ENGAGEMENT
REALTY MATTERS
New Supply Chains for Low-Cost Housing
WHAT PANDEMICS TEACH US ABOUT HOW TO SOLVE THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRISIS
by Brian Wojcik
e’re all familiar with the phrase “history repeats itself.” Unfor -
age to society a century ago, but the result of the response strategy to COVID-19 is vastly different. A vaccine is likely to be available much more quickly than the two decades it took for the Spanish Flu vaccine. To - day, information and knowledge can travel the world in an instant, unlike in 1920. It forces the hand of govern - ments to (mostly) acknowledge what occurs as overwhelming truth. And in doing so, it enables the minds of many in the private sector to solve problems, as opposed to only those in government. Much like the lack of acknowl - edgement and national planning gaps with the response strategy for the Spanish Flu, the same could be true for undersupply issues on low-cost housing. Today, when government acknowledges the ac - tual overwhelming truth, and seeks private sector help, the outcome has
been demonstrated as overwhelm - ingly positive.
W
tunately, we seem to be in one of those cycles again. In many ways, 2020 was a repeat of 1918, but with some key differ- ences. In 1918, the world was swept with the Spanish Flu pandemic, which ultimately took between 20 to 100 million lives worldwide, includ - ing 675,000 Americans. After two years and four waves, it eventually just ran its course. A vaccine wasn't created until the 1940s. Contrasting and comparing the responses to the Spanish Flu and the present day COVID-19 pandemic are intuitive for housing solutions. CONTRASTING EACH PANDEMICAND COMPARISON TO HOUSING Gaps in the Spanish Flu response strategy resulted in terrible dam-
PRIVATE SECTOR PARTICIPATION
Modern science, technology, and innovation effected a vastly different outcome as compared to the Spanish Flu. Private sector response was overwhelming when government leadership on the federal and state levels asked for help to fill supply gaps for masks, face shields, and ventilators. It gave rise to a move - ment where individuals became entrepreneurs and were able to participate in creation of new supply chains to shore up device and safety equipment shortages. The response as a collective was beyond imagin - able. DIY makers at home used 3D printing to produce components for ventilators, and face shields for first
18 | think realty magazine :: december 2020
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