Federal officials define housing as affordable when it costs 30 percent or less of a household’s income. By that measure, more than 60,000 families in Ingham, Eaton and Clinton counties do not live in affordable housing, according to recent MSU research. Affordable housing advocates say that means tens of thousands of families in and near Lansing routinely are challenged to pay for necessities like food, clothing, medical care and transportation.
So what can be done to increase the quantity and quality of affordable housing in mid-Michigan? Current State speaks with Katherine Draper, executive director of the Greater Lansing Housing Coalition, and Bob Johnson, the city of Lansing’s director of Planning and Development to find out.