Stop Investing in Gentrifying Luxury Developments

Target: Marcia Fudge, United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

Goal: Fund affordable housing projects over gentrifying, private developments.

The United States is experiencing a housing crisis at the hands of luxury building developers. The right to shelter is being unjustly commodified and money is taking precedence over stable and affordable housing. Social need is being ignored for the sake of profit. The federal government must take charge and enact policy to limit the power of real estate developers and designate high-need residential areas as development-free zones.

Real estate is an over 200 trillion dollar industry with powerful political sway on both the federal and local level. High status leaders, such as former president Donald J. Trump (infamous developer and landlord), as well as New York City’s ex-mayor, Bill de Blasio, have established financial ties with active developers. The latter, most recently, received a sizeable donation from said developers to his since closed non-profit, One New York. While our leaders are on real estate companies’ bankrolls and are working to make it easier for these companies to buy available property (see New York City’s development tax exemption), displacement, impoverishment and housing instability are on the rise. According to Habitat for Humanity, in 2019 37.1 million households were “house cost burdened,” and spending 30% or more on rent. However, despite these statistics, land and funds that should be allocated to remedying our social needs by way of affordable housing are handed over to real estate ventures that can promise money to the cities.

By signing this petition below, you will urge the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Marcia Fudge, to protect our vulnerable by instating the mandatory construction of development-free residential areas, and curb the pervasive power of the real estate industry in our government.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Secretary Fudge,

Legislation must be enforced to stop the rise of housing insecurity in the U.S. Luxury buildings and their developers have taken hold of our politicians and cities, resulting in rising rent prices, decreased affordable housing and the active displacement of our everyday citizenry.

Not only has profit has been prioritized over social need, but the perpetrators of our rising rent and changing neighborhoods have infiltrated our politics. By buying off our leadership, developers have been able to secure guardrails that ease their purchasing of land and rights which could be used for affordable housing. Developers have been awarded more safeguards than renters.

We urgently need policy that limits the power of developers and instates areas as development-free zones saved for the construction of accessible, affordable housing. We are in the midst of a worsening housing crisis and need action immediately.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo credit: Mjbeal