Low- Income Housing

Research Paper on Sustainable Low- Income Housing The most successful, long term, low-income housing projects are those that use sustainable design and address the social, cultural, and economic needs of residents. Traditionally built low-income housing projects are associated with high crime rates and high mortality rates among the residents who live in them. They do not provide for the needs of residents, resulting in many of the problems these low-income housing projects face today. These problems range from endangerment of human life, psychological afflictions due to the high stresses that are endured by residents, disease epidemics caused by overcrowding and unsanitary living conditions (in combination with a substandard public health system,) and rejection from the greater community based on the stigma traditional low-income housing projects have generated. Sustainable, or “green” design offers many solutions to the problems housing projects present today, including healthier living environments, high efficiency utility systems that result in lower bills for residents, safe recreation areas for common use, a sense of community within the project as well as with the greater community, and aesthetically pleasing environments to live in. Building with sustainable materials alone will not alleviate the problems traditional housing has, but must combine elements of sustainable design with residents’ needs. By implementing sustainable low-income housing projects with residents’ need in mind, the developers, residents, and the community as a whole will benefit. Low-income housing projects that are sustainably designed are intrinsically better than traditionally built housing projects for a variety of reasons, including the benefits they provide to a wide range of people. Residents of low-income housing projects that are sustainably built can benefit in a myriad of ways. Sustainable design incorporates energy-efficient and water-conserving technologies in the