Contextualizing Nashville’s Response to its Affordable Housing Crisis

Abstract

Over the past decade, Nashville has experienced disruptive political, social, and economic instability and suffered devastating effects from a number of natural disasters. Despite the challenges, the city has also experienced significant population growth and was recently ranked among the top ten performing metropolitan areas in the U.S. The city’s increased population paired with its insufficient housing supply has contributed to aggressive real estate speculation and dramatic neighborhood change throughout the city. This activity has produced an environment where housing is increasingly unattainable for many Nashvillians and has provoked in many residents a distrust and resentment toward the development community. In acknowledgment of the city’s urgent housing needs, Nashville’s Mayor announced his administration’s formation of an Affordable Housing Task Force in January 2021. In order to produce an assessment of its work, I closely monitored the Affordable Housing Task Force over a period of 12 weeks. To contextualize the work of the Affordable Housing Task Force, I have included some recent history in this report along with an analysis of the city’s population changes between 2010 and 2019.