Rebecca Diamond: How to Renovate Housing Policy in a Way that Really Works

Hawai‘i’s residents have struggled with housing availability and affordability for decades. Median home prices have climbed beyond middle-class reach, local households pay an unsustainable portion of their income to housing, and the state has one of the highest rates of homelessness in the country. The pandemic recession has made everything worse. 

Because the problem is so pervasive, every legislative session considers a raft of remedies. But what strategies really work? Based on the experiences of similar markets and quality economic research, what interventions are most effective, most cost-efficient, most scalable, and least likely to produce negative unexpected consequences? What steps do we need to take now to set the stage for a post-covid economy that is more equitable and resilient?

The Better Tomorrow Speaker Series features incisive conversations on the most pressing issues of our time. The project is a joint venture of the University of Hawai‘i, Hawai‘i Community Foundation, and Kamehameha Schools.

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