Join SJSU’s Institute for Metropolitan Studies and Working Partnerships USA for a lunchtime conversation previewing new research on a bold local approach to the affordable housing crisis in Santa Clara County. This model, being coined as “Working Families Housing,” draws on principles that housing researchers and advocates increasingly describe as social housing—public ownership, permanent affordability, and mixed-income communities, while being designed specifically for the political and financial realities of Santa Clara County.
Despite a state mandate to build over 129,000 homes by 2031, our cities as a whole are permitting fewer than a third of what’s needed annually, and affordable homes at a fraction of even that. Existing tools alone won’t close this gap. Too often, the workers who build our homes can’t afford to live in them; Working Families Housing is designed to change that, creating new pathways to family-sustaining union construction jobs and strong labor standards, while demonstrating that we don’t have to choose between treating workers fairly and achieving our housing affordability goals.
Working Partnerships USA will share an early look at Working Families Housing, a locally-driven model designed to deliver permanently affordable, mixed-income homes nearly twice as fast and at a lower cost than conventional approaches, while generating good union construction jobs and unlocking new sources of capital including union pension funds.
This webinar offers a first glimpse of findings ahead of the full report release later in June.
This event is a part of Affordable Housing Month 2026.