Annotated Bibliography

Primary Sources

Ahe Group. (n.d.). Retrieved December 08, 2017, from http://www.ahegroup.com/

This source was about Ahe Group, an affordable housing developer which was

established by Makani Maeva. Whats included in this source is the details regarding what

people are doing to address the affordable housing problem in Hawaii. This website helped with

our project because it shared the justifications discussing the difficulty of building affordable

housing, emphasizing that it is not as easy as people may seem. It definitely added a key

component to our topic and enhanced our understanding of this problem. We were able to better

grasp the concept and realize some people have made it a priority to make a difference and build

affordable housing for more people.

Alexander, M. (2017, November 3). Interview with Marc Alexander for Econ Final Project

[Personal interview].

Marc Alexander, who works in the Mayors Office of Housing as the Executive Director, met

with Kapri Tulang-De Silva to discuss with him his intake about how Hawaii is addressing the

affordable housing problem which is the main cause for the high homelessness rate. In this

interview various questions relating to affordable housing were asked: what constitutes a person

to be eligible for affordable housing, how Hawaii is currently dealing with the issue, what the

governments plan to improve the current status of housing and how will it affect

residents/taxpayers, community input, proposed plans to build more housing and economic

consequences of more affordable housing. Marc Alexander shared his honest input and

thoroughly answered each question that was asked and provided ample evidence and research to

back up his claims. This interview helped improve our project because we got to listen first hand
how Hawaii is handling the lack of affordable housing issue. It proved that affordable housing is

not being treated appropriately, according to Mr. Alexander himself, in Hawaii. However,

although there are efforts being made to tackle this issue, it will take some time before the entire

problem, if ever, is to go away and be solved for good. It also showed that any economic

problem, especially one as big as housing, is not an easy task to resolve.

Jones, J. M. (2016). Hawaiians Least Satisfied With Affordability of Local Housing. Gallup Poll

Briefing, 1.

This primary polling source gave insight into the national rankings of affordable homes and

overall citizen satisfaction. The poll argued that the reason why Hawaii is ranked so low is

because developers are only catering to the wealthy who want to invest and buy vacation homes

rather than those who need a home in the first place. Furthermore, it provided a basis for where

the rest of the country stands in terms of affordable housing, along with evidence of why

residents may feel this way. This helped me comprehend my topic because it provided me insight

into where other states lie on the scale of affordable housing. With the knowledge that major

States like California and New York have a 50% satisfaction compared to Hawaiis 25%

showed just how desperate our people are, and provided a possible explanation to why our

homeless rate is so high. Furthermore, it proved that there are too many outside forces who are

taking up vital space on our island.

Brewbaker, P. (2