PROMOTING AFFORDABLE HOUSING

VIA ZONING REFORM

Senator Bob Casey

Jenny Schuetz, a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution, who gave testimony this summer to the United States Senate Special Committee On Aging, emphasized that her views were her own. 

Her expert testimony to the committee, chaired by U.S. Senator Bob Casey, focused on an oft-overlooked aspect — housing that is both affordable and accessible to older adults and people with disabilities.

She said the U.S. housing shortage, caused by a gap of nearly 3.8 million additional houses needed to match population growth, is creating acute housing affordability challenges for older adults and people with disabilities. 

Zoning rules that prohibit all structures except single-family detached homes create direct barriers to building accessible homes.

“Single-family homes are less likely to have accessible features, such as a no-step entry into the home or a bedroom and bath on the main living floor,” she testified.

“Historically, duplexes and triplexes have enabled multiple generations and extended families to live together — an important source of informal caregiving.”

CDC research shows one in four million Americans have some kind of disability.

But Schuetz noted research has proven that less than 5 percent of homes are accessible for people with moderate mobility difficulties.

“Many older adults and people with disabilities need or prefer fully accessible apartments in elevator buildings. 

Yet all of these diverse structure types are illegal to build on the majority of residential land in communities across the United States,” she testified. 

“The lack of small, accessible homes in many neighborhoods limits the ability of older adults … to right-size their home while staying in the same community.”