Google has announced plans to build 480 low-cost rental housing units in seven communities across the American West to Midwest.
Google has announced plans to build 480 low-cost rental housing units in seven communities across the American West to Midwest.
The housing complexes being built with the fund include a range of one to four-bedroom apartments, and offer a shared laundry facility and community gathering area; effectively creating 500 new units of affordable housing. The release says that Google has also recently invested in two other low-income housing projects for senior citizens, one in the San Francisco Bay community of Sunnyvale, and the other in the Los Angeles County community of Inglewood. - TechCrunch
10 Comments
Strange. How can we tell if its investment or altruism, both I suppose?
In my town Google have become involved in a community issue just by their presence, but so far have not acted, this means they are good guys?
weird. an instance of when corporations -- even ones with corporate social responsibility goals -- do what the government can't or won't? what will happen, then, when they want to take away net neutrality? they have at least 480 families and their friends who are so indebted to google *they* certainly won't object.
greed>redeem>greed>benevolence>greed>redeem>greed
+,- pattern of capitalist wealth according to slavoj zizek
sweet, hopefully they'll look at least as good as the passivhaus-certified lodenareal housing complex, and nearly as energy efficient
As far as I can see they are just involved at funding stage, and then probably get to name it or some such - being North America, home of ostentatious charity. There are very few passivhaus examples in America as I understand it?
there are about 15 built/nearly built PH projects in the US, and i'm guessing another 30-50 in various phases of design construction
You are missing the point.
There are tax credits given to investors of low-income housing. Those tax-credits are used to offset profits. Many other companies have done the same thing. Two that come to mind are Campbell Soup and Revlon cosmetics.
Actually, the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program has been around for years, and is one great example of tax benefits being used for good.
Is low-income housing really what is needed to solve whatever problem Google purports to be solving? Or is there some other social/cultural/economic issue that's being ignored via this bandaid? If people had access to well-paying jobs, would they need low-income housing?
Do we still believe that bundling low-income people together in one place is a good idea? Does it matter if that place takes the form of a suburban apartment complex vs. a high rise tower vs. a village street? Do we really need to build any new buildings when we have so many underused buildings existing?
It's odd to me that at a time of major unemployment a supposedly altruistic investment is being made in buildings, but I'll be thrilled if someone smarter than me can tell me why I'm wrong to find this proposal self-serving and questionably "helpful".
Why not pay the tax due and let the government administer the housing programme?
Thank-you to holz.box for the N. American passivehaus information.
elisabeth,
PHIUS should be able to give you firmer numbers, if interested.
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