By Gregg Colburn and Clayton Page Aldern Homelessness is a housing problem Somewhat of a writeup on homelessness using a review and the author’s introduction to the economic problem. Amazon published review of the book, “Homelessness Is a Housing Problem.” Authors Gregg Colburn and Clayton Page Aldern seek to explain the substantial regional variation in rates of homelessness in cities across the United States. In a departure from many analytical approaches, Colburn and Aldern shift their focus from the individual experiencing homelessness to the metropolitan area. Using accessible statistical analysis, they test a range of conventional beliefs about what drives the prevalence of homelessness in a given city and include mental
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by Gregg Colburn and Clayton Page Aldern
Homelessness is a housing problem
Somewhat of a writeup on homelessness using a review and the author’s introduction to the economic problem.
Amazon published review of the book, “Homelessness Is a Housing Problem.”
Authors Gregg Colburn and Clayton Page Aldern seek to explain the substantial regional variation in rates of homelessness in cities across the United States. In a departure from many analytical approaches, Colburn and Aldern shift their focus from the individual experiencing homelessness to the metropolitan area.
Using accessible statistical analysis, they test a range of conventional beliefs about what drives the prevalence of homelessness in a given city and include mental illness, drug use, poverty, weather, generosity of public assistance, and low-income mobility to explain. They find none of it explains the regional variation observed across the country. Instead, housing market conditions, such as the cost and availability of rental housing, offer a far more convincing account. With rigor and clarity, Homelessness Is a Housing Problem explores U.S. cities’ diverse experiences with housing precarity and offers policy solutions for unique regional contexts.
AB: The authors “take” on Homelessness as detailed in their book. The charts are interesting as they begin to explain the differences in homelessness in various cities, counties and states (somewhat). Their introduction to the book makes for a sound basis for explaining more on the topic of homelessness. One clear point, where poverty is greater, the rate of homelessness is less. In other words, government recognizes the need. It still does not solve the issue though.
RATES OF HOMELESSNESS VARY WIDELY ACROSS THE COUNTRY
Why? Homelessness is a Housing Problem seeks to explain this variance and offer policy solutions for different regional contexts.
Homelessness is a Housing Problem, homelessness housing problem, Gregg Colburn and Clayton Page Aldern
INDIVIDUAL VULNERABILITIES LIKE POVERTY DON’T EXPLAIN REGIONAL VARIATION
Contrary to expectations, rates of homelessness tend to be lower where poverty rates are higher.
Homelessness is a Housing Problem, homelessness housing problem, Gregg Colburn and Clayton Page Aldern
HOUSING-RELATED FACTORS PREDICT RATES OF HOMELESSNESS
Over the course of the book, the researchers illustrate how absolute rent levels and rental vacancy rates are associated with regional rates of homelessness. Many other common explanations—drug use, mental illness, poverty, or local political context—fail to account for regional variation.
Homelessness is a Housing Problem, homelessness housing problem, Gregg Colburn and Clayton Page Aldern
DEVELOPING A TYPOLOGY OF CITIES
The researchers group cities into categories to help readers understand different rates of homelessness. Cities can be grouped by population growth and the way in which their housing supplies respond to increases in demand.
More of the topic later.