What is Affordable Housing?
A felt chart, website, and guidebook about income and rent
This module of the Envisioning Development Toolkit breaks down one of the most commonly invoked but least understood aspects of urban policy. “What is affordable housing?” comprises a book, a felt poster, and flash site. The core of the project is an exercise in demographic analysis that helps everyday people compare incomes and rent in NYC neighborhoods and fosters discussions about the term “affordable.” The core interaction takes advantage of the material and psychological affordances of felt (friendly, slightly adhesive!) to facilitate group explorations of demographics and housing policy.
Visit the interactive website
Download the guide
The Affordable Housing Tool was produced by myself and John Mangin from the Center for Urban Pedagogy, with a dream-team of support including Glen Cummings of MTWTF, Sha Hwang, Margot Walker of the Pratt Center for Community and Economic Development and Dave Powell of the Fifth Avenue Committee.
