Affordable Housing by Nelson Chen

Oklahoma Lawmaker Looks to 3D Printing to Create Affordable housing

nechen4 — 2025-01-23 09:03:18 UTC

Climate Disasters Are an Affordable Housing Problem

nechen4 — 2025-01-23 09:09:46 UTC

L.A. Connects the Dots Between Affordable housing and Green Space

nechen4 — 2025-01-23 09:10:31 UTC

Summary

nechen4 — 2025-01-23 09:12:42 UTC

Micky Dollens, State Representative of Oklahoma, is pushing for a part of state housing taxes to support 3D-printed homes. Originally meant to be built on Mars, several states have already allowed the construction of 3D-printed homes, with Oklahoma in the process of being the next. With 3D-printing, less labor and formwork will be necessary, construction will be faster, and less waste will be produced. They plan to mass produce panels that can be assembled into a house and have higher structural integrity than standard housing materials. However, 3D-printing is prone to defects and the cost of printing houses is more expensive than conventional means.

Descriptive Points

nechen4 — 2025-01-23 09:13:00 UTC

Information About the City: The article focuses on Oklahoma, as 3D-printed housing can prove beneficial in combating the severe weather in Oklahoma.

Information About the Impacted Community: Construction workers are at risk of losing jobs due to 3D-printing requiring less labor. Additionally, low-income residents benefit if 3D-printed houses prove to be more affordable then conventional means.

Planning Issues Under Consideration: 3D-printing is a fairly new technology and is prone to defects. Furthermore, the process needs to be optimized in order to be cheaper than regular construction. This idea was prompted to solve the current housing crisis.

Relevant Debates: The pros of 3D-printed homes are potential lower costs, high efficiency, and better structural integrity. The cons are quality control, initial investment costs, and following state building codes.

Changes to Policy: Production of 3D-printed houses can lead to more affordable housing and increase accessibility, resulting in changes with housing regulations.

The Current Status of Planning Policy or Project: The idea of 3D-printed houses are in the early stages of development. Better quality control and production methods must be solidified in order for 3D-printed houses to be the standard.

Reaction

nechen4 — 2025-01-23 09:13:07 UTC

As someone with 3D-printing experience, seeing the scale to which 3D-printing can be used is fascinating. I usually associate 3D-printing with smaller objects, so I did not expect building houses with such technologies would be possible. However, as interesting as the possibility may be, I have a lot of skepticism towards the idea. I am worried about the shortage of jobs in the construction industry, as a result of 3D-printing requiring less labor, and how that would affect the economy. As a structural engineering major, possibility of 3D-printed houses directly affects me as I can be tasked with designing and testing such houses in the future. Additionally, with this technology being fairly new, it is most likely going to be solidified in the next few decades, which overlaps with the time at which I want to buy a house.

Summary

nechen4 — 2025-01-23 09:13:23 UTC

After the wildfires in Maui in August 2023, thousands of people were displaced from their homes. In addition to the loss of their homes, many are experiencing a sharp increase in rent or even eviction in Hawaii. These wildfires coupled with wealthy homeowners preferring to use their houses as short-term rental properties have made the housing in crisis even worse. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the government have made strides to aid those that are displaced and limit the amount of money landlords can charge, but loopholes were found that were still detrimental to tenants. To be better prepared, advocates are arguing for affordable housing to be considered when planning for emergency climate situations, in order to protect tenants that have lost their home.

Descriptive Points

nechen4 — 2025-01-23 09:13:29 UTC

Information About the City: Hawaii has already been struggling with a housing crisis, and the recent Maui fires have made the situation even worse as many are displaced from their homes.

Information About the Impacted Community : Low-income tenants and those displaced by wildfires suffer the most from the aftermath of the wildfires, as landlords have been increasing rent at a ridiculous rate.

Planning Issues Under Consideration: These wildfires in Maui have given light to the severity of the housing crisis. Moreover, the balance in power between landlords and tenants must be addressed.

