2005 - Housing in Montgomery County: Coordinate, Strenthen, Innovate
Montgomery County has a significant affordable housing problem. While the County has a long history of concern over this situation, demonstrated throughout its General Plan in objectives such as “Provide opportunities for the current and future workforce of Montgomery County to live in Montgomery County,” the problem has only grown in recent years.
While the County has been a pioneer in affordable housing, there is mounting concern among both citizens and government officials that more must be done. The County’s innovative Moderately Priced Dwelling Unit (MPDU) program provided the County with over 11,700 affordable units. However, due to expiring price control, 9,000 of these affordable units have been lost. Now, at what could be a critical moment in its history, the County can take advantage of this broad consensus to evaluate and redouble its efforts. This undertaking should have two elements: bolstering existing programs and adding new programs.
The research conducted for this report had three elements:
- Quantifying the problem
- Evaluating the County’s current housing programs
- Understanding the market
The findings support the broad statements that opened this summary. They also confirm the more refined scope of this research, which echoes the current concerns of the County’s own residents and officials: that the segment of the workforce most in need of stepped-up efforts is the middle class – those making between 60 and 120% of Area Median Income. This is the group that has developed the largest housing shortages and received the least attention from County programs.
Studio Team Members
- Ilana Brana
- Chalita Brandly
- Tyson Byrne
- Chris Dorney
- Jubi Headley
- Anton Jerve
- Megan McElroy
- Amy Neugebauer
- Sebastian Oliva
- Ari Schnitzer
- Kate Shiflet
- Jennifer Snowden
- Jessica Solomon
- Dave Traggorth
Images/Documents
description
- James Cohen
Studio Reports - Fall 2005