New Report Reveals How AHSC Addresses California's Most Pressing Challenges
Today, the
California Housing Partnership released a
new policy brief -- co-authored with
Enterprise Community Partners -- that documents the substantial community and environmental benefits made possible by the first four rounds of the
Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) program. By requiring coordination of housing, transportation, and land use planning, AHSC simultaneously and holistically addresses three of California's most pressing challenges: housing affordability, transportation, and climate change mitigation. To date, the program has awarded $1.1 billion to 101 integrated housing and transportation developments across California.
AHSC was designed to deliver a wide range of benefits for low-income communities while helping the State achieve its climate change mitigation objectives, and our analysis reveals that the program has largely delivered on its ambitious goals. Some of the most significant benefits from AHSC's first four rounds of funding include:
Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions:AHSC investments are projected to generate substantial GHG emission reductions -- 2.2 million metric tons of CO2 -- primarily by reducing the need for driving by residents of location-efficient affordable homes and investments in new transit, biking, and walking infrastructure.
New Affordable Homes: AHSC has provided critical funding for more than 8,900 affordable homes for low-income Californians. By alleviating the housing cost burdens residents would otherwise face in the private market, residents of AHSC-funded developments will save an average of $730 per household, per month.
Jobs and Economic Impact: AHSC-funded developments will support more than 21,000 jobs, $1.7 billion in wages and business income and $666 million in revenue for state and local government during construction.
Quantifying the impact of affordable housing programs at the level of detail included in this brief is rare-and would not have been possible without staff at the Strategic Growth Council (SGC) and California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) providing access to application materials and the California Air Resource Board's (CARB) models. As California steps forward to address its housing, transportation, and climate crises, holistic and data-informed programs like AHSC are of critical importance for the State to achieve its ambitious and necessary goals.
As Data & Policy Analyst, Lindsay Rosenfeld supports the Partnership's affordable housing preservation and policy efforts through data analysis, program evaluation and GIS mapping.
For Lindsay's Full Bio and others check out our Staff Page
