Lawrence residents can share their experiences with housing in town through an online survey that will help inform the city’s affordable housing study.
The city estimates that the survey will take 15-20 minutes to complete. It’s available at this link and will be open through Friday, Feb. 27.
The study “builds on previous housing research in Lawrence, which has identified ongoing challenges, including a widening housing affordability gap, rising home prices that have outpaced incomes, limited housing options for low-income households, increasing homelessness, and disparities in access to housing and related resources,” according to a city news release on Tuesday.
The online survey will ask residents to share their personal experiences and provide feedback to help inform the city’s strategies to improve housing equity, according to the release.
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“Some groups in Lawrence, including renters, students, and historically marginalized populations, face unique housing challenges that this study aims to better understand,” according to the release.
That statement reflects feedback that members of the city’s Affordable Housing Advisory Board provided last month to consultants who are conducting the study.
AHAB members explored bolder visions for decommodified housing options, but also considered immediately implementable policies, such as stronger code enforcement for rental inspections.
Preliminary information that consultants with Development Strategies shared with AHAB showed that housing costs in Lawrence have risen at a higher rate than the rest of the state and country, but incomes have barely changed.
In addition, the city has a very tight rental market with only a 2.4% vacancy rate in multifamily housing, according to the data.
More information about the study and its goals is available at housinglawrence.konveio.com. The process began in October and is expected to take eight to 10 months, according to the website.
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