NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — How can Nashville solve its affordable housing problem?
It's a question that likely has more than one answer, and a recent report reveals Nashville's churches and universities can play a role.
The Village at Glencliff is just one group that says it's trying to help Nashville's affordable housing crisis by already having adopted some of the recommendations in the report from the Urban Institute, by building a dozen tiny homes on the grounds of Glencliff United Methodist Church.
The group offers people experiencing homelessness a place to recover from an illness in a safe place. See the place where they can recover in the player above.
They are one example of a suggestion from a recent report of the Urban Institute, which says builders could construct as many as 10,000 affordable housing units on land owned by churches, universities and health care institutions.
"Using land on the site of a campus of a church is one arrow in the quiver," said Julia Sutherland, Executive Director of The Village at Glencliff. "There needs to be a lot of arrows in the quiver."
It took years for The Village at Glencliff to get where it is today, including a legal battle at the highest court in the state.
It says churches or other institutions looking to follow its lead should focus a lot of attention on nearby neighbors to get their buy-in and avoid what the group calls NIMBYs — neighbors who say "Not In My Backyard."
"Start to share your passion for what you want to build and talk about it," Sutherland said. "That's the most important way to eliminate NIMBYism and get to YIMBYism — Yes In My Backyard."
