Social Relationships Create Social Reality: Housing
In a previous post, I emphasized the powerful role that social relationships play in creating our social reality. One aspect of everyday life that makes this more concrete is housing. Going from the micro level to the macro level, households of various kinds must commit a share of their resources to keeping a roof above their head and their residences are situated within the context of neighborhoods or housing complexes that enable and constrain certain interactions and behaviors. Neighborhoods and urban areas exist within even larger contexts that are shaped by laws and policies that govern both the extent that property owners and business entities can shape the housing market, and the level of financial support low-income households can lean on to secure safe, decent, and affordable housing.
Many studies, including our own, have shown that the current configuration of social relationships fails to account for the housing needs of the most economically disadvantaged people living here in the US. The housing markets in large US metro areas tend to be defined by hard bottom rent prices that are unaffordable for low-income households and many working-class households, and homebuying markets that are very difficult to penetrate when you are a first-time homebuyer without at least five figures of wealth at your disposal.
The challenge for housing-focused organizations and advocates is making a compelling case for innovative policies, legislative changes, and code reforms that will change the game for individuals and families that struggle to find and maintain a safe and affordable place to call home. Kiaspo is dedicated to helping organizations make sense of the housing landscape and generating the insights needed to make your case clearly, with undeniable data to back you up. Let’s harness the power of collaboration to shine more light on the existing deficits in the fabric of our social relationships, and thereby, build the stronger fabric that is sorely needed.
