According to the United Nations, 2.5 billion people will be added to urban populations by 2050. This will only add to an already-worsening urban housing crisis plaguing metroplexes throughout the country.

Candace Jackson has been a real estate journalist for the better part of the last decade, and for someone who lives in the San Francisco Bay area, finding a solution to the rising cost of housing while maintaining sustainability is very personal to her.

“I find [urban sustainability] to be fascinating, as cities are changing quickly but housing isn’t.” Jackson said.

Jackson is a frequent contributor to publications like Surface, San Francisco Magazine and The New York Times, the latter being where she wrote one of her favorite pieces about the changes in housing since the Great Recession a decade ago. When it comes to the future of housing, however, Jackson realizes urban sustainability is an uphill battle.

“Probably the challenge of building things in new ways, particularly housing — banks are hesitant to finance projects that are different or trying something new, and I think contractors and builders tend to do things as they’ve always been done.” Jackson about the biggest barrier between now and a sustainable urban future.

The key to addressing the country’s extreme wealth gap — thus combatting the rising cost in housing — is “inclusive and sustainable homeownership opportunities,” according to The Brookings Institution. Jackson agreed.

“I think affordability is huge,” Jackson said. “Making sustainable design choices that can be affordable to the masses (and make housing more affordable to the masses) would cut down on many of the ills facing urban areas today and help people stay in cities longer, which I think is generally better for the environment.”

She then offered advice in order to ensure a sustainable future.

“I think for people building new homes, working to build homes that can last for many, many years is important,” Jackson said. “I think home buyers should think [about] the impact of what they are buying (sometimes the least impact can mean buying an existing home, of course). Builders and developers will start to prioritize building sustainably if there is consumer demand.”

Hear more on this issue from Jackson, Bumblebee Spaces’ Sankarshan Murthy, Starcity’s Mo Sakrani and Kasita’s Jeff Wilson during their session “Designing Homes for a Sustainable Urban Future” at the time and location below. #designsustainably

Sunday, March 10
3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
JW Marriott – Salon 6