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The lack of affordable housing across the U.S. has reached crisis proportions. At the “Unlocking the Market: Big Ideas for Local Housing Challenges” conference, hosted by the Urban Institute and Fannie Mae, five diverse organizations shared their innovative solutions for affordable housing that can contribute to creating stable and vital communities across the nation.

  • Google The tech company committed $1 billion to boost affordable housing in the Bay Area using a three-pronged approach that includes repurposing company-owned land as housing for middle- and low-income families.
  • JBG Smith This Maryland-based real estate group — and Amazon’s HQ2 developer partner — is raising money to build new housing units as well as maintain existing ones in the Washington Metropolitan Area to help keep communities intact and fill the middle-income housing gap.
  • Johns Hopkins University The historic anchor institution in Baltimore, MD, is co-investing with employees and other Baltimoreans to build, buy, hire, and invest locally to advance communities and sustain affordability.
  • Prudential This Fortune 500 financial organization is investing over $1 billion to promote comprehensive economic growth in Newark, NJ, by developing charter schools, advancing local businesses, and building innovative infrastructure.
  • The Healthcare Anchor Network Forty-five leading health systems have joined the Healthcare Anchor Network to improve their communities’ physical, emotional, and financial well-being by hiring, purchasing, and investing in local economies. The Network is supported through The Democracy Collaborative, a “backbone organization” dedicated to furthering innovation in economic development.

To learn how and why these organizations are pursuing innovative affordable housing solutions, watch their discussion.