GIS and Housing: Principles and Practices explores the complexities of the present-day housing crisis in the United States and advocates for denser housing alternatives to address issues of affordability, supply shortages, and homelessness. The book explains how Geographic Information Science (GIS) can enhance our understanding of complex housing issues, serving as a pragmatic framework to connect policymakers and practitioners. The authors, with backgrounds in architectural design, urban planning, civic engagement, and GIS, invite readers to view housing in the context of their lived experiences, by exploring the challenges facing urban, suburban and rural neighborhoods in different US regions through myriad examples.
The book begins by examining the historical aspects of housing provision, societal attitudes, demographic shifts, and government policies. It then delves into the technical aspects of GIS management and functionality, providing professionals with the necessary tools for informed decision-making and analysis when dealing with housing data. The book bridges existing gaps between housing professionals and GIS experts, facilitating an interdisciplinary approach to address the housing crisis. It provides GIS technicians and analysts with an overview of US housing issues and examples of how to effectively integrate spatial thinking to address housing policy questions, while simultaneously introducing housing policy analysts to advanced GIS concepts and techniques to create livable neighborhoods that include housing alternatives beyond the single family home. Practical examples and backlinks between the chapters strengthen this integration.
The book concludes by proposing solutions that leverage the integrative capacity of GIS to address established housing issues like the need for denser housing but also challenges linked to climate change, demographic changes, and rising income inequality. The authors advocate for a collaborative approach that encourages professionals, policymakers, and analysts, across the ideological and political perspectives to confront the multifaceted housing crisis, fostering a shared understanding of the social implications of their decisions. We firmly believe that GIS is integral to achieving a future where housing is more equitable and accessible for everyone in the United States.
Advance Praise for Our Book
Silos keep advocates, philanthropy, and government from pursuing housing and development policies that meet the needs of historically disadvantaged communities in Black and Latinx neighborhoods. GIS for Housing offers advocates and policy makers a spatial analysis framework to guide the development of a just and equitable city for all.
Maria Cabildo
Director, Housing and Economic Opportunity, California Community Foundation
In development, all markets are local. Other words, know and understand the location before undertaking development. If you don’t understand location, money will be lost. Location is geographic. The authors of GIS and Housing explain the importance of geographic data related to location. Geographic data is not only physical, (what physically is at that location and surrounding areas) but cultural (who’s there; explaining population and its attributes). Developers need that information.
Scott Lefaver
Owner/Managing Member, Cabouchon Properties, LLC
This book explores both the evolution and current state of housing issues, such as availability and affordability and offers important guidance on why an understanding of spatial relationships is vital when developing strategies for mitigating these concerns. The authors explore the capabilities of geographic information systems (GIS) concepts, tools, and methods and how they can be leveraged to manage, analyze, visualize, and communicate actionable knowledge that supports decision making and policies related to housing. This book is a valuable resource for housing researchers, analysts, and policymakers.
Kevin Mickey
Director, Professional Development and Geospatial Technologies Education, The Polis Center
The authors supply a critical missing angle in America’s fractious national and local debates about housing: visual data. Through detailed graphs and charts interspersed with historical photos and maps, they elegantly capture historic changes in how we live, where we live, who we live with, in how much space, and how much it costs -- and also explain how we may use this information to decide how to live in the future.
Nicole Gelinas
Senior Fellow, Manhattan Institute
GIS and Housing is a highly-readable, solutions-oriented book that uses a geo-spatial lens to grapple with the connections between US housing crises and broader socio-economic trends. Further, it encourages the use of GIS as a tool for housing data analysis and meaningful community engagement in policy development and implementation.
Oksana Mironova
Senior Policy Analyst, Community Service Society of New York