I was a bit surprised to see that there isn't a stronger correlation between population density and the percent of the population that rents. But maybe it's because often Census Tracts contains things besides residential properties like roads, parks, and businesses.
#30DayMapChallenge 2022, Day 1: Points. A map made in R.https://github.com/AndyArthur/30daymapchallenge/blob/main/day1points.R
Forty-five years ago, Betty Szudy and her wife, Maggie Roth, both 70, bought a Craftsman bungalow in Oakland, Calif. In 2017, at the same time their son and his wife were fruitlessly searching for an affordable apartment in the neighborhood, California was liberalizing its housing laws to encourage so-called accessory dwelling units, or A.D.U.s.
So, the family looked into building one. The parents now live in the main house and the adult children in the A.D.U. — in this case, a once-decrepit garage transformed into a 400-square-foot studio with a kitchen and bath.
The arrangement makes it simple to share meals, planned or spontaneous, and to pick up items for the other household at Trader Joe’s. “I love having them around,” Ms. Szudy said.
What if you could design a house that on a cold day in January would stay at 70 degrees inside — without running the furnace? Or even having a furnace?
It's already being done.
In fact, what's known as the passive house concept came to the United States in 2006, and is being used to construct buildings throughout the U.S.
Maine Public recently visited a passive house in the town of Hope to find out how it works — and what it costs.
Five years ago, Donald Strayer thought he'd bought a dream home for his extended family. It was on a pretty spot in Ohio's Appalachian mountain foothills, with room for him and his wife, his daughter's family, plus their horses and goats. And he could actually afford it.
Strayer had been turned down for a bank loan because of bad credit — he says it's because of hospital bills years ago. The 58-year-old former forklift driver has a chronic lung disease and lives off disability. Instead of a regular mortgage, he signed what's known as a land contract directly with the seller.
The price was $39,900. For a down payment he sold his childhood home, which he inherited when his dad died, "the only thing I had in the whole world."
For years he made monthly payments of $350 on his new home. And then "one day the sheriff just showed up," he says. "It was foreclosed and they wanted to take my property."