Tech Tools and Affordable Housing

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Affordable housing developers are facing greater constraints, both financially and from NIMBYs, and at the same time the need for affordable housing is increasing. GlobeSt.com took time to chat with Laura Bailey, head of community finance and community affairs at Capital One Bank as well as Karin Brandt, CEO and co-founder of coUrbanize, a digital platform that helps developers and municipalities engage the public. In the exclusive Q&A, Bailey and Brandt share thoughts on how developers can do a better job of bringing the community in to conversations affecting their neighborhoods.

GlobeSt.com: While the goal is to create thriving, diverse communities in the affordable housing space, existing residents may often feel ‘out of the loop’ when it comes to development in their neighborhood. What resources can help fill that information void, particularly for low-income residents?

Bailey: We’ve found that getting the word out—speaking directly about what is planned and the track record of the community developers who are involved—is the single best way to alleviate concerns and raise comfort levels. To do that, you can leverage the good old-fashioned community meeting, and there is a lot to be said for the person-to-person conversation you can have there, but that model can create challenges.

Brandt: Diverse audiences by definition have diverse needs, and resource-constrained communities often don’t have the luxury of free time. By using the in-person meeting as the primary source of information, we’re drawing a line that makes it hard for lower-income residents to stay aware of what’s happening in their neighborhood.

To fill that void, we need to meet people where they are. There are simple strategies that developers can use to reach the audiences that don’t have time to attend meetings. Offer more accessible digital resources that residents can use to educate themselves and ask questions about developments in their neighborhood. Post signage with information about developments underway or planned where people can see them, in the languages that they speak. Practically everybody has a cell phone, so those signs can even collect community feedback and share project details through text messaging.

GlobeSt.com: Why are tech focused solutions to this challenge gaining traction?

Bailey: Tech focused solutions offer both expediency and the ability to reach community members where they are, as Karin points out. It’s best to act quickly to open up a dialogue and engage around what’s actually proposed, before rumors take hold. If you are leading the conversation in a productive way online, you’ll quickly reach a wider audience.

Visuals also help. You need to show people what a new development will look like. The picture people have in their mind is probably not the right one and can be replaced with what you’re actually proposing.

There is also the fact that community input is valuable for the developer. It can genuinely help strengthen plans already in place.

Brandt: The ways that people communicate with each other today, and how people find information about what’s happening around them, are very different from just 10 years ago. Developers used to be able to control the conversation about their projects. Now, conversations about new developments are happening outside of meetings, and platforms like Facebook and Nextdoor are helping information—and sometimes misinformation—spread. If developers want to be involved in the conversation about their projects, they need to implement digital communication tools.

GlobeSt.com: What are the measures of success when implementing communicative technology in developments? What can residents expect?

Brandt: If a developer is truly successful in implementing digital communication tools, their project plans will reflect community input, which would be visible to residents. The end goal is to build a project that is truly responsive to community feedback. A development team can demonstrate how they successfully leveraged communicative technology by actually responding to what they heard from current and future residents in a meaningful way.

Bailey: If it’s easy to use and empowers people to weigh in, that’s success. This is particularly the case for low-income residents, who often already have to navigate complex systems and programs to access services. Technology is a wonderful tool to leverage.

Brandt: A successful project is also one that gets approved on time and on budget.  Involving community members throughout the entire process is the best way to make that happen. Community opposition can delay the approval process and inflate project costs. If you work with residents to surface concerns and respond to them quickly, the end result is more money for a better project.

Bailey: Setting the bar even higher, success is giving a resident what they need. Their measure of success might be an afterschool program for a child, or an online class that helps them get a better job. If they judge that technology has put them in a better position, then you’ve accomplished something.

GlobeSt.com: Why are online community engagement platforms attractive to financing partners?

Brandt: When projects get delayed, it doesn’t just affect the developer – it affects financing partners as well. The forward-thinking financing partners – the ones who want to be lasting partners in a community – recognize that the projects that respond to community needs will be more successful in the long run.

Bailey: Agreed. Financing partners must remember that we are here to serve the community.  We must continually learn the lesson of listening, to both what the residents in our developments need to steer their future and to what communities as a whole have to say.

Tech tools give us yet another way to figure this out.  They are a great way to ultimately learn what the customer wants and at the end of the day it’s all about serving the customer and finding innovative solutions to meet their needs.

For more information on real estate technology, join us at RealShare APARTMENTS in Los Angeles, CA from October 29-30, 2018. This year, GlobeSt.com and CRETech are coming together to present two highly engaging sessions that highlight cutting-edge technology solutions. These interactive and entertaining discussions will provide key takeaways and practical insights from top technology innovators and top adopters in the multifamily industry. Click here to register for RealShare APARTMENTS.