The Impact of Transit Accessibility on Residents of Affordable Housing Multifamily Apartment Complexes

A great deal of public money, time and energy have gone into the financing and construction of "affordable" multifamily housing since the Low Income Housing Tax Credit was created in 1986. By providing interest-free capital through tax credits to investors, developers can build quality housing and charge rents at the 30 percent of Area Median Income level (AMI), making these units affordable to many low-to moderate-income working families. However, there appears to be a disconnect in how states and municipalities coordinate housing policies with mobility options. Instead of looking at families in this socio-economic strata holistically (considering all of their economic and social issues), funding streams are separated into different issue areas (housing, transit, child care, employment training, welfare, etc.) managed by different divisions of planning and social services. This paper tries access how transit access impacts residents of affordable housing from an economic perspective. If financial benefits can be demonstrated, it is hoped that municipalities and transit authorities work to integrate new multifamily locations into the existing transit system. It is also hoped that the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency will add transit access in its evaluation of tax credit applications from major municipalities. These changes could help bring these two field of planning (transit and housing) closer together in recognizing common issues and concerns, particularly in serving low- to moderate-income workers in their communities.Master of City and Regional Plannin