Debunking NIMBY-ism: Study Finds Supportive Housing is a Good Neighbor

"Of course I support affordable, supportive housing... as long as it's not in my neighborhood!"

Sound familiar? Overwhelmingly, these types of conflicting sentiments are expressed by many when cities and towns propose constructing supportive housing developments. [NIMBY = Not In My Back Yard]

A new study released last week by NYU, however, has proved beyond a doubt that formerly homeless people can be good neighbors and good citizens. The Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy found that new supportive housing developments have had no negative impacts on the values surrounding properties. In fact, these neighboring properties have seen "strong and steady growth" in value since the construction of nearby supportive housing. Many have even appreciated more quickly than comparable properties that were slightly farther away from the supportive housing development.

For the purposes of this study, here's how the Furman Center defines supportive housing:

It is a type of affordable housing that provides on-site services to people who may need support to live independently (including formerly homeless individuals and families, people with HIV and AIDS or physical disabilities, young people aging out of foster care, ex-offenders, people with mental illness, or individuals with a history of substance abuse).

Supportive housing is a crucial element of contemporary approaches to ending homelessness. Specifically Housing First, which has been championed by the Bush Administration and widely adopted in communities across the country.

Local government entities and nonprofit organizations often face intense opposition at the community level whenever plans to develop supportive housing are made public. Owners of adjacent properties are wary of the negative effects that supportive housing (specifically the tenants) could have on their neighborhood. Prior to this study, proponents of supportive housing had no data available to appease these concerns.

This large-scale report examined 123 properties developed over 18 years in New York:

The findings show that the value of properties within 500 feet of supportive housing do not drop when a new development opens and show steady growth relative to other properties in the neighborhood in the years after the supportive housing opens. Properties somewhat further away from the supportive housing (between 500 and 1,000 feet away) show a decline in value when the supportive housing first opens, but their prices then increase steadily relative to other properties in the neighborhood.

This study proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that well-run, permanent, supportive housing is a win-win-win situation: It is cost-effective (cheaper than shelter stays), effective in ending chronic homelessness, and (as we now know) beneficial for the neighborhoods in which they are built.

Perhaps this NY Times editorial put it best: "Politicians and business leaders across the country should pay attention."