Colorado Springs is facing a severe housing squeeze, with a deficit of nearly 28,000 units already sending ripples across its growing community, and an even starker future demand with 60,000 additional homes required by 2035. A comprehensive Regional Housing Needs Assessment, fresh off the press from Colorado Springs city officials and divulged to the City Council, paints a troublesome picture of a housing market lagging behind the needs of its inhabitants.
The crunch on housing availability is taking its toll on renters and homeowners alike, over 50% of whom are spending upwards of 30% of their income just to keep a roof over their heads. The numbers are starker still for homeowners, with nearly one out of every three in the same financially precarious situation. Aimee Cox, Chief Housing and Homelessness Response Officer for Colorado Springs, spelled out the predicament, saying “This assessment gives us a clear and honest picture of where we stand, and where we need to go,” according to the City of Colorado Springs. She pointed to a trend where housing demand far outstrips supply, impacting residents of all pay grades and complicating the search for a decent home, particularly acute for families, seniors, and low-wage workers.
Not one to sit on the data, the city has responded with interactive tools to help locals visualize the issue at street level. Two dashboards, one honing in on municipal housing trends and the other breaking down census tract-level information, are now live for public accessibility. These resources package data on everything from housing diversity and affordability to neighborhood demographics, key in fostering a deeper, community-wide understanding of the challenge at hand…