Relevant Debates: The pros of the situation is that FEMA and the government have made strides to aid those displaced and protect tenants. On the other hand, the cons are the landlords found loopholes to benefit themselves and counteract the good intentions of FEMA and the government's actions.

Changes to Policy: The article emphasizes the importance of working class tenants, and the need to improve landlord-tenant mediation programs. The article also highlights the strides taken by the government to aid the tenants and those displaced by wildfire.

The Current Status of Planning Policy or Project: Affordable housing remains an issue for Hawaii, and will only get worse if more natural disasters occur. Thus, the article is pushing for the state to take preventative measures, which has been under progress.

Reaction

nechen4 — 2025-01-23 09:13:38 UTC

One thing I learned from the article is how greedy landlords can be. Despite the circumstances, some landlords still decide to show zero sympathy towards their tenants. I personally am in support of more restrictive rent control and taking preventative measures for potential climate disasters. This topic affects me as in California, the most recent Los Angeles fires have displaced several of my friends and family, and they are likely experiencing similar issues as those in Hawaii.

Summary

nechen4 — 2025-01-23 09:13:47 UTC

The Taylor Yard in Los Angeles plans to create a park, not only in hopes of increased recreation and activity within the area, but also to help combat the housing crisis. Parks are believed to help unite a community and aid in the quitable community development, and when coupled with zoning reforms, advances towards affordable housing can be made. It is important that these parks do not increase housing costs, as "green gentrification" is a possibility.

Descriptive Points

nechen4 — 2025-01-23 09:14:09 UTC

Information About the City: Los Angeles is a large metropolitan city with few green spaces and high housing costs. The Taylor Yard project hopes to resolve these issues.

Information About the Impacted Community: Local residents will now have a public space to exercise and socialize with other people. Neighborhoods will have stronger communities and city planners must now plan around green spaces as the focal point of a community.

Planning Issues Under Consideration: Building parks may cause the prices of houses to increase in surrounding areas, which is known as "Green Gentrification". It can also leas to actionable anti-displacement strategies, and constructing parks are costly as well.

Relevant Debates: The pros of the the project are possible affordable housing with the use of zoning reform policies, and a communal space for residents to build a stronger sense of community. The cons, however, consist of potential "green gentrification" and uncertainty in the effectiveness of the plan.

Changes to Policy: With the use of the zoning reform policies, there will be an increase of duplexes, creating for more affordable housing units. Parks will also unite the community and provide a space for recreation.

The Current Status of the Planning Policy or Project: With the most recent wildfires in Los Angeles, this current project is on pause. Similar projects are soon to be started as a massive rebuild in Los Angeles is needed.

Reaction

nechen4 — 2025-01-23 09:14:16 UTC

Overall, I found the article interesting due to the current circumstance of Los Angeles. With all of the wildfires, this is now a time for more projects similar to this one to be implemented. I think parks are key in social aspect of a neighborhood, as successfully shown in other states on the East Coast, but i question how realistic it is that parks can make housing more affordable. Overall this project affects me as a California native who plans to own a home here someday.

Articles

nechen4 — 2025-01-23 10:38:28 UTC

All cited sources are included in this PDF.

nechen4 — 2025-01-23 18:08:14 UTC

It was difficult comparing all three articles as they covered different aspects of affordable housing. The Planetizen and Next City articles were both centered around potential resolutions to the housing crises, but had different methods of doing so. The Planetizen article was focused on utilizing 3D-printing to cut production and labor costs to create more affordable housing, while the Next City article focused on using the construction of parks and zoning reform policies. On the other hand, the Bloomberg article discussed causes for housing crises and lack of affordable housing, and one of the causes for it is climate disasters. The article that stood out to me the most is Planetizen one, as it interested me the most and seemed the most probable to fix the housing crisis. All three articles were relatively short, and not one particular article seemed to be more thorough than another. All in all, I enjoyed reading each article and I feel more knowledgeable about affordable housing.