Cochran 1

Sawyer Cochran

V. LeQuire

2001-161

25 September 2023

Past, Present, and Future Affordable Housing Markets: An Analysis of Argumentative Views

Affordable housing is a phrase all renters want to hear from their landlords, but not many

do. By comparing two online sources we can look at the past, present, and future situations of

affordable housing. One source is titled Affordable housing for smart villages which was written

by Hemanta Doloi and Sally Donovan. Doloi is a senior lecturer in Construction Management

discipline and Project Director of the Smart Villages project at the Faculty of Architecture,

Building and Planning of the University of Melbourne, Australia. Donovan is a research fellow

with the Smart Villages Lab in the Faculty of Architecture, Building and Planning at the

University of Melbourne, Australia. Dr Donovan has over ten year’s experience researching

environmental management and environmental policy development (Pg.2). The authors are

almost exclusively working within the field of smart villages and affordable housing. This e-

book was published in 2020, by Taylor and Francis Group. The intention for this source was to

be used as a guide for future villages/towns and their housing issues. The next source is titled

“Key facts about housing affordability in the U.S.” Written by Katherine Schaeffer, who works

for Pew Research Center. She also graduated from the University Of Pittsburgh’s graduate

school. The writer shows knowledge of the subject and uses data to back up points, she cites all

of her sources. There are many uses of data and facts throughout the article, which shows the

history of affordable housing along with the current market. Most of the data comes from the
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Pew Research Center, but there are other sources used. The author also uses government sources

like the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This article was published on March 23, 2022 by Pew

Research Center. Both articles address the topic of affordable housing but they do it in different

ways. Affordable housing for smart villages is a better source for those who want to create

change within a community, especially in the housing market. While “Key facts about affordable

housing in the U.S.” is better for those who want quick facts and data related to affordable

housing.

Having some historical background on affordable housing is helpful and all of the

following information comes from “A Brief Historical Overview Of Affordable Rental Housing”.

The term affordable housing used to refer to home ownership and low mortgage payments, “An

act of Congress in 1934 created the Federal Housing Administration, which made home

ownership affordable for a broader segment of the public with the establishment of mortgage

insurance programs.” The creation of the Department of Housing and Urban Development also

known as HUD established more government backed housing opportunities, “In 1965, Congress

elevated housing to a cabinet level agency of the federal government, creating HUD, which

succeeded the Housing and Home Finance Agency, which succeeded the National Housing

Agency.” Tax breaks along with other benefits spurred investors to start buying in real estate and

the long-term renter market, “Beginning in the late 1950s and continuing into the 1960s,

Congress created a number of programs that leveraged private investment to create new

affordable rental housing.” Today trying to find an affordable place to rent is not an easy task,

this has caused writers to make articles and e-books trying to find a solution. The main point of

focus within Affordable housing for smart villages is trying to find a solution to fix multiple

problems. The two main problems addressed are affordable housing and energy consumption.
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The article “Key facts about housing affordability in the U.S.” is focused mainly on providing

facts and data to give the reader a history of affordable housing and what the current state of it is.

Evoking an emotion from the reader is a tough thing to do within a piece of writing,

especially in the business field. Affordable housing for smart villages gives the feeling of

inspiration while reading it, along with providing facts about the topic of discussion. The

following quote shows the language style used, “The concept of a “Smart Village” has evolved in

response to this changing nature of rural areas. This would see the transformation of these

struggling communities into thriving, self-sufficient ones. At the heart of the Smart Village

concept is the creation of income generating opportunities […] perhaps the most important part

of enhancing people’s lives is providing them with an affordable, comfortable, functional and

safe place to live in.” (pg 1-2). This style of writing allows for the reader to grasp the context of a

smart village and also isn’t unbearably boring. Those with an entrepreneurial mindset will

understand what the authors mean by this and will also want to be apart of a smart village. In the

above quote they use the phrase “income generating opportunities”, which will always get an

entrepreneur’s attention. The article “Key facts about housing affordability in the U.S.” doesn’t

quite have the same attention grabs. The style used within this article is strictly based on facts

and data, “In 2020, 46% of American renters spent 30% or more of their income on housing,

including 23% who spent at least 50% of their income this way, according to the most recent

data available from the U.S. Census Bureau.” The amount of data given makes this article a great

source to skim through but doesn’t appeal to a reader. When comparing the two sources it is clear

that Affordable housing for smart villages is a better reading experience for the audience, which

is to be expected when comparing an e-book and article. It also provides facts and data but in a

more dispersed form and accompanies them with author thoughts.

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Providing a unique solution to a problem that has existed for almost 100 years is why

Affordable housing for smart villages stands out. Being around the real estate industry for almost

two years now this is the first time I have came across a smart village idea. The authors present

this idea as a solution to poor foreign countries and their villages, but it can also be translated

into the United States economy. The following is a quote from pg. 2 of the e-book, “For example,

farmers could learn ways to improve their crop yields. The internet also provides isolated

communities with a way to source better supplies and increase their customer base.” Small towns

in the United States have this same problem, they just aren’t as isolated as some other countries.

Creating a smart village in the United States could be a great starting point to test the idea. The

United States is the most technologically advanced country so getting the startup equipment to a

town would not be as hard. Bringing this idea to life in a small scale environment would allow

for more data to be gathered, so larger projects could be done. The article “Key facts about

affordable housing in the U.S.” does not provide any solution to any problems addressed within

the article. Even when looking to the future there is just projected data given. With that being

said there is no way of knowing if smart villages will work to help fix affordable housing issues,

however any idea is better than none. Especially when the authors behind that idea have spent

dedicated time and research into this specific field and have come up with something unique yet

not totally outlandish.

Both of the sources being compared fall within the same realm of affordable housing,

however they have different target audiences. Affordable housing for smart villages targets those

who want to create a modern change within the world that will also help people. Investors that

get into affordable housing do it so they can impact the lives of low-income families. These

investors are the ones being targeted within this source. “Key facts about affordable housing in
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the U.S.” targets those who want some quick information, for example someone writing about

affordable housing. So really it comes down to what you need from your desired source, those

who require an extensive read on affordable housing with a unique solution should choose

Affordable housing for small villages. While those who require facts and history on affordable

housing should choose “Key facts about affordable housing in the U.S.”.
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Works Cited

A Brief Historical Overview of Affordable Rental Housing,

nlihc.org/sites/default/files/Sec1.03_Historical-Overview_2015.pdf. Accessed 26 Sept.
2023.

Doloi, Hemanta Kumar, and Sally Donovan. Affordable Housing for Smart Villages. Routledge,
2020. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=cat04042a&AN=app.b11135504&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Schaeffer, Katherine. “Key Facts about Housing Affordability in the U.S.” Pew Research Center,
Pew Research Center, 23 Mar. 2022, www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/03/23/key-
facts-about-housing-affordability-in-the-u-s/.