lives. Where a person lives affects and is affected by so many other issues. 

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INTERSECTIONS:

 

How much money a person earns or has stored away affects whether they rent or own, what part of town they live in, and how well they can keep up their homes. 

 

The environment around and in the home—in terms of pollution, lead paint and water, contaminated soils, moldy basements, and other hazards—can negatively affect a person’s health. 

 

Whether a person’s home is in a food desert, such as the South Hilltop, or a food oasis, such as East Liberty, can also affect health. 

 

Where a person lives also determines where they or their children attend school, which greatly affects a child’s educational opportunities and outcomes. 

 

How well a person’s home is connected to bus lines, bike lanes, and sidewalks affects how they get to work, school, shops, libraries, etc. As many residents get pushed further out from the city, the less connected to public transportation they probably are—meaning longer commutes and more transfers to get where they and their families need to go. 

 

As the climate changes and our region faces increased temperatures and increased rainfall, having well-insulated and well-cooled homes in neighborhoods with flood-prevention and landslide-prevention infrastructure will become a must. Transitioning away from fossil-fuels to solar power and other changes will affect where the energy coming into homes comes from and how much it might cost.