(RECAP: How widespread is the affordable housing crisis? Well, not a single county in the U.S. has enough affordable units to go around. Constructing more housing is vital (albeit not simple), but we can’t just build our way out of the problem: In some cases, the cheaper, better option is to simply preserve the existing affordable housing stock, instead of allowing it to get swept away by development. The need to save housing that’s affordable right now is growing in urgency: Rents have been rising for more than a decade, as have the numbers of renters. According to a previous analysis by the Urban Institute, there are only 28 affordable units for every 100 renter households with incomes at or below 30 percent of area median income. Saving those properties holds significant advantages.)

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