Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies

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REPORTS & PAPERS

Older Adults Struggle to Meet the Dual Burden of Housing and Care

While the majority of older adults will need care and assistance at some point in their lives, services for tasks such as dressing and bathing are affordable to only a very limited number of older adults, particularly after housing and other living costs are paid. This paper used 2021 Genworth cost of care data, the American Community Survey, and the Elder Index, a regional cost-of-living estimate specific to older adults’ budgets, to construct a metro-level estimate of the total cost for housing, other basic living expenses, and one daily visit from a paid home health aide.

Surveying Missing Middle Housing—Trends in the United States and Massachusetts

Missing middle housing—a term referring to the building types between a single-family home and a mid-rise apartment building—is increasingly viewed by policymakers, housing advocates, architects, land use planners, and developers as one possible solution to the affordable housing crisis in Massachusetts and across the United States. Our new report, Unlocking the Missing Middle, will examine three aspects of middle housing. Part 1, "Surveying Missing Middle Housing—Trends in the United States and Massachusetts," provides an overview of this housing typology, along with major obstacles and opportunities to its greater production

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