A Pattern Language for Housing Affordability

Alexander, et al. A Pattern Language, 1977

this article is part of the collection / book in progress, Village Buildings.   
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Introduction

"A pattern language is a method of describing good design practices or patterns of useful organization within a field of expertise. The term was coined by architect Christopher Alexander and popularized by his 1977 book A Pattern Language."  Patterns "are in essence a way of capturing useful knowledge about the nature of a design problem, and expressing it in a way that can be easily shared and adapted to new contexts." (Mehaffy 2019). Alexander et al's 'patterns' concept has been widely applied in software development and other fields, and inspired the invention of the wiki, by Portland programmer Ward Cunningham for the Portland Patterns Repository.   

A Pattern Language For Growing Regions

With this article we are attempting to derive a pattern language to describe all ways to achieve housing affordability. Of course, affordability is not the only problem or goal people have in housing or housing policy, but it is an important one, and here we are choosing it as our lens. 

Ward Cunningham and fellow Portlander, urbanist, architectural theorist Michael Mehaffy have been working with others on a new pattern language and online pattern repository, A Pattern Language for Growing Regions (APLGR; draft version online, printed book forthcoming 2019). This affordability pattern language could potentially be integrated with APLGR, and others pattern languages such as a proposed "Portland Civic Patterns Repository" [citation needed] to describe approaches for civic governance and engagement. 

Mehaffy talks about wikis and pattern languages as tools for "consensus development." [citation needed]. In that vein, I've been thinking with this affordability language about how to show varied patterns -- from public housing to 'abundant' market housing -- as all being possible sources of or factors in affordability. In most cases, they may be integrable, instead of conflicting, ideas/approaches.

 

 

Land-use reform

(including building regulations reform)

1970s-present

 

Financial reform & innovation 

Tax preferences/incentives for affordable & non-profit housing.

Bonding methods.

Social Impact Bonds.

Cooperative financing/development.  (cf German regulations facilitating). 

 

Non-profit & Public housing; use of public land

[Bond and General funding - local/state. i.e., just tax ourselves more. (the "public option")].

 

Vouchers & direct subsidy: local, state, and/or Federal 

a 'choice' strategy.  

[Bond and General funding - local/state. i.e., just tax ourselves more. (the "public option")]
 

Mixed-income housing

public or private developed, e.g. Vanport, Headwaters, Aloha Park
 

Rent regulation 

Oregon passes nation's 1st statewide rent control in 2019.    

Inclusionary housing 

mandated, incented, or purchased. Example of Pearl District.     

 

Lot division & 'condoization' 

Portland lot-division / narrow lots program. 

Eli Spevak / Orange Splot projects; Pocket Neighborhoods, Villages: Ross Chapin, Cully Grove, SquareOne.

Sharing / Congregate housing 

SRO, co-housing, co-living.

 

Cooperative housing

Emerald Village.

 

Accessory Dwellings

Self-, startup-, or public-financed. "Backdoor revolution."

 

Community Land Trusts, deed restrictions, limited/shared equity 

Cully Land Trust, Emerald Village 

 

Privately-developed affordable housing

built w/out subsidy. Guerrilla Development, Justus / Home First.

 

Interim, mobile, or redeployable housing

POD, PAD Initiatives, Opportunity Village, OR Tiny House Code.

 

Alternative design & technologies

modular, manufactured, pre-fab, etc. 

 

Informal, self-build, & incremental housing
 

Abundant, or "Naturally occurring affordable" housing

Housing for all.

 

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References 

• Alexander, Christopher, and Murray Silverstein, Shlomo Angel, Sara Ishikawa, Denny Abrams (1977). A Pattern Language. 
   
• Mehaffy, Michael W. (2019). A Pattern Language for Growing Regions [And Introducing An Online Repository of New Patterns]. Sustasis Press, 2019.  [draft copy]. http://www.sustasis.net/APLFGR.html.