Building Colonial Hong Kong: Speculative Development and Segregation in the City

Abstract

Chapter 5, Colburn and Aldern return to the analysis of housing markets at the heart of their argument. They show that the per capita rate of homelessness is higher in cities and counties with lower vacancy rates and higher rents. In Part III, the authors conclude by examining why housing markets vary so widely across regions and what we can do about it. The final chapter introduces a set of tensions at the heart of housing policy. The first tension is between short-term solutions and long-term ones. Although short-term solutions can address the immediate challenges of homelessness, only policies designed to expand the supply of housing, drive down the cost of rent, and provide more widespread rental assistance can bring a long-term resolution to the homelessness crisis. In addition, Colburn and Aldern emphasize the tension between private and public investments in solving this crisis. Though the authors acknowledge a role for the private sector, they note that private investments in housing will never be enough to end homelessness. Only by decommodifying housing for the poorest renters can we meaningfully ease the housing crisis and contribute to a permanent solution. Public investments must be coordinated between federal and local efforts to ensure a sufficient outlay of resources to end homelessness. Ultimately, Homelessness Is a Housing Problem should erase any doubt about the powerful role of housing markets in creating homelessness. Written with straightforward prose and digestible empirical analyses suitable for academic and lay audiences alike, the book will serve as a useful resource for planners seeking to dispel myths about homelessness and zero in on its causes. Alongside a handful of other books about the housing market, including Jenny Schuetz’s Fixer-Upper (2022), Elizabeth Korver-Glenn’s Race Brokers (2021), and Eva Rosen’s The Voucher Promise (2020), Colburn and Aldern’s deepens our understanding about the causes of the housing crisis and the path to resolving it. Ultimately, if homelessness is a housing problem, then the solution lies in improving the housing market.