They certainly are -- and many are poorly designed inside, and even more poorly built. Incredible amounts of wasted space, and ugly to boot. Not to mention that many of them are owned by people who bought them to raise their families, and now their families are grown and gone -- imagine if they rented out spare bedrooms!
Not perfect by any means, but it's a starting point for getting people off the streets and into other support services and, hopefully, permanent homes.
In the meantime, there is a housing boom here like you wouldn't believe - Huge condo/apartment buildings going up all over. Of course, they are not "affordable" housing. No idea who is moving into them.
The places that used to have what were simple single-family homes are all being redeveloped into behemoths. Take a drive through our old neighborhood - School Lane between West Valley and Old Eagle School - to see what I mean. Some of those single family ranch homes are ludicrous!
I am a HUGE fan of any and all programs that get homeless people housed. One of the tiny house programs has the residents pay $1 per square foot per month, meaning that their tiny house is affordable on an annual salary of about $10,000/year. Once they pay it off, they can keep it for generational wealth, or sell it at a profit. The program that does this has "larger" tiny houses (more like 400 - 500 sf) -- and they plan to expand to larger tiny houses where there could be a family.
I know all about the destruction of perfectly good houses in the area that end up replaced with palatial monstrosities.
The lack of affordable housing eats at me -- there are some really great programs (my fave is in Montgomery County, Maryland) that enable people with median incomes to live in a nice place via public-private undertakings, including municipal bonds to fund development, keeping costs lower and benefitting the overall community as the bonds are repaid.
ALL IT TAKES is people to be more decent, and less NIMBY.
Keep in mind that the super rich, untouchables, have convinced all too many of the voting public that tax cuts for the rich stimulate the economy and produce more revenue than the cuts take.
Total nonsense, but it is the same public that elected these current clowns to take charge of their livelihoods and lives.
The mega houses in chester county is rampant and disgusting
They certainly are -- and many are poorly designed inside, and even more poorly built. Incredible amounts of wasted space, and ugly to boot. Not to mention that many of them are owned by people who bought them to raise their families, and now their families are grown and gone -- imagine if they rented out spare bedrooms!
Portland, OR has a pretty large homeless population. One thing they have come up with are "Safe Rest Villages" - temporary housing to get people out of tents and the elements. https://www.portland.gov/shelter-services/city-shelter-services-program-overview
Not perfect by any means, but it's a starting point for getting people off the streets and into other support services and, hopefully, permanent homes.
In the meantime, there is a housing boom here like you wouldn't believe - Huge condo/apartment buildings going up all over. Of course, they are not "affordable" housing. No idea who is moving into them.
The places that used to have what were simple single-family homes are all being redeveloped into behemoths. Take a drive through our old neighborhood - School Lane between West Valley and Old Eagle School - to see what I mean. Some of those single family ranch homes are ludicrous!
I am a HUGE fan of any and all programs that get homeless people housed. One of the tiny house programs has the residents pay $1 per square foot per month, meaning that their tiny house is affordable on an annual salary of about $10,000/year. Once they pay it off, they can keep it for generational wealth, or sell it at a profit. The program that does this has "larger" tiny houses (more like 400 - 500 sf) -- and they plan to expand to larger tiny houses where there could be a family.
I know all about the destruction of perfectly good houses in the area that end up replaced with palatial monstrosities.
The lack of affordable housing eats at me -- there are some really great programs (my fave is in Montgomery County, Maryland) that enable people with median incomes to live in a nice place via public-private undertakings, including municipal bonds to fund development, keeping costs lower and benefitting the overall community as the bonds are repaid.
ALL IT TAKES is people to be more decent, and less NIMBY.
Keep in mind that the super rich, untouchables, have convinced all too many of the voting public that tax cuts for the rich stimulate the economy and produce more revenue than the cuts take.
Total nonsense, but it is the same public that elected these current clowns to take charge of their livelihoods and lives.
Yes, and we've been here before, and it didn't end well for us....and hey! That's Tuesday's post!