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"Affordable housing" is a very specific term - it means city-subsidized housing that is restricted to tenants within a certain income bracket (and usually appli

"Affordable housing" is a very specific term - it means city-subsidized housing that is restricted to tenants within a certain income bracket (and usually applicants are selected by lottery). There are sometimes requirements that new developments must set aside a certain % of units as affordable housing.

Mz 9y ago
It might be a very specific term clearly defined that way by certain government programs or NGOs, but most people using it just mean housing that people with low incomes can afford as a reasonable portion of their income.
- JimboOmega 9y ago
  In San Francisco it absolutely means that. There's often a weird negotiation/ battle that goes on between developers and the city over what percent of units in a new building ate affordable vs market rate. It has nothing to do with them being small or Spartan or anything like that, and everything to do with income requirements and rent caps put on them
- foota 9y ago
  I think it's not used like that in regards to SF because no one is proposing plans that would make that possible without government rent control.
  - Mz 9y ago
    Most people discussing it on the internet do not actually live in SF. This here is the internet. I just checked. I am not in San Francisco and I am talking about it.
    - foota 9y ago
      Sure, I don't live in SF either, but afaict SF is the most discussed city with regards to housing affordability.
      - Mz 9y ago
        The comment I was replying to did not specify "in this case" or "in this context" or "when we are talking about San Francisco." Saying that the term is very specific and specifically means X without, yourself, specifying the conditions under which it means X reads as holier than thou, not as let me helpfully clarify this technical term for you. I actually studied housing issues in college because I was pursuing a BS with a concentration in housing as I wanted to be an urban planner. I am fully aware of the fact that the term is used that way in some situations and stated so in my comment. But, I write a fair amount about affordable housing and that isn't how I use it. Good communication starts with context. This is the internet. It is not San Francisco.
        foota 9y ago
        Fair points, I'm sorry for my somewhat pithy original reply.

Mz 9y ago

It might be a very specific term clearly defined that way by certain government programs or NGOs, but most people using it just mean housing that people with low incomes can afford as a reasonable portion of their income.

JimboOmega 9y ago
In San Francisco it absolutely means that. There's often a weird negotiation/ battle that goes on between developers and the city over what percent of units in a new building ate affordable vs market rate. It has nothing to do with them being small or Spartan or anything like that, and everything to do with income requirements and rent caps put on them
foota 9y ago
I think it's not used like that in regards to SF because no one is proposing plans that would make that possible without government rent control.
- Mz 9y ago
  Most people discussing it on the internet do not actually live in SF. This here is the internet. I just checked. I am not in San Francisco and I am talking about it.
  - foota 9y ago
    Sure, I don't live in SF either, but afaict SF is the most discussed city with regards to housing affordability.
    - Mz 9y ago
      The comment I was replying to did not specify "in this case" or "in this context" or "when we are talking about San Francisco." Saying that the term is very specific and specifically means X without, yourself, specifying the conditions under which it means X reads as holier than thou, not as let me helpfully clarify this technical term for you. I actually studied housing issues in college because I was pursuing a BS with a concentration in housing as I wanted to be an urban planner. I am fully aware of the fact that the term is used that way in some situations and stated so in my comment. But, I write a fair amount about affordable housing and that isn't how I use it. Good communication starts with context. This is the internet. It is not San Francisco.
      - foota 9y ago
        Fair points, I'm sorry for my somewhat pithy original reply.