Growing up in South Africa, I always looked at America with admiration and wonderment. America — the global cultural, social, and economic icon. She inspired us and was the poster child for our hopes and dreams.
Culturally she led the way in innovation (and still does). The producer of great actors, authors, artists, songwriters, scientists, engineers, doctors, philosophers, and of course, the birthplace of Jazz.
Socially, she represented the best democracy on the planet (and still does). A safe haven that celebrates freedom of speech where her citizens have the right to express any opinions without censorship and restraint.
Economically, she was (and still is) home to the “American Dream”. It was understood that if you worked hard, obeyed the law, were honest and upstanding, the “American Dream” was within reach and achievable to everyone of every race color and creed.
The biggest part of the American dream?
Homeownership.
Owning a home gives us a sense of belonging. It is the foundation and bedrock of our society. Knowing that we have a safe place for our family to live is essential to our health as a community. How and where we live is a direct reflection of our civilization.
There is a housing crisis in this country. A shortage of 4 million homes — while at the same time, there is a glut of overpriced luxury homes for sale. It’s senseless. Most hard-working people can’t afford housing in the cities where they work. That’s more like a nightmare than a dream.
There are many reasons why there is not enough affordable housing. On the surface, there is a lack of labor to build the housing, a lack of materials to build homes, less financing available for affordable housing, a lack of affordable land, and local laws and regulations are too restrictive for developers. But it’s more complicated than that. Matthew Desmond covered some of the nuances and complexity of this problem in his book “Evicted” (I highly recommend it). Building affordable housing isn’t sexy, but it can be lucrative. It is also not the same thing as low income housing. There are a number of developers in the US who are working to solve this housing crisis. Many of these developers are unsung heroes.
One of these developers is Jeff Levine from Douglaston Development. He is my first guest on “On Site”. A podcast where I will be speaking to the people who shape our cities around the world, and the way in which we live in them.
My favorite quote — “He or she who does the heavy lifting, gets the muscle”. Jeff Levine