Topline: The key adjective in the phrase “affordable housing” is “affordable” — as in, cost efficiency should be the guiding design principle.
Democratic Senators Martin Heinrich and Ray Luján from New Mexico have seemingly forgotten that principle with their $2.5 million request to build a “trauma-informed housing project” in Santa Fe County.
The progressive housing concept adds expenses to make sure residents experience “safety and trust; choice and empowerment; community and collaboration; and beauty and joy,” according to the Urban Institute.
Key facts: Heinrich and Luján earmarked funds for the project in the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act currently being debated in Congress. The bill has not been signed into law yet, but earmarks are rarely removed once the bill’s text has been publicly released.
It is unclear what company will be designing Santa Fe’s proposed housing development, but there has been a national push by groups, including the Urban Institute, the Preservation of Affordable Housing and more, to create housing systems that address trauma. That can include anxiety, past experiences with racism, or even memories of the Covid-19 pandemic. The groups argue that “the housing system intersects with other systems that cause trauma” and can “disempower or remind people of their trauma.”
Jill Pable of the nonprofit Design Resources for Homelessness gave an example in an interview with Housing Finance: “It can be small things such as the lighting that is present in a bathroom. Does the lighting make someone feel empowered for their job interview that day, offering good skin color, or does it emphasize the bags under a person’s eyes?”
Physical property inspections by landlords are also revised so they do not “generate anxiety for residents, particularly those with histories of trauma,” according to the Urban Institute.
It’s not the first time the concept has made its way into Congress. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) earmarked almost $2 million in 2022 and 2023 for “a network of intergenerational, trauma-informed waterfront green spaces.”
Housing prices in Santa Fe are already pricing out many locals, without worrying about whether or not they are trauma-informed. The average three-bedroom home in Santa Fe costs $200,000 more than in nearby Albuquerque.
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Summary: If the federal debt continues to explode because of projects like Santa Fe’s, future Americans will be met with a generational trauma that even well-designed housing cannot fix.
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This article was originally published by RealClearInvestigations and made available via RealClearWire.
