Do you actually know what affordable housing is?

[Image Credit: Los Angeles Housing Production Institute]

At The Change Lab, we talk a lot about systems—and one of the most misunderstood is housing. Let’s take a look at Los Angeles.

When most people say they want more “affordable housing,” they usually mean housing that more people can afford. But within policy and development spaces, that phrase carries technical definitions—often involving things like LIHTC, deed restrictions, or income thresholds that many outside the field have never heard of.

Even professionals in housing often talk past one another by not specifying which type of affordable housing they mean.

To help bridge that gap, we’re sharing this excellent explainer graphic by the Los Angeles Housing Production Institute, which breaks down the four primary types of affordable housing:

✅ Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH)
✅ Privately Financed Affordable Housing
✅ Inclusionary Housing
✅ Government-Subsidized Housing

🧠 Clarity builds alignment. Alignment builds change.

If you’re working on housing policy, community development, or storytelling around affordability—please feel free to use this in your own presentations, posts, or outreach.

Let’s help make housing language clearer, more inclusive, and more actionable.

#AffordableHousing #SystemsChange #HousingJustice #PublicImagination #TheChangeLab #CivicInfrastructure #DeedRestrictions #LIHTC #NOAH #HousingEquity #SocialCohesion