The Houston Housing Authority and the Harris County Housing Authority are racing to build more affordable housing in the greater Houston area, with at least 30 approved projects underway between them, the most in a number of years and a significant expansion of their portfolios. That growing pipeline is part of a serious effort by city leaders to address the economic hardship facing many low-income renters in Houston, a situation that has only intensified since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. But a lack of adequate federal funds and not-in-my-backyard attitudes have made it exceedingly difficult for housing authorities to catch up with demand, calling into question whether Houston will ever be able to properly house its low-income population. “We're just not reaching scale quickly enough as a region to keep up with demand,” Texas Housers Southeast Texas Director Zoe Middleton said. 
Houston’s affordable housing crisis has been bubbling for years. Even before the pandemic, the city ranked fifth in the nation and first in Texas for having the most severe shortage. There are only 19 affordable housing units for every 100 households in need, or about an 80% deficit, according to…  Read the full story here. | 
