A Pattern Language for Housing Affordability
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." (-Wikipedia). 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.
Here we are attempting to derive a pattern language to map all possible ways to make housing affordable. Affordability is of course not the only problem or goal people have in housing or housing policy, but the lens and focus chosen here.
Wiki inventor 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). The affordability pattern language here 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, one of the purposes of this affordability pattern language is to suggest that quite varied patterns -- from public housing to 'abundant' market housing -- may all be sources of or factors in affordability, and considered practically rather than ideologically, they might often be combined in various ways, in a project or an environment.
Housing Affordability Patterns
Land-use reform
(including building regulations reform)
1970s-present
Mobility improvement
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."
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.
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.
- Wikipedia. "Pattern language." accessed 17 November, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pattern_language.