Housing Report: Missing Middle

The Missing Middle Housing Report is a collaboration between City Fabrick and the California State University Long Beach Geography Department, sponsored by the CSULB Research Foundation.

The Report analyzes the context for housing affordability in Long Beach and provides recommendations for mitigating the issue of rising housing costs through development The report describes the circumstances that contribute to rising housing costs, how it affects residents, and considers housing development opportunity typologies that can help alleviate the issue, studying precedents from other communities as well as those already utilized in the City’s past. The report also looks at development concepts for serving the missing middle population: the large population of residents who cannot access new market-rate housing and are not eligible for government subsidized housing. The project involved extensive interviews with affordable housing providers, design and construction experts, housing advocacy groups, and government leadership. Case studies explore a variety of housing opportunity types such as accessory dwelling units, micro units, and employer-provided workforce housing and presents them in a context of their place in Long Beach’s development history while applying their relevance in current planning regulations and development trends.