National Experts Join the Housing Supply Accelerator to Guide Meaningful Action

The United States housing supply is short nearly four million units of what communities and residents need, even in areas that have previously experienced relatively stable markets. The impact of this is felt through low rates of housing vacancies or availability, rising rents high home purchase prices, and more. The shortfall is even greater for workforce housing, moderately and affordably priced housing and rental housing units.

Across the country, community leaders, community planners, and residents alike know from their own experiences the housing challenges facing the nation. Numerous communities continue to experiment with new approaches and reforms — such as zoning reform to expanding missing middle housing options — to find solutions to ease the nation's housing burdens.

The American Planning Association (APA) and the National League of Cities (NLC) have partnered to launch the Housing Supply Accelerator, a national campaign to improve local capacity, identify critical solutions, and speed reforms that enable communities and developers to work together to produce, preserve, and provide a diverse range of quality housing. This effort will bring together local governments, community planners, builders, financial institutions, housing policy associations, and state and federal partners to develop, align, and advance solutions that accelerate and incentivize local approaches to land use, housing development, and preservation.

By realigning the efforts of public and private stakeholders in the housing sector, we can meet national housing needs at the local level.

"Boosting the supply, availability, and diversity of housing options is essential to expanding opportunity and affordability for all. As communities across the country are confronting an expanding housing crisis, the need for reform has never been greater. This crisis threatens our economy, limits access to opportunity, reinforces long-standing inequities, and undermines efforts to create more sustainable places. The launch of the Housing Supply Accelerator shows the commitment of community planners and local officials to work together to find solutions and build momentum for a common agenda. Together, we can speed the adoption of policies that will reform zoning and increase housing choice in communities across the nation."
— Angela D. Brooks, FAICP, APA President, & Campaign Co-Chair.

Introducing the Steering Committee

To guide and inform this important campaign and expand knowledge about efforts already undertaken, opportunities, and obstacles, NLC President Mayor Victoria Woodards (Tacoma, Washington) and APA President Angela D. Brooks, FAICP, have engaged a steering committee of local leaders and planners, each with unique perspectives and experience in housing policy, planning, or development.

These representatives are actively working within their respective communities to identify and apply solutions on the front lines of the national housing crisis. The steering committee will be guiding efforts on three areas of focus throughout the campaign: zoning and regulatory reform; construction and development; and finance.

Members of the Housing Supply Accelerator steering committee will first convene in March 2023 to begin charting the path for this national effort.

"Solving today's housing crisis is going to require partnering across sectors to find solutions together. On behalf of NLC, I am thrilled to partner with the American Planning Association and leaders in the public and private sectors over the next year so that we can work toward a future where every resident in every city, town, and village has a safe and affordable place to call home."

— NLC President Victoria Woodards, Mayor of Tacoma, Washington, & Campaign Co-Chair

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