Johanna Anderson of Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services | Founders Way in Ithaca | Changing Needs, Changing Housing

American Building

The racially-charged NIMBY, or ‘not in my backyard’, phenomenon is at the core of zoning laws, particularly in the greater New York City area. In this episode, I take us back to the early 1900s to look at the nation’s first zoning resolution and examine how it continues to affect communities today. I also revisit a conversation with developer Johanna Anderson, the executive director of Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services, to learn more about a mixed-use affordable housing development in upstate New York.

Founders Way is a mixed-use structure that boasts two separate wings with a new addition of studios to four-bedroom homes, as well as office space for rental and for sale. With a project of this size, Johanna discusses how she involved the community to preserve the existing design of the neighborhood and enhance structures, without creating a stark difference in architecture.

We also touch on some barriers to housing such as racial disparity and affordable housing stigma. We define what exactly these concepts are and the impact they’ve had on Ithaca, as well as how climate change has affected housing in the area.

About the Guest:

Johanna Anderson is the executive director of Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services. This nonprofit organization focuses on the development and operations of housing for lower and middle-income people in Central New York State. Prior to working at INHS, she focused on affordable housing development and support services for native people in Maine and in Minnesota. She has also held board member roles in other nonprofit organizations working in this arena.

Topics Covered:

• The history of zoning in the greater New York City area as a means of separating uses
• Examples of mixed-use projects and why they work in combining uses
• Different types of affordable housing
• Funding options for affordable housing projects
• Who can live in affordable housing?
• Constraints when building affordable housing

Resources Mentioned:

• The Birth of Zoning Codes, a History. Or, how Americans learned to legislate our NIMBY impulses
• Diverse neighborhoods are made of diverse housing

About Your Host

Atif Qadir is the Founder of Commonplace, a company dedicated to tackling one of the biggest barriers to more inclusive, affordable, and sustainable development: improving access to capital. Commonplace helps impact-driven developers and capital providers with shared values discover and connect with each other.

Connect with Johanna Anderson

• Connect with Johanna Anderson on LinkedIn
• Follow Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services on LinkedIn
• Learn more about Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services

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