Housing costs are at a record high, putting strain on Americans’ ability to meet their basic needs. Approximately half of US renters are housing cost-burdened, meaning they spend 30 percent or more of their income on housing. As rents continue to rise, the supply of low-cost rental housing is in decline: the period from 2013 to 2023 saw a 32 percent decrease in rental units asking less than $1,000 per month.
Homeownership is similarly out of reach for a growing share of Americans. The US home price index rose 47 percent between 2020 and 2024. The mounting cost of homeownership comes not only from higher sale price value but also from hidden costs like rising insurance premiums, maintenance fees, interest rates and utility bills.
Cities can play a crucial role in preserving existing market-rate and affordable housing, spurring the creation of more housing, and helping residents build the financial means to buy and stay in their homes. Fayetteville, Ark. (pop. 101,694) and Monroe, La. (pop. 47,241) are two examples of cities that are tackling housing challenges and building economic opportunity using creative, collaborative approaches through their participation in NLC’s Southern Cities Economic Initiative (SCEI).
Building a Housing Workforce in Fayetteville, AR
In 2025, the City of Fayetteville and nonprofit partner, Circles Northwest Arkansas (NWA), hosted a two-day community workshop that brought together residents personally impacted by housing challenges along with city leadership, developers and community-based organizations to ideate on how to address Fayetteville’s local housing challenges.
The workshop included presentations from policymakers, housing advocates and industry experts on Fayetteville’s housing landscape. Following the presentations, residents formed teams to develop proposals and pitch ideas for the city to implement over the next two years through its participation in the SCEI program.
The community workshop’s winning project, “Development2: Building Fayetteville’s Future,” advocated for the creation of a workforce development program that would train Fayetteville’s residents on the rehabilitation of existing affordable housing, and use this new construction workforce capacity to catalyze more affordable housing stock in the city. The project seeks to improve local economic wellbeing, both by reactivating vacant homes into affordable rental properties and by providing residents with valuable employment skills and opportunities.
City staff view it as a win-win-win for the community, advancing goals related to affordable housing, workforce development and neighborhood revitalization. “That’s what’s so exciting about seeing these community-driven initiatives,” shared Ana Hurley director of advocacy for Circles NWA. “Everyone is thought about.”
Fayetteville’s participatory planning process created a dual-purpose strategy and established community buy-in before the city begins implementing this project.
Strengthening Homeownership Opportunities in Monroe, LA
The City of Monroe is working to build a Homeownership and Financial Empowerment Center, which will have both virtual and brick-and-mortar components. In 2025, city staff surveyed residents about their housing challenges at community events. They sought to gauge residents’ understanding of existing local homeownership resources as well as renters’ and homeowners’ unmet needs.
Using this data, Monroe’s Planning and Urban Development Department created working groups across city agencies and community partners to begin developing a vision for the key components of an effective Homeownership and Financial Empowerment Center. Monroe hired a project coordinator who acted as a facilitator for each working group and assembled their input into the city’s economic inclusion business plan, which will inform the development of the Center over the next two years of the SCEI program.
“Working across our community to gain insights from a variety of voices and perspectives, has been an invaluable addition to our project development process,” Ellen Hill, Monroe’s Planning and Urban Development Department Head, told NLC. “Through collaboration, the city’s efforts gained widespread insight from residents, nonprofits, developers, financial institutions and housing agencies, to move forward with the development of the Center that will serve the needs new homebuyers, homeowners, renters and housing developers.”
By bringing stakeholders from across the city together at the onset of project development, Monroe created a project that combines insights from multiple disciplinary perspectives, making use of all available resources and building relationships with relevant stakeholders early in the planning process.
What’s Next for Fayetteville and Monroe?
Fayetteville and Monroe’s SCEI projects model how building collaboration and community engagement early on in a project can generate thoughtful, creative solutions to challenging issues like housing stability and economic security. Over the next two years, with grant funding and technical assistance from NLC and its SCEI partners, these cities will build on the strong foundations they have established and move these projects to action. Fayetteville will launch its housing workforce training program to create jobs and more affordable housing, while Monroe will launch its Homeownership and Financial Empowerment Center to help residents access the tools they need to build economic and housing security.
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