Affordable City book cover with a headshot of Shane Phillips
The Affordable City was just released and we recommend you read it. (Graphic by Share the Cities)

Join Share The Cites and The Urbanist in welcoming Shane Phillips to a Seattle-centered discussion about his book The Affordable City this Thursday September 24th from noon to 1pm. The book is a comprehensive look at how to make housing more affordable and has 50 recommendations focused on what the author calls the three S’s: Supply, Stability, and Subsidy. The event will feature a conversation with the author on his book and its recommendations followed by questions, with some time at the beginning and end to connect with other people interested in solving our housing crisis.

The Affordable City is a great read for anyone interested in how to make housing more affordable and secure, from those just getting interested in the topic to those who have been in the policy trenches for years. So often the issue of housing is presented as a polarized discussion between those who think that we just need to build more housing and those who think we need to focus only on protecting existing residents. The Affordable City says yes to both and shows in its 50 well researched policy proposals how we can help prevent displacement, make cost-burdened people more secure in their housing, while at the same time building more and different types of housing to welcome new people into our city.

The book, and this talk, are well timed for this moment in Seattle as we struggle to accommodate growth while protecting our existing residents, many of whom face eviction as the Covid pandemic persists and its related economic crisis continues to unfold.

Shane Phillips is an urban planner and housing policy expert based in Los Angeles. He currently manages the UCLA Lewis Center Housing Initiative and has recently taught public policy as an adjunct instructor at the University of Southern California. Originally from Seattle, Shane got his bachelor’s degree in biochemistry at the University of Washington before moving to LA for grad school, and he writes (infrequently) about housing and transportation policy at his blog, Better Institutions.

You can register to receive the Zoom link here and RSVP on Facebook here.

Article Author

Patrick grew up across the Puget Sound from Seattle and used to skip school to come hang out in the city. He is an designer at a small architecture firm with a strong focus on urban infill housing. He is passionate about design, housing affordability, biking, and what makes cities so magical. He works to advocate for abundant and diverse housing options and for a city that is a joy for people on bikes and foot. He and his family live in the Othello neighborhood.