Affordable housing means that a tenant pays no more than 30 percent of their total income on housing. Americans currently spend more than 50 percent of their annual income on housing (U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development). This means that a person working a full-time job at minimum wage is not able to rent a two bedroom apartment anywhere in the United States. The shortage of affordable housing results in hardships for American workers, handicapping them from meeting other basic needs like nutrition, health care, and transportation, and preventing them from saving for the future to reach higher financial goals.

Neighborhood Development is the process of connecting citizens, businesses, non-profit organizations, and government organizations in an effort of collaboratively improving or revitalizing a community. There have been substantial efforts toward neighborhood development in the Anchorage neighborhoods of Mountain View and Fairview where many organizations and community members are working toward creating economically improved, safer, and more vibrant communities.

Video: Higher Education's Role
in Economic Development