affordable housing

Branson, Mo., welcomes more than eight million tourists each year, but the economic boom has passed by many of its low-wage workers who struggle to find safe and affordable housing.

In expensive West Coast cities like Los Angeles, there's a growing number of working people living on the margins — one crisis away from living on the streets due to soaring rents and housing prices.

Residents who lost homes in the wildfires two months ago are adding to the chronic homelessness problem in the city of Santa Rosa, where more than 3,000 people were already living on the streets.

It's the first time the number of homeless people has grown since 2010. In Los Angeles, homelessness is up by nearly 26 percent, fueled by high housing prices.

Seattle is among a number of cities in which the tech boom is driving up the cost of living. Now tech workers are facing a new city income tax on the highest earners to help those who make less.

In Washington, D.C., a city facing some of the most intense pressure on housing in the country, longtime residents try to negotiate a place for themselves in their changing communities.

Reversing a previous decision, federal housing officials say San Francisco can set aside 40 percent of the 98 units in new affordable housing for seniors who live in certain rapidly gentrifying areas.

San Francisco wants to give long-term residents of a historically African-American area preference in a lottery for new affordable units. Federal officials say that would violate fair housing laws.

The city has long suffered a dearth of decent housing. The recent collapse of vacant buildings — which in one case killed a man — has increased the urgency of finding a solution.

Most low-income tenants who end up in court are extremely poor; many of them are women with children. With a lack of housing aid and limited legal help, they often lose their cases and face eviction.

Tenants often stop paying rent to force the repair of poor conditions in the only housing they can afford. But landlords say can't fix the problems until they get the rent. It's a vicious cycle.

Most people who end up facing eviction simply can't afford to pay their rent. Many low-income tenants work, but their rent outpaces their wages. An unexpected bill or a lost job can mean homelessness.