The housing shortage in Chicago

The housing shortage in Chicago
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Housing shortage
Chicago has a unique housing problem compared to other cities across the country. For the last four years, the population of Chicago has been decreasing by about 0.389% yearly. Consequently, within the same period, the number of low-income tenants has reduced from approximately 159,000 to about 130,000 (Kamin, 2019). Despite the decline in demand for cheap houses, there has been a sharp reduction in the supply of affordable houses, which has led to a housing shortage. The Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University (2018) indicates that affordable houses in Chicago have reduced by 10% while their demand has decreased by 5% since 2012. The steepest decline in the availability of inexpensive housing units has occurred in Irving Park, Logan Square and Avondale, Portage Park, and Lincoln Square.
Causes of the housing shortage in Chicago
The causes of housing shortages in Chicago revolve around misguided policies and the development of high-end housing units. In the 1950s, residents of Chicago who had three or more children rented the majority of the multi-bedroom apartments in the city. Rather than using the collected rents to maintain the buildings, Hunt (2009) indicates that the city council pushed out the working class and engaged in unnecessary projects. Consequently, the majority of the buildings that were inhabited during the 1950s to the 1990s are currently in deplorable condition. On the other hand, In the North and Northwest sides of Chicago, developers are bringing down inexpensive units to establish luxury apartments. For instance, in Logan Square, numerous million-dollar apartments have been constructed along Milwaukee Avenue since the 606 bike and recreational trail was established.
Attempts to address the housing shortage in Chicago
Efforts to address the housing shortage in Chicago have been undertaken by the Chicago Housing Authority (CHU) in collaboration with private developers. Since 2010, CHU has broken ground for numerous affordable housing units paired with other services such as librari...