"The Oakland Crossings development proposal doesn’t just seek to transform nearly 18 acres of Oakland with new greenspace, housing for non-students and a grocery store. It also seeks to create a new means of making housing more accessible: “walk-to-work” housing, an approach whose benefits stem from where one works instead of what one earns.

Developer Walnut Capital says walk-to-work housing can create affordable housing in less time than would be needed for more traditional approaches like tax-credits. Critics say it’s less a shortcut to housing affordability than an end-run around it.

But Walnut Capital President Todd Reidbord said, “Every single neighborhood has … a different opportunity to create affordable housing. We’re not going to solve every single problem of affordability ... but here’s a chance to take a step forward. Let’s give it a chance.”"

Read the full article here.

Margaret J. Krauss | 90.5 WESA