Housing Affordability

Local governments are striving to shape inclusive communities where all citizens—from the young to the elderly—can afford to live. COG’s housing program helps advance these efforts by sharing data and best practices among governments, officials, and stakeholders, developing strategic partnerships, and supporting outreach and education efforts.

COG monitors the region’s progress in creating and preserving long-term, committed affordable housing and addressing an imbalance between the location of jobs and housing. COG works with local governments to support local plans for residential growth, especially in mixed-use Activity Centers.

COG shares affordable housing preservation and production strategies and tools at forums and conferences and establishes strategic partnerships to communicate the region’s affordable housing needs and advance solutions. Embedded in COG’s housing work is the principle of fair housing. Fair housing is a foundation for healthy communities, so that all residents can choose to live wherever they wish throughout the region, free from discrimination. COG members share goals and strategies and collaborate to achieve housing equity regionwide.

Previous COG efforts include supporting the creation of the Washington Area Housing Partnership’s Toolkit for Affordable Housing Development, policies and planning tools local governments can use to preserve and promote affordable housing development in their respective communities. COG is a co-convener of the Housing Leaders Group of Greater Washington alongside more than a dozen public and private sector representatives to meet regional housing affordability demands. COG also partnered with Urban Institute to produce the research study Housing Security in the Washington Region, which quantifies critical gaps in affordable housing across incomes, and summarizes local government and philanthropic support for housing regionwide.