University of Denver launches new program to address affordable housing crisis in Colorado
The University of Denver is launching a new certificate program to address affordable housing needs in Colorado. It comes as Colorado is at the forefront of an affordable housing crisis and the demand is also growing for skilled workers in the industry.
Susan Daggett is director of the Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute and the co-director of the program. She said the housing crisis is a result of a few things.
About half of people are cost burdened, which means they're spending too much of their income on housing. In the past five years, costs of everything have also skyrocketed and people can't afford to own a home. Plus, there is not enough housing for people who want to own a home or rent.
"There is increasing interest among developers and local communities, trying to figure out how to provide more housing people need and because the costs of housing is so high," said Daggett.
This new program is meant to help with all of that. The program will train and educate professionals from all different backgrounds with the right knowledge and skillsets they need to build more affordable housing.
These experts will be architects and developers or in real estate, construction management, law, social work and public policy.
Professor Vivek Sah is the co-director of the new program and the director of DU's Burns School.
"If we can give that knowledge and provide that education to people, than I think we could be able to as a community tackle that problem and try to solve and come up with solutions collectively," said Sah.
The program is an eighth-month program that will begin this fall at University of Denver. Scholarships are also avilable to help cover costs for the program.
"Our purpose is to help provide the skills and the training to those people, who want to be understanding best practicies and understanding how to be leaders in this space, and how to build the right kind of housing to serve these communities that need the housing," said Daggett.
You can find more information about the program on the university's website.