HOUSING | Cities Need Housing for All

Raleigh’s Missing Middle plan is the key to urban affordability—and inclusion

Written By Phil Veasley

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Just a few days ago, the following critique was leveled as part of a NIMBY diatribe against Raleigh’s plan to address the city’s housing plan: “The Missing Middle you have in place is an urban planning fad that like others will be on the ash heap of history as a costly and failed experiment.” It was a shocking, if not surprising, assessment of the value of Missing Middle that reflects the perspective of a select privileged few. Among many other things, what housing opponents gloss over is this: The Missing Middle policy represents the only way people like me will be able to live in the city. And that’s exactly what they’re afraid of.

Take a look at current home prices in the area. A quick search shows that with a budget of $300,000, there are only 78 properties available inside the Beltline. (And some of these are just vacant lots.) When adding in a second bedroom, that number shrinks to 43.

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Source: Realtor.com