Asheville, like the nation and the world, is experiencing both a housing shortage and a climate crisis. Our city simply does not have enough homes available to rent or to buy. The majority of new homes built in recent decades are priced out of reach for many and also do not match with the needs of existing residents or our aging population based on size or location. Additionally, current land development patterns exacerbate climate change by favoring creation of large, single family, detached homes further from city centers. Reforms to our land use regulations that incentivize and streamline the construction of middle housing types like duplexes, courtyard apartments, and accessory dwelling units are needed to create a greater diversity of housing choices that also responds to the challenges of climate change.
We believe that quick Missing Middle Housing reform should be a top priority for Asheville. At the same time, we believe that our most vulnerable communities should be involved as that reform process proceeds and specific implementation strategies are developed.
Asheville has a stark housing mismatch – we are seeing too many large, single-family homes, and too few starter homes and small apartments that are within reach of young families, workers, and seniors seeking to downsize.
Asheville, like the rest of the country, has a long history of exclusionary housing policies that have directly and negatively impacted our Black and Brown communities – by design. Elements of municipal zoning codes that block new housing today (see Permitted Uses, Single-Family Detached Dwellings-Only) were explicitly created to exclude Black and Brown people, people with low incomes, and renters from moving into neighborhoods with good schools and amenities. These policies also had the negative economic consequence of building only larger, less affordable homes in our community. The result has been a dearth of choices to meet the needs of our residents today for smaller homes of different sizes, and lower cost.
We know we can do better. Asheville can be a city with housing options that work for all of our neighbors.
Join us today in calling on our city’s leadership to make and follow through on commitments to prevent displacement while bringing abundant workforce and attainable housing options in every neighborhood.