Rethinking affordable housing | Adam Walls | TEDxGrantPark

Why are underinvested communities underinvested? Adam Walls shares the history of laws preventing investment in certain neighborhoods of Chicago and his idea of how we can invest in underinvested communities.
Adam Walls is founder and CEO of the 5812 Group, a Chicago-based real estate investment company that specializes in affordable housing. Adam has a simple but bold way to tackle housing issues in under-resourced communities, using market-motivated investors and harnessing his passion for community.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx

[@JewellDWilliams]

This is a great talk. My favorite part is you researched the history then sought a solution. I am inspired.

[@edwardrobinson3443]

Great History Lesson. Glad to see that there are some people who are trying to do good in economic distressed areas.

[@saavwafare]

Absolutely fantastic presentation on the WHAT and WHY of this eternally existent but never answer dilemma! Thank yo Aaron Walls for your hard work and I will be spreading this video abroad!

[@Pam0284]

This is such a good video. I've rewatched it a couple of times, and shared it on social media.

[@jazzyjazzjazz9768]

Absolutely amazing speech Sir! I salute you for your bravery to speak on this topic. I think this video has changed my outlook on life and where I live forever.

[@hollybischoff7490]

Great talk and very thought provoking. Good job and God Bless you efforts.

[@deb9784]

Adam, thanks for caring and doing something about it! Lots of us desire to bring change, but to step out and do it is so courageous! Your family will be effectively changed because you did! Do you have a website with more info?

[@marlenesabiooliva7667]

Very educational! God bless you!

[@cv5330]

love this vid, very informative.

[@lespetitsrugby3638]

Beautiful work Sir !!! TY for your patience, intelligence, leadership and fight for equality for minority groups !!!! You dont realise it, but your work has a massive IMPACT on people's lives, esp. the underprivileged. Writing from NZ and will use your wise words and work to also help those here in NZ that need help with housing and battle the obstacles erected to maintain inequality ❤❤❤❤

[@D4PPZ456]

There are too many regulations in the housing market as a result of NIMBYism. People think that they are entitled to tell others what they can and can't build on land near their land. If you wanna see what a housing market that works looks like you should look up Japanese zoning laws. The average cost for a house in America is about what you'll pay for a home right near the city center in Tokyo, which has one of the highest population densities of any city.

[@davidlopezlive]

Although a good idea, i think the best way to implement the affordable housing strategy is to diversify the affordable housing units across a wide area. I’m mostly in favour of the 20% model where 20% of housing across a city is affordable housing therefore eliminating segregation altogether. Helping all communities become diverse

[@maryanna8066]

Developers always say this then by out.

[@deb9784]

Great suggestion! So is it working somewhere? If so, where?

[@davidlopezlive]

Here were I live in Edmonton Alberta Canada, we have something called P3s which are Public Private Partnerships for developers to build 20% of units as affordable units subsidized by public dollars and from the number of units being tracked and built. It seems to be going pretty well. Also they are all over Canada and Europe and Africa, and south America, and Australia, and Asia, etc.

[@mamabear8641]

@@davidlopezlive Great. Thanks for adding the info! Trying to start up something similar. Researching all the models I can.

[@peteplayer3]

Would be very difficult to implement in America especially since that would most likely raise taxes.

[@236Mars]

Noble and amazing work!

[@fariedmaya3617]

God Bless you Adam... yess God bless you!!!

[@KalmoniGroup]

Great insight. We at Lakeside City are trying but unable to achieve very low cost due to luxury specs deman of buyers for low price... How do we meet the populace demand?

[@madskillz3906]

I'm a hard working man in new YORK I'm trying to get out of the shelter

[@marymotherofgod4861]

Blessings 🙏🙏🙏

[@davidearle7209]

That’s tough bro, I hope you still on ya grind out here. Wishing blessings on your life bro 🙏🏿

[@madskillz3906]

@@davidearle7209 I'm out and doing great thanks

[@prettyprudent5779]

Private Landlords on Craigslist get away with housing discrimination on a regular basis.

