Unhoused

What constitutes great affordable housing design has changed over the decades. Where hulking concrete structures—Cabrini-Green in Chicago, Pruitt-Igoe in St. Louis—were once seen as economic answers to the affordability crisis, time has proven such designs do little in the way of elevating the lives of residents. There’s mounting evidence that the buildings we live in play a significant role in our physical health, mental well-being, economic prosperity and community cohesion. Affordable housing developers in Boulder County (and in other areas of the country) have attempted to increase the positive impact of their housing projects through human-focused design: by mixing incomes within developments, incorporating programming on-site, implementing innovative building materials and systems, and cultivating a sense of community. On this episode of (un)affordable, we talk with Carrie Makarewicz, an associate professor at the University of Colorado Denver’s Urban and Regional Planning Department, about how the design of affordable housing can contribute to a better quality of life.

The post (un)affordable: Beautiful by design appeared first on Boulder Weekly.

Around the country, the lack of affordable commercial space is challenging for small, local, and underserved businesses and business owners who either want to stay open or get a foothold in the first place. As is the case with housing, many people find it difficult to start, maintain or grow a business in their own community, leading to overall affordability challenges in many areas. Now, with the economic impacts of COVID-19, the business landscape of many cities is changing. Businesses have closed or moved to fully remote work, leaving ample room for communities to evaluate how to build back local economies in more sustainable ways. But, the movement to address commercial affordability around the country is nascent. Cities like New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland, Oregon are still in the pilot stage of many programs. In other places, like Boulder, commercial affordability is only a topic of discussion. Listen to Angela K. Evans discusses commercial affordability with Amy Nagy with Prosper Portland, the city’s economic development agency.

The post (un)affordable: Commercial affordability appeared first on Boulder Weekly.

With an eviction crisis still on the horizon, sanctioned overnight parking lots are being used nationwide to provide temporary relief for people living in vehicles — a common occurrence for those experiencing homelessness for the first time. In Boulder County this summer, the nonprofit Homeless Outreach Providing Encouragement (HOPE) created SafeLot, a program providing an approved parking lot for car dwellers to spend the night safely. But the idea of safe lots has created tension with the regional agency charged with reducing homelessness. Its Housing First approach, emphasizing more permanent housing solutions, strikes some as contradicting safe lots’ shorter-term fix. Safe lot advocates say it offers stability that acts as a bridge to a more settled lifestyle.

Join host Emma Athena as she analyzes how COVID-19 has changed the conversation around safe lots as a solution for homelessness in episode 3 of Unhoused, a podcast collaboration from Boulder Weekly and KGNU.

The post Unhoused: Gaining traction appeared first on Boulder Weekly.

The increased visibility of street homelessness as a result of the coronavirus pandemic has motivated a wave of new conversations about the feasibility of sanctioned encampments in Boulder and elsewhere.

The idea of a sanctioned campground for the unhoused is one that’s been loudly and routinely rejected by the larger Boulder community for decades. Concentrated public pressure has even motivated elected officials to move in the opposite direction, creating stricter anti-encampment policies over the years. But in a city where there are no day shelters, and the number of nighttime shelter beds have been reduced over the course of the last year while the criteria for who is eligible to sleep in those beds has also narrowed, many unhoused individuals feel they have no choice but to sleep outside.

Homeless advocates have long argued a reliable and indiscriminate space for people to rest would go a long way in reducing the number of random camps that pop up in downtown Boulder. And sanctioned encampments are used elsewhere in the country, with dozens created to support the growing unhoused populations since the coronavirus pandemic began.

Listen here or subscribe to the series wherever you get your podcasts.

The post Unhoused: Recognizing realities appeared first on Boulder Weekly.

Tiny home communities across several American cities like Detroit, Los Angeles and Portland have helped alleviate homelessness, but the idea has been slow to catch on in Colorado. The Veterans Community Project (VCP) has successfully housed and served homeless veterans in Kansas City, Missouri, by designing and building tiny home villages which partner with existing local organizations to provide wraparound services to help keep people off the streets. Now, the organization is breaking ground in Boulder County for its latest project, but are micro communities for non-vets even a possibility given neighborhood push-back and a lack of political will?

From Boulder Weekly and KGNU, join host Emma Athena as she analyzes how COVID-19 has changed the conversation around tiny homes as a solution for the unhoused. Episode 5, “A tiny house, a big step,” is available Thursday, Nov. 3. Find it at boulderweekly.com or wherever you get your podcasts.

The post Unhoused: A tiny house, a big step appeared first on Boulder Weekly.