Housing is the infrastructure of family life. This book explains how stable and affordable homes connect people to employment, education, health care, transportation, and community. When supply fails to meet need, families pay through rising rents, long commutes, overcrowding, displacement, and homelessness.
The chapters propose building and preserving affordable housing through public housing, nonprofit development, community land trusts, cooperatives, and responsible private construction tied to enforceable affordability. They also address accessibility, anti-displacement measures, and coordinating homes with schools, clinics, utilities, parks, and transit.
Public support must require safe construction, fair wages, organizing rights, civil-rights enforcement, transparent contracts, and long-term maintenance.