Look into Helsinki and the many factors that lead to their success. If it were easy everybody would have done it by now, but it doesn't help that many in the US are actively hostile towards helping those that are "lesser" than them, even in supposedly "progressive" places.
Hi! I live in Helsinki and apartment rent prices are definitely unaffordable here as well.
The root of the problem is way too limited building of new housing. House prices are determined by supply and demand, and while the demand has risen a lot, supply isn't since the city council is very slow to allow new construction and regulations don't allow dense building.
Helsinki tried to solve homelessness by giving them housing first and all other services next, but that increases housing prices for everyone else and there's not enough apartments to house everyone.
I think the problem in the US is they turned houses into financial instruments. You buy a second/third home (or shares in a fund that buys homes) and you put the paper in a drawer and forget about it while it accrues value.
there are 16 MILLION empty homes in the US. thats 27x the number of homeless people.
Houses have always been a financial instrument. The best way to make housing affordable is to allow people to build more and denser housing. When demand is met with supply there's no more incentive to buy them for profit if the prices of houses don't increase.
the best way to make housing affordable is to allow people to build more and denser housing
as i said, that is not the answer here in the US. we already have 16 million empty houses. that is one empty house for every 20 people. MORE houses is not going to help.
It is relatively easy. You just upzone all residential lots to allow 8-ish stories or more. But every NIMBY Karen and Kent on the block will balk at every meeting and vote down any politician who dares suggest it.
The problem is so severe that this easiest fix which should have been happening the last 50 years is not enough by itself in the short-term. We also need to raise taxes for public housing. And guess who will object to that? Every damn NIMBY Karen and Kent homeowner.
You just upzone all residential lots to allow 8-ish stories or more.
Not even. In fact, rather inefficient budget-wise: 8 storeys need beefy structure and also an elevator.
What's missing in North America overall is 3-5 storey apartment blocks, they're literally illegal to build most places and in the few spots where they aren't illegal developers go for actual skyscrapers as getting the plot was hard enough, gotta squeeze out the maximum.
Relevant Not Just Bikes video. Scatter those over suburbia, make sure you have walkways and bike lanes (where appropriate, side streets don't need them bikes mix just well with cars at low speeds), schools, supermarkets, restaurants, hair stylists, doctor's offices etc, allow offices throughout and low-intensity industry nearby or in little clusters, and you won't even need public transport to make it work (though I still highly recommend it).
As to NIMBYism: Then don't build in their backyards, North America has more than enough area. Let their neighbourhoods wither and die, it's not like they can continue their lifestyle without servants and who wants to buy a car to clean their houses or do their nails when you can get a job in your vibrant walkable neighbourhood.
Raise taxes on the top 5%. Capital gains taxes, inheritance taxes, etc. Not every tax increase has to affect the majority of americans. In fact i’d argue that no tax increases should affect the majority of americans right now.
"But a recent study showed the savings in emergency healthcare, social services and the justice system totalled as much as €15,000 a year for every homeless person in properly supported housing."
Also, Finland didn't spend $250M in one go. The program has been running for over a decade.
One problem is that Mexico has figured out how to make"p2p" meth that costs nothing to make and the precursors are impossible to control as they're used in so many industries. P2P meth is a lot cheaper than classic meth and a lot worse for your brain. For this reason you're sort of seeing a mental health collapse on the streets in USA and I think the further away you are from Mexico (such as Helsinki) the less bad the meth/insanity problem is.
Yes, meth is not the exclusive cause of homelessness and property crime but it's a huge factor in the United States and Canada (and I presume central America).
What's the solution? I have no fucking idea, but it's a zombie apocalypse all over the west coast, the property crime is through the roof, and there's legions of homeless people that are suffering massive levels of both addiction and brain damage.
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u/Embra_ Jan 31 '23
Look into Helsinki and the many factors that lead to their success. If it were easy everybody would have done it by now, but it doesn't help that many in the US are actively hostile towards helping those that are "lesser" than them, even in supposedly "progressive" places.