If you talk to people about the recent rush of new apartments and condos being built in Raleigh and Durham, the question always arises: Who is going to live in these places?
Well, The New York Times published an interesting story today about the huge growth in construction of apartments and condos nationwide. More people in their 20s and 30s who don’t want to be chained to a mortgage, especially after seeing the effects of the housing meltdown, are opting for renting. (That also goes for middle-aged people, like me and my husband, who’ve never owned a home, and have no plans to.)
The construction of multi-family units is the highest in 25 years, the NYT reports.
However, missing from this article and the local glut of apartments and condos is a discussion of safe, affordable rental housing. The danger is that these apartment complexes become socio-economic monocultures—sanctuaries for the swinging millennials—without any room for the working-class, young families, middle-aged couples and yes, elderly people. If you’ve been to a thriving city, you’ve seen all these ages and classes mingling on the streets, in restaurants and in apartment buildings.
On that note, Durham CAN (Congregations and Neighborhoods) is hosting a summit Tuesday, Oct. 28, from 7–8:30 p.m., at the Emily K Center, 904 W. Chapel Hill St., next to Immaculate Conception Church. On the agenda is affordable housing, reducing poverty, encouraging transit and building trust between the community and police.
