What Would It Take to Close the Housing Supply Gap in the Next Five Years, While Addressing the Nation’s Affordability, Climate Sustainability, and Resiliency Goals?

Housing is at the heart of many contemporary crises, including homelessness, racial and economic inequality, and sprawling development patterns that contribute to greater energy consumption and environmental extraction. There is a growing consensus that one of the root causes of these trends is the lack of housing supply. But focusing only on stimulating new supply is too narrow an agenda. This article argues that a supply agenda needs to focus on addressing the preservation needs of units built over the last century, as well as to situate housing production within a broader set of policies that explicitly further racial and social equity as well as advance climate change mitigation and adaptation.