Booklife Review

Bertoldi transcends the usual polemics of arguments over affordable housing, busting myths and making the case for why increasing the amount of affordable housing in the U.S. is not only good for people seeking the “basic human need” of shelter and stability during a housing crisis—it’s also good for the economy. This isn’t a “‘blue’ issue or a ‘red’ issue,” he writes. “It’s a red, white, and blue issue.” With clarity and enthusiasm, he lays out the nuts-and-bolts of what affordable housing actually is, taking on misconceptions that affordable housing is public housing, affordable housing devalues the community, and affordable housing is a handout leading to “high crime, ugly properties, congestion, and parking/traffic issues.” Instead, he argues, affordable housing “increases the value of the community” in many ways, such as “transforming undeveloped areas or underdeveloped real estate into a contributing part of the neighborhood.”

Bertoldi presents affordable housing as an essential component of “economic viability and our personal values.” Central to his argument is the LIHTC (Low-Income Housing Tax Credit) signed by the Reagan administration as part of the Tax Reform Act of 1986. Bertoldi is quick to point out that he is not suggesting new taxes on businesses and wealthy individuals to pay for affordable housing, reminding us that it is not a handout, but a utilization of long-established programs to fight housing insecurity for those in tenuous housing situations as well as pay assets to investors.

While he acknowledges shortfalls in certain programs and approaches over the years, he focuses on the bipartisan strides being taken in eliminating the common NIMBY (or “not in my backyard”) mindset in many neighborhoods and replacing it with YIMBY. Yes, this book is acronym heavy, though Bertoldi offers lucid explanations of each, with detailed examples and diagrams, always blending the wonkish with the humane. American Dream Come True is a forward-looking manifesto that reframes a debate and offers persuasive encouragement to say yes to affordable housing.

Takeaway: Incisive, illuminating guide to the benefits of affordable housing.

Comparable Titles: Shane Phillips’s The Affordable City, Sam Davis’s The Architecture of Affordable Housing.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A