Project Summary

Housing cost increases driven by demand outstripping supply have put economic pressure on Californians. Low-income individuals, people of color, and other housing-cost burdened individuals are especially vulnerable, as rising housing costs lead to displacement pressures to places that may not be as location efficient. Tools to estimate housing- and transportation-cost burden and location affordability have been developed, but new data specific to the California context and new methods to identify the distribution of burdens are needed.

The purpose of this project is to better understand the impact that housing and transportation costs have on equity-priority communities. Guided by a project advisory committee, the research team will conduct four research activities:

1. A landscape scan of housing and transportation cost burdens via a review of the academic and gray literature and tools used in practice;
2. The development of an updated housing and transportation cost methodology that can be updated annually by state staff;
3. An analysis of housing and transportation costs and burdens by socioeconomic vulnerability;
4. Triangulation of the quantitative results with interviews of housing- and transportation-cost burdened individuals.

The research findings will be used to guide development of policy strategies to mitigate housing- and transportation-cost burdens for equity-priority populations and may allow promotion of housing in high location-efficient areas. The results and policy strategies will help inform the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and other state agency’s work in equitably meeting greenhouse gas (GHG) and vehicle miles traveled (VMT) reduction goals.

Project Advisory Committee (PAC)

The PAC will be comprised of approximately 20 government and community-based organization stakeholders who are knowledgeable about housing interests and transportation and environmental justice concerns. The PAC will provide guidance on the research methods and policy recommendations derived through the course of the project. Guidance and feedback from the PAC will be requested on the following project components:

• Initial direction of the project, including key areas of inquiry within the project scope not already addressed;
• Preliminary findings from the housing and transportation cost burden literature and tool review report;
• Variables included in the housing and transportation (H+T) cost tool
• Analysis produced H+T cost tool, looking at: (a) how H+T costs vary by geographic indicators of disadvantage and (b) how H+T costs relate to migration
• Recruitment plan for interviewing individuals who face substantial housing- and transportation-cost burdens, and content of interview guide
• Recommendations for policy strategies to lower H+T costs and burdens

PAC meetings will be held virtually twice a year and when the deliverable schedule requires meetings more frequently. Representatives will be compensated $250 for each six months they participate on the PAC.