Articles tagged 'Affordability'

This blog provides an overview of the current state of 2 to 4 unit housing in Chicago, new pilot programs directed at preserving multi-unit housing in Chicago, and IHS’s work in community partnerships over the years that have provided insight on the 2 to 4 unit housing market.

This analysis uses a unique data set to document the loss of the 2 to 4 stock in Chicago neighborhoods in an effort to understand the different ways that market forces put pressure on this key segment of the city’s housing market.

To inform ongoing policy conversations related to the preservation of 2 to 4 buildings in Chicago neighborhoods, this report updates key contextual data on the stock of 2 to 4s in Chicago, and includes new data on the characteristics of the stock, foreclosure impacts, and the importance of 2 to 4s in communities of color and for households of color.

This guest blog, co-authored by a group of Chicago housing organizations, responds to IHS's recent analysis on the importance of and threats to 2 to 4 unit buildings in Chicago. It emphasizes the disproportionate health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic across Chicago’s communities of color; the potential implications for the stability of Chicago’s 2 to 4 unit housing stock; and the urgent need for coordinated actions to address existing needs of families that rely on the affordability that 2 to 4 flats provide.

IHS provides data and technical assistance for Communities United (CU)— a community-based organization based in Albany Park which also serves Austin, Belmont-Cragin, Roseland, and West Ridge, on the Northwest, West, and South sides of Chicago— and its housing initiative Renters Organizing Ourselves to Stay (ROOTS). This blog highlights some of this work and how it has been used by Communities United.