美國在一個縣城中找到了重振美國公共住房的方法
Montgomery County has found a way to reinvigorate public housing in America
由專筑網鄭京,小R編譯
美國馬里蘭州的一個縣制定的一項新的公共發展戰略為美國住房危機問題提供的解決思路。
蒙哥馬利縣是華盛頓大都會區郊區的一個不斷發展的縣城,它提出了一種應對美國社會住房缺少的方法。
同全國其他地區一樣,蒙哥馬利縣迫切需要更多的可負擔住房。
雖然在缺少中央政府資金的前提下美國公共部門主導的房屋建設幾乎不可能滿足需求,但蒙哥馬利縣政府想出了一種獨自提供高質量住房的方法。
As part of Dezeen's Social Housing Revival series, we look at how one county in Maryland is leading the way in the US after devising a novel public-development strategy to help combat its housing crisis.
Montgomery is a growing county on the outskirts of the Washington DC metropolitan area that has come up with a method for addressing the diminished role of social housing in America.
Like much of the rest of the country, it is in dire need of more affordable housing.
While an absence of central government funding means public-sector-led house-building to meet that need is a rarity in the US, Montgomery's county government has conceived a way to deliver high-quality homes on its own.
▲ 馬里蘭州蒙哥馬利縣通過一項資助公共住房新計劃完成的第一座建筑
Maryland's Montgomery County has completed the first building created under a novel scheme to fund public housing
蒙哥馬利縣住房機會委員會(Housing Opportunities Commission,HOC)是一個建立于上世紀70年代的機構,旨在提供聯邦資助的公共住房。最近,該機構制定了一項他們稱之為公共開發者模式的策略。
2021年,蒙哥馬利縣住房機會委員會建立了住房生產基金(Housing Production Fund,HPF),用于資助混合收入社會住房。他們使用該模式完成的第一個項目名為The Laureate,由美國建筑工作室KTGY設計,共有268個住宅單位,配備有數千平方英尺的設施,甚至還有一個室外加熱游泳池和水療中心。
“我們認為這個項目將成為一種標準!泵筛珩R利縣住房機會委員會執行董事切爾西·安德魯斯說,“當用戶走進The Laureate時,他將從一個高質量、高水準、設計精美的社區中體驗度假村般的生活體驗,我們為此感到非常自豪。屆時人們住在負擔得起的房子獲得的體驗將和住在按市場價租來的房子里沒有區別!
“我們認為,這應該成為所有新的經濟適用房開發的標準!
Its Housing Opportunities Commission (HOC), an agency founded in the 1970s to deliver federally funded public housing, has recently developed a strategy that it calls the public developer model.
In 2021, it established the Housing Production Fund (HPF) to fund mixed-income social housing.
Its first completed project using the model is The Laureate, a 268-home scheme designed by US architecture studio KTGY that features thousands of square feet of amenities and even has an outdoor heated pool and spa.
"We believe this should be the standard"
"HOC is proud that when you walk into The Laureate you experience a high-quality, high-calibre, and beautifully designed community that offers a resort-like living experience," HOC executive director Chelsea Andrews told Dezeen.
"We are equally proud that if you're standing in an affordable home or one that rents at market rate, the two are completely indistinguishable."
"We believe this should be the standard for all new affordable housing development."
▲ The Laureate是蒙哥馬利縣住房機會委員會的第一個住房生產基金項目
The first HPF project is an apartment complex called The Laureate
在美國的大多數地區,城市利用稅收優惠來鼓勵開發商提供混合收入住房。
蒙哥馬利縣住房機會委員會采取了更直接的方法——利用聯邦補貼來容納最貧困的群體,同時借貸資金來資助其他項目。而建造聯邦補貼住房通常需要私人投資者參與來達到完整的建設成本,這就意味著建筑的質量會因為考慮保護利潤率而受到影響。
蒙哥馬利縣希望住房機會委員會作為公共開發者能通過為各種收入水平的人建設更好的住房消除其在社會住房領域的污名。
這些開發的住房建筑由密切監督居民的收入的住房機會委員會統籌管理,高收入人群的租金將為較貧困人群租房提供支持。
In most parts of the US, cities use tax breaks to encourage developers to deliver mixed-income housing.
The HOC takes a more direct approach, using federal subsidies to accommodate the poorest groups while taking out loans to fund other HOC projects.
Building federally subsidised housing often requires the involvement of private investors to fund the full cost of construction – which can mean build quality is compromised to protect profit margins.
By acting as a public developer and delivering housing for people on a range of incomes, the Montgomery County hopes HOC can build better housing and break down stigmas attached to social housing.
The model also allows the county to create housing for people in need of affordable housing but who do not qualify for Section 8 housing vouchers.
The buildings are managed by the HOC, which closely monitors the residents' incomes. Rents from people in higher income brackets help to contribute to poorer tenants' costs.
▲ 圖為KTGY建筑工作室的室內設計作品
It was designed by architecture studio KTGY
KTGY建筑工作室負責人Ben Kasdan認為混合收入住房在充分解決美國面臨的住房危機方面發揮著關鍵作用,因為這種策略可以填補建設資金的差距,同時創建一個更全面和多元化的社區。
蒙哥馬利縣有兩個人口中心:銀泉區(Silver Spring)和貝塞斯達區(Bethesda)。由于與華盛頓特區的強大鐵路聯系,這兩個地區都在迅速增長。
住房機會委員現在的目標是靠近鐵路線的地區,進一步進行類似的高密度開發。
雖然從建筑的角度來看,這些項目往往并不令人興奮,但公共企業中心主任Paul Williams認為,考慮到該縣快速增長的住房需求,快速交付是重中之重。
“非常丑陋的五層一單元公共住房比沒有建造的漂亮公共住房好得多! Williams說,他是蒙哥馬利縣該項目的顧問。
"Mixed-income housing plays a critical role in adequately addressing the housing crisis that we face in this country, as that strategy can bridge the gap in construction financing while creating a more holistic and diverse community," KTGY principal Ben Kasdan told Dezeen.
Montgomery County has two population centres – Silver Spring and Bethesda. Both are growing rapidly thanks to strong rail links to Washington DC.
The HOC is now targeting areas close to the train lines with further similar, high-density developments.
While architecturally speaking the projects tend to be unexciting, Center for Public Enterprise director Paul Williams believes that rapid delivery is the priority given the county's fast-growing housing need.
"Extremely ugly five-over-one public housing is orders of magnitude better than beautiful public housing that doesn't get built," said Williams, who advised Montgomery County on its programme.
▲ 這種資金模式允許私募股權獲得的利潤回流到住房基金
The funding model allows for profits usually reaped by private equity to flow back into the housing fund
盡管這些建筑的結構看起來很普通,但它們可能代表了一種創造性的方式開始介入解決美國的深層住房危機。
傳統的美國公共住房模式依賴一個近百年前建立的體系,住房管理機構被創建來管理國會批準的預算和美國住房和城市發展部(HUD)向地方政府提供的聯邦流動資金。
然而,當上世紀90年代的立法限制了社會住房建設,并將住房分配僅限在給該國最貧困人口之后,許多當局已經停滯不前。
Williams說:“這種模式給予了目前大部分只是處于停滯狀態的公共住房管理機構一些事情可做的機會。在美國,能建造多少負擔得起的住房在于國會每年在預算中撥出多少美元用于低收入住房稅收抵免!
通過使用這種模式,聯邦補貼可以直接流向最需要的人,而當局則可以采用私人風格的投資模式,而不需要私募股權的利潤動機,為那些仍然有壓力但不那么絕望的人提供住房。
然而,停滯不前的樓市管理部門不會在一夜之間改變。
While the structures seem run-of-the-mill, they may represent an inventive way to begin to dig the US out of its deep housing crisis.
The traditional US public housing model runs on a system that was put in place nearly a hundred years ago. Housing authorities were created to manage the flow of federal funds from Congress-approved budgets and HUD to local governments.
However, after legislation in the 1990s limited social housing construction and its allocation to only the poorest in the country, many of the authorities have stagnated.
Activating stagnant agencies
"The model gives public housing authorities who at this point are largely just kind of stagnant entities something to do," said Williams.
"The constraint on how much affordable housing gets built in America is how many dollars Congress appropriates to low-income housing tax credit in each year's budget. People wish it was something else, but that's it."
By using this model, federal subsidies can go directly to the most in need, while the authority, running on a private-style investment model without the profit motive of private equity, can provide housing for people in the still-stressed but less desperate range.
However, stagnant housing authorities don't change overnight.
▲ 混合收入資格意味著更多的人可以得到幫助,同時住房的設計質量將更高
Its mixed-income qualifications mean more people can be helped and that the quality of the design is to higher standards
蒙哥馬利縣在公共住房方面有著悠久的創新歷史。由于與國家首都的距離很近,它經常成為政策實驗的熱點地區。
Andrews說:“20世紀70年代席卷美國的社會正義運動對蒙哥馬利縣發展經濟適用房產生了巨大影響。在我們縣分散新的經濟適用房開發項目多年來為我們帶來了很好的效果,幫助我們塑造了多樣化的社區,使我們的縣變得充滿活力!
Williams表示,他的組織正在幫助其他城市采用類似的模式,利用金融系統的杠桿來為住房危機的問題提供即時解決方案,因為完全徹底改革美國的房地產系統在短期內不太可能實現。
他說:“這就是我們如何將這些住房管理機構重新轉變為包容性經濟發展的積極推動者,而不僅僅是國會通過這些管道向人們發放少量資金!
Montgomery County has a long history of innovation in public housing. Being so close to the nation's capital, it has often been a hotbed of policy experimentation.
"The social justice movement that swept across the US in the 1970s had a tremendous impact on Montgomery County's approach to development of affordable housing," Andrews said.
"Dispersing new affordable housing developments throughout our county has served us well over the years and helped us shape the diverse neighbourhoods that make our county so vibrant."
Williams said that his organisation is helping other cities adopt similar models, using the levers of the finance system to create immediate solutions to the problems of the housing crisis – as a complete overhaul of the American property system is unlikely to come any time soon.
"This is how we shift these housing authorities back to being active agents of inclusive economic development, as opposed to just being tubes through which Congress sends small amounts of money out to people," he said.
攝影:Whitney Cox
The photography is by Whitney Cox.
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