With Amazon’s announcement to locate a headquarters at National Landing comes the opportunity to redouble efforts to support affordable housing in Arlington.

Faith communities in Arlington have a long history of advocating for affordable housing. Today, many continue to explore options for making Arlington a welcoming place for all.

Arlington’s housing problems are no secret. But are they solvable? A group of private and nonprofit developers, lenders, and realtors came together to find solutions.

County Board candidates John Vihstadt and Matt de Ferranti respond to questions from AHS on their approach to the County’s affordable housing crisis.

Like bridges and roads, affordable housing is an investment in a community’s infrastructure. Along with numerous social benefits, housing affordability supports diverse jobs and wage levels and also attracts and retains workers – critical to a community’s long-term economic success.

Arlington County’s vision is to be a “diverse and inclusive world-class urban community.” The 2018 Leckey Forum explored the challenges to achieving this vision by exploring the historical context of racial segregation and current policies that keep neighborhoods from being more diverse.

The 2018 Leckey Forum explored both the history of segregation in Arlington and solutions for making our neighborhoods more inclusive.

The Fair Housing Act was passed fifty years ago, yet America’s neighborhoods remain deeply segregated along racial lines. Author Richard Rothstein argues that this divide is the direct result of government policies, some of which are relegated to the past and others that are still in place today.

Arlington County Board approves contribution of $14.3 million to the Affordable Housing Investment Fund for FY 2019.

In December 2017, the Arlington County Board approved Phase 1 of a proposal for a Housing Conservation District (HCD) that will provide protections and incentives to preserve or replace affordable apartments in market rate affordable buildings. Phase 2 of the plan, which includes developing a set of incentives to help property owners renovate or redevelop their properties in exchange for affordability protections, will be developed throughout 2018.

Do you want to help keep Arlington a diverse and inclusive community? At AHS we do! In the spirit of the importance of affordable housing, we offered a training about the Arlington for Everyone campaign for this year’s MLK Day of Service on January 15th. The campaign is designed to spark a community dialogue about the importance of housing affordability and housing options for the future of Arlington.