The Great Divide: Vanishing Affordable Housing

The City of Alexandria's Office of Housing reports half of its affordable housing units were lost in the past ten years. Land scarcity, rising housing prices, gentrification and the new building boom have decimated Alexandria's affordable housing stock. This photo documentary is intended to serve as a bridge of understanding into the lives of those are impacted by the lack of affordable housing and highlight the issue of poverty in Alexandria, Virginia. The question presented in this work is, how do lower income families remain in Alexandria when the affordable housing market is shrinking. Interviews and research show Alexandria's dedicated affordable housing stock cannot keep up with current demand. Market rate housing will continue to rise beyond thereach of lower and middle-income families forcing people to leave the area.

Author

• Thomas, Susan Hale

Language

• en

Keyword

• Gentrification
• Low-Income
• Poverty
• Affordable Housing
• Development
• Alexandria

Date created

• 2014

Type of Work

• Master's Thesis

License

• All rights reserved

Rights statement

• In Copyright

GW Unit

• New Media Photojournalism

Degree

• M.A.

Advisor

• Sterner, Susan L

Committee Member(s)

• Bulisova, Gabriela
• Frankfurter, Michelle
• Paperny, Tanya

Persistent URL

•  https://scholarspace.library.gwu.edu/etd/z029p475r