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Trump signs executive order banning transgender athletes from women's sports, directing DOJ to enforce; Educators voice concern for PA immigrant student protections; WA rent stabilization bills have huge public support; ME benefits from $2.2 billion in federal clean energy investments.

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Nationwide protests erupt against federal policies, Indiana's EV infrastructure expansion stalls due to a funding freeze, and Washington state pushes for rent stabilization to combat rising housing costs.

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During Black History Month, a new book shares how a unique partnership built 5,000 schools for Black students, anti-hunger advocates say ag communities would benefit from an expanded SNAP program, and Americans have $90 billion in unpaid medical bills.

Nebraska university students address affordable housing shortage

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Wednesday, January 8, 2025   

Some University of Nebraska students are gaining career skills as they work to address the state's affordable housing shortage by making small, practical dwellings available in some of Omaha's most distressed areas.

The price of a new home in the U.S. has jumped from about $140,000 to more than $340,000 in the last two decades, making affordable homes harder to come by and leaving more people without a place to live. Omaha reflects the trend.

Jeffrey Day, professor of architecture at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said the city needs 30,000 additional housing units to keep up with demand, and 60% have to qualify as "affordable."

"The other challenge in Omaha is that 80% of the city's residentially zoned land does not allow multifamily, or even small multifamily, housing," Day pointed out. "It's really all zoned for single-family dwellings, which makes it very hard to increase density in the city in order to produce more units."

Day's student-run Fabrication And Construction Team is designing and building small, affordable housing units on lots in older parts of Omaha, with an eye toward serving the aging population. The lab is working with Partners for Livable Omaha to plan and build the houses.

Because Omaha's strict zoning laws prohibit multifamily housing, the design and construction teams are creating Accessory Dwelling Units and cottage clusters, sharing a common outdoor space. Day stressed multifamily homes will have to play a part in solving Omaha's affordable housing dilemma at some point.

"We're focusing on the single-family dwelling and looking at a very small, extremely efficient dwelling that's designed to be accommodating for aging people who might have mobility challenges or other kind of issues," Day explained. "It allows them to downsize what might have been a larger home."

Students are already constructing parts of the dwellings in the lab. Now they are waiting for city approval to subdivide some key Omaha lots and erect the homes.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.


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