Efforts in affordable housing: Varied and piecemeal

For decades, countless cities across the United States have grappled with a worsening affordable housing crisis. Rents continue to rise, forcing many lower-income households—particularly Black and Latinx communities—to devote large portions of their paychecks to housing alone. As property values spike, long-time residents in gentrifying areas often face higher taxes or rents they simply can’t afford, resulting in uprooted families and fractured neighborhoods.

Affordable housing future site

The following examples illustrate both the breadth of existing efforts and the gaps that remain—underscoring why more comprehensive, community co-investment models are needed now more than ever.

Affordable housing production and preservation	Inclusionary zoning Community land trusts Preservation incentives Public housing investments
Equity-focused urban planning	Anti-displacement zones Equitable TOD Reparative policies - very limited
Stronger regulation of developers	Impact feeds Community benefits agreements Limitations on luxury developments (specifically in areas with acute housing shortage)
Public sector leadership	Affordable housing trust fund Land banking Municipal AH agencies
Increasing nonprofit role & collaborative community engagement	Resident-led planning process Participatory budgeting Support for grassroots activism Support NP cooperatives and limited-equity housing cooperatives with technical assistance/funding to transition rental properties into NP or tenant-owned models Invest in training, technical assistance, and resources to strengthen NPs capacity to manage housing, advocate for policies, and engage in urban planning Encourage NPs to develop social enterprises focused on property management or development to reinvest profits into affordable housing or community initiatives Promote collaborations between NPs and local businesses to maximize community benefit
Addressing systemic inequalities	Reparative justice programs Regional housing plans Racial equity audits

Despite real efforts these initiatives tend to fall short on scale and long-term accountability.

Community Advisory Board Members meet at the site

Simply put, we cannot keep applying the same strategies and hoping for better results. That’s why we need a new approach—one that aligns the interests of developers with the very communities that stand to be displaced.

Rather than treating residents as passive stakeholders, the solution requires them at the decision-making table, holding ownership stakes in future developments. This is where the 4P model comes in, blending private-sector capital with genuine community co-investment to permanently shift the balance of power in housing.