FAQs & Resources

Studies show that lower-income residents own fewer cars and drive less often than those in residents with higher-incomes. Traffic is exacerbated by car commutes, often due to local employees commuting into a city for work. Steps to reduce traffic often include encouraging walking or biking for inter-city travel, locating dense housing near transit stations, and ensuring housing choices are available for those who work in a community to live near their jobs. Enabling those who work in a community to live there shortens commutes and lessens congestion. New housing near transit stations supports the increased use of public transportation, thereby lessening the number of vehicles on local roads and often reducing the amount of space that must be utilized for parking. Source: California Planning Roundtable HCD (2002). Myths and Facts about Affordable & High Density Housing; Obrinsky, M. & Stein, D. (2007). Overcoming Opposition to Multifamily Rental Housing.

While there may be less so-called luxury finishes, affordable and workforce housing must comply with the same building and development codes as market-rate housing, including high-performance building standards. High-performing affordable and workforce housing units are needed more than ever to increase efficiencies and lower housing costs, such as heating and cooling.

Studies show that traditional single-family home neighborhoods have 2 to 3 times the number of school-aged children than those residing in apartments. A 2020 Student Yield Analysis created by Cooperative Strategies for the City Schools of Decatur found in the 2019-2020 school year that 3.69 times as many students resided in single-family homes than in townhomes, condos and apartments combined (K-12 student counts, 2019-2020 by housing unit type). Housing types such as duplexes, triplexes and quadplexes are typically smaller and have fewer bedrooms than new construction, single-family homes. These housing types tend to attract a more diverse array of owners including young couples and single people, and older “empty-nesters” resulting in a lower burden for the school system with equivalent property taxes values compared to new single-family homes. In addition, increasing the number of homes affordable to local workforce limits sprawl, creates shorter commutes and increases opportunity for health outcomes and walkability in our cities.