[@PeterKontor]

6 years later, as a landlord of property in West Chicago, now landlords are becoming fully dependent on government. Requirements from the government are more and more ridiculous. Evictions take 6 months, and up landlords are underwater with their investment due to lack of responsibilities to pay tenants share of the rent. Tenats know the system very well to the point that they will stop paying at a certain time in order to prolong the eviction in winter months. This area is becoming to operate on socialism setup where tenants and landlords are becoming fully dependent on the government to stay above the water. Education is where all begin. I see on and on this cycle in those communities where children are growing up in poverty filth and no fathers. Single mom keep getting pregnant even tho they can't afford it in oder to get extra income from the government. They are selling their food stamps for cash I order to survive. I understand there are people who need help like people with disabilities but currently, this setup is only incentives people to not take effort to start improving their standards of living, only taking money from government social programs. We hear more and more stories of how people who know the system can make equal, if not more, median income from all government available programs without working.

[@yvonnehyatt8353]

Send this to Tony Robins, please thanks.

[@francinedancertv1]

I need a place to li

[@purplepassion678]

Good!

[@ridaamurad5466]

Its not that they have the right to live but rather the workforce that serves the folks who can afford it wouldnt exist if they didn't have affordable housing as they couldn't live within a manageable commute...so eventually that neighborhood would not have good service, etc

[@cyberft]

Riddaa Murad, you are assuming that prices for things, including wages, would not change. Prices in a free market system are not fixed, they are dynamic. Service providers would raise the cost of their services and raise the wage rates they offer employees to insure they could provide services. This happened in the Balkan Shale when Wal-Mart had no choice but to raise their wages to nearly 3x their typical wage to compete for labor.

[@Jeremy1239]

That was rough

[@Falandis]

This dude just raised my rent 400 dollars

[@johnriley8761]

Funny that’s exactly how my people treated me when I told them this same thing

[@zigor4]

is there an equation for working out whether a house is defined as being 'affordable' i.e . what exact amount of available money you would need to earn minus debt and other essentials to be able to afford a house ? If not then your just conning people and the government

[@cynthiamarquez3370]

The old formula was that housing should be a quarter to a third of net income

[@davidearle7209]

Most architects use affordable when referring to middle class housing. I believe there should be "sustainable low income housing". Affordable housing for the lower class. It's my mission to create green houses that low income families can live in.

[@otienomichael2010]

@@davidearle7209 hi Craig how far have gone with this. Would like to have a chat with you.

[@OReily08080]

@@davidearle7209 same, i want to pursue, that. I’m not talking about middle class, but people literally on the street

[@davidearle7209]

Elle me too, I would love to create free housing for the homeless. Something that breaks all the rules.

[@thomasmurray4717]

Kind of like reservations.

[@devildocnowciv9272]

Show some video of his housign projects. If it looks OK, then its progress. If it looks like its on the path to becomeing another failed section 8 mess, then his heart was in the right place, at least.

[@amigaarquiteta]

👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@sunnymak4460]

i wonder what this man is doing now... has he had any success?

[@MatthewMartinDean]

so the solution is to irrationally become an affordable home developer? we can't rely on lots of people doing something irrational. ("smart people" stay out of landlording for low income residents)

[@augukern9708]

What do you mean

[@deb9784]

What a compassionate comment! Discriminatory too I'd say! Afterall, can't judge everyone the same, can we?

[@glenbegin9152]

Why bring affordable housing to the neighborhoods and not bring the neighborhoods to affordable housing?

[@deb9784]

The neighborhoods will find the affordable housing. Counties, cities, and non profits will make them aware!

[@glenbegin9152]

@@deb9784 No they wont. Cannot find them for the past 20-30 years. If people are paying more than a 3rd of there income just to housing? It's not affordable. Don't forget most people have children. daycare, food , utilities waste disposal bills too. Plus there's auto expenses too unless you ride a bike or walk to work?

[@Phil3-12]

If real estate developers and the government really wanted to help the people and the economy, the government would tell the real estate developers that they can no longer sell their homes, their rentals, their apartments or their condos unless they're no longer in business to support the residents but they can continue to build more if they're able to manage the upkeep of their current properties. This would keep the banks and people who are only interested in an investment for a return to stay away and allow the true developers to expand and house the people in need. It would also help to keep prices low and manageable for the developers tenants without the fear of banks or greedy investors raising the price for personal gain. Is this socialism or common sense that should be practiced in any form of governing for the people and by the people? If the government or developers had any morals than this would be standard practice.

[@georgewagner7787]

In general, I'm not in favor of reparations but this seems like a case for it

[@nathanielcarreon5634]

Affordable housing is an oxymoron. It does not exists in nice areas.

[@pyrosp41]

This example that hes giving are practices that were happening in the 30's and 40's probably 50's also, but these regulations arien't in practice today. It's funny that people think that to fix this we need more government, how about we make it that the government can't control this kind of stuff, and let the market decide things.

[@divisionagentbailey6727]

Joseph Thomas “The regulations aren’t in practice today” ok the regulations aren’t. But the practice of systematic racism still is

[@crusindc5282]

Joseph: Buying a house after WWII was different because part of the GI Bill included the ability of veterans to buy houses. This allowed many Baby Boomers to grow up in homes their parents were buying. Instead of demolishing houses when a popular area turned commercial, the houses were loaded on trucks, moved into rural areas, and set up on 1' cubical concrete with utility crawl space open underneath. On the West Coast a rural house could be bought for $5,000. An urban house could be bought fir $10,000 on the GI Bill. Family stability is encouraged by housing. If families could afford housing, more of them would stay together. Real estate monopoly creates numerous single parent families on federal benefits.

[@deb9784]

So that's worked out real well, hasn't it. Why don't you read a book The Color of Law? It will explain in greater detail how our laws have impacted people of color and restricted their ability to buy properties and increase wealth, while ensuring that Europeans had every opportunity even subsidized by the government after WWII.

[@bmcsnutch1362]

Definitely rethink living next to section ape housing. It’s a nightmare.

[@shellyt1891]

You're a mean, horrible person.

[@aoeu256]

What about moving to China or Vietnam? The rent over there is much much much cheaper, and no gas is needed for places serviced by trains. However, the Chinese won't hire blacks; but if your entrepreneurial you can create your own businesses.

[@jaredrice354]

Really don’t know if telling the lower class to move to a different country is the proper way to look at it

[@deb9784]

Really, Jared? Seriously! What a sad comment about your state of mind!

[@circusboy90210]

Tell the whole truth they have to live in multiple families per housing unit because they were poor racism is not responsible for everything

[@olivierkatombe3374]

Hard to accept that you come from hateful people ....well that another truth for you monster

[@BiffcheeseSpinoccoli]

I guess you skipped the very long section that explained WHY they’re poor. Listen again.

[@glantanem]

They are literally poor because of racism....

[@OReily08080]

@@glantanem THANK YOU, you literally said what no ONE gets.

[@409raul]

If ya'll don't like Murica, you can get out!!!

[@shamerzaihan8638]

The whites should go back to europe

[@bonda_racing3579]

@@shamerzaihan8638 and @EyesofTheLion 11 those are the dumbest takes I ever hearded.

[@OReily08080]

@@bonda_racing3579 honestly

[@shellyt1891]

I'd move from here, but what stops me is the safety of the USA bombing other countries and not our own.

[@409raul]

Yaawwn. Nobody cares.

[@ngalvez65]

go away then....no need to comment.

[@BiffcheeseSpinoccoli]

False. Every person affected by those unethical, bigoted practices cares deeply.

[@ellencamano4197]

and more people than those directly affected really do care, also!

[@juliemead7366]

I care!

[@deb9784]

I'm somebody, and I care! So your comment is not accurate!