Rhode Island: Housing Developments for a Small, Thriving State - Research Paper

Introduction

Rhode Island is one of the smallest states in the U.S., which covers approximately 1,214 sq. Distances. The Island has no county government, and it is divided into 39 municipalities, each with its government. In recent years, the Island has made various efforts to ensure effective housing settlements for it's over 178, 000 population. In this 20th century, the Island suffered major setbacks in its housing development due to factors such as great depression, devastating floods, as well as blizzards (Immergluck, 2016). This paper aims to discuss the housing challenges facing the Island concerning community development.

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According to the study conducted by HousingWorks RI, various issues have been a key barrier to the Island's housing development, which includes lack of diversity in the region, lack of quality housings for low-income households, aging housing stock, and lack of quality houses. According to the Ocean State residents, poor access to affordable housing lowers the quality of their communities more than any other factor (De Block, 2015). According to over 2,200 people who were interviewed during this study, food accessibility, availability of transport, safety, and employment are inadequate in the Island, which is essential in community development. Access to affordable, quality housing was found to be very poor with a compiled score of 48 out of 100, the lowest score according to the report. This problem is the root cause of other community development problems, including negative health outcomes, which can cause issues such as chronic diseases, injuries, and both mental and physical health issues (Dong et al., 2018). This has also been attributed to the increasing rate of homelessness in the Island, which is a major setback to the Island's efforts to develop the Rhodes community. The report indicated that this problem was mostly caused by interminable waitlists, lack of state funding, income discrimination, as well as old housing fashion. The state is very crucial in the development of housing and community and with Rhodes Island, their wide lack of dedication, especially with the state budgeting for affordable housing, which has led dearth of sustainable funding.

Old/aging housing stock is another major challenge facing housing and community development in Rhodes Island. Aging housing stock has led to various health issues, which in return have led to concerns regarding the development of Rhodes Island. These aging buildings have proved to be hard to maintain, as they are a liability, and the state has to employ innovative approaches (Gunther, 2016). Outdated types of older homes may create more public safety hazards. These aging buildings were built to pre-building codes and have not been maintained; hence, they pose challenges to safety, especially to firefighters. Most of the aging buildings in the Rhodes community may harm the residents' health by increasing exposure to various allergens, lead paints and pipes, and faucets, risking the lives of the residents.

Another major housing challenge affecting community development in Rhodes Island is homelessness. The development of effective community and housing should ensure all the residents have access to shelter and suitable homes. According to a study conducted by HousingWorks RI, more than 4200 Rhode Island residents spend at least one night in a shelter bed or transitional program. About 30% of the residents spend their annual income on housing, leaving them with no enough finances to develop their lives as a community (Filinson & Maigret, 2017). This is an indication of the Island's inability to meet its housing needs. The households on the Island have turned to be 'cost-burdened' with the number of residents struggling to meet their housing costs increasing. The impacts of homelessness can affect the development of a community in various ways. Through homelessness, the number of people living in the streets increases with the range of social issues evolving. The state of homelessness in the Rhodes Island has been termed to be a key contributing factor to the increasing poverty levels, social issues such as family dysfunction as well as the economic downturn experienced in the state this year.

Community development in Rhodes Island has also been impacted by poor infrastructure in the region. Infrastructures play an integral part in any community development as they steer faster economic growth as well as improve poverty (Rogers et al., 2014). This helps the residents to access the basic resources needed for living, which reduces the cost of living hence increased access to ownership of homes, which is a major housing issue in Rhodes Island. The study shows that Rhodes is the leading region in America with the worst infrastructures. Half of the state's roads are in less than an acceptable state, with 23% of the state's bridges being in a poor state. U.S. Transportation Department explained that it is impossible to develop a viable community with such kind of infrastructures. Similarly, Rhodes Island has been slammed for lack of integration among the residents; poor social infrastructures. Social infrastructure plays a vital role in both the economic development of a region as well as social wellbeing and develops economic growth through the provision of primary services and facilities which allow a community to develop and flourish. Rhodes Island has a high rate of unemployment, with the majority of the residents being unable to afford suitable housing. By 2019, the state recorded an unemployment rate of 3.6%, the lowest that has been recorded in 30 years. Employment is integral when developing a community. Residents need to able to afford their living, finance their homes, and with jobs, this can be very challenging (Bertrand et al., 2016).

Lack of state enough state funding and low state revenue is also a major housing and community development issue facing Rhodes Island. The state's finances are poor and inadequate, which has made it hard for the Island to maintain its aging infrastructures. The state government has explained that its taxes, as well as regulatory climates, have been rough, and the economic growth is unfruitful. With the state being responsible for the development of housing and Rhode community, lack of taxes and enough finances has made it for the state to achieve this. State funding is very crucial in the development of a community and its housing (Bowden, 2018). For instance, during the 2017/18 financial year, Rhode Island recorded a revenue shortfall of-134 million, with the state general fund decreasing by 4%. In the 2018/19 fiscal year, these figures were reported to have increased, making the state unable to provide the basic needs to its residents as well as develop the Rhodes community. In 2019, the Island was ranked for the fifth time as the bottom state with poor performance in terms of its revenues and taxes. Also, it was ranked as the worst with the high cost of doing business, poor infrastructure, and low economic growth. The development of a viable community is significantly related to economic growth. The rate of job creation was also recorded as the worst for the first time in a decade. These trends cannot support the development of a viable community; thus, unless something is done, the housing and development of the Rhode community will remain stagnant. The basic resources and community infrastructures are provided through taxes and other government funding. With such poor tax records in Rhodes Island, the state government is unable to offer the basic needs to the islanders, and now they are calling upon the national government to intervene (Waye et al., 2019).

Another challenge facing housing and community development in Rhodes Island is the high housing cost. According to first-time house buyers, buying a home in Rhodes Island has turned to be a major challenge. An average house price is estimated to be $280 thousand, and the housing market has been termed as 'hot with the inaccessibility of quality homes increasing. There are no enough houses, and there are not enough inventories. A study conducted across the Island found that a medium single-family home on average would cost $563, 000, among the most expensive in the Island, skewed by multi-million mansions. Similarly, HousingWorks estimated that the dollar value of the cost of housing burden Rhode Island was $750 million (Ingram & Hong, 2009). Out of 140, 000 households in Rhodes Island, half of them spend more than 50% of their incomes on housing, which the majority of the islanders termed as 'housing cost-burdened.' For the majority of Islanders, this means hard choices. Residents are left with not enough finances to choose between rent or mortgage, food, and medication, among other necessities. The development of a viable community is based on affordable housing costs and the ability of the residents to provide for their basic needs, which among the Rhode Island residents remains a nightmare. A study conducted by HousingWorks established that buyers with incomes below $50, 000 cannot find a home they can buy across any Rhode Island Municipal. The increasing prices of houses lack affordable quality housing as well as the tight rental market, with less than 3% vacancy has been attributed to the many struggles lower-income Rhode Island residents have been experiencing over the past few years.

Conclusion

The housing and community development in Rhodes Island requires collective efforts of the state government, national government, the Rhodes community, and other related stakeholders. Despite the various programs set to address the issues facing the state, a lot needs to be done viable community is to be established in the region (Kalinosky, 2001). The issues of homelessness, unemployment, lack of affordable quality housing, and poor infrastructure need to be given paramount attention. Through the creation of job opportunities and improvement of the state's infrastructures, the residents' living standards will improve and be able to provide for the basic needs, more so the housing needs.

References

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Dong, K. R., Must, A., Tang, A. M., Beckwith, C. G., & Stopka, T. J. (2018). Competing priorities that rival health in adults on probation in Rhode Island: substance use recovery, employment, housing, and food intake. BMC public health, 18(1), 289.

Filinson, R., & Maigret, M. (2017). Supporting people as they age in the community: Housing.

Gunther, J. (2016). Strengthening the Connection: Community Development and Historic Preservation. In the Forum Journal (Vol. 30, No. 2, pp. 35-45). National Trust for Historic Preservation.

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Kalinosky, L. (2001). Smart growth for neighborhoods: affordable housing and regional vision. Washington, DC: Nat.

Rogers, M. L., Lucht, J. A., Sylvaria, A. J., Cigna, J., Vanderslice, R., & Vivier, P. M. (2014). Primary prevention of lead poisoning: Protecting children from unsafe housing. American journal of public he...