Following are the key findings of
CPW’s research:
- The majority (97%) of
dwellings in the WUN are renter-occupied.
- The WUN is home to a large
student population; 60% of the survey respondents were under age 25.
- The majority of WUN
households earn less than $15,000 annually. This is consistent with a
large student population.
- The WUN houses a transient
population. Nearly 80% of survey respondents reported having lived in
the WUN for two or fewer years.
- The majority (76%) of WUN
households experience cost burden (e.g., they pay more than 30% of their
income for housing). This finding is consistent with a large student
population with low incomes. It is difficult to interpret how this
equates to affordable housing due to the student population.
- About 64% of the respondents
reported they had no difficulty finding or keeping housing. A remarkably
high 36% indicated they experienced barriers that included disabilities,
gender, student status, age and several others.
- About one-third of the
respondents reported they did not want to move or faced no barriers. The
other two thirds reported a variety of barriers to moving. Cost was the
major barrier reported by respondents.
- Survey results show that
between 17% and 46% of the respondents indicated every element of their
dwelling needs improvement. Insulation and energy efficiency were most
frequently rated as elements that need improvement.
- A
significant percentage of respondents reported a wide variety of
deficiencies ranging from unreliable plumbing to exposed wiring. It
should be noted that while many of these deficiencies represent
inconveniences to residents’, the do not necessarily imply code
violations or substandard housing conditions.
The findings of the external, ArcPad
based housing condition evaluation are available in PDF format,
here.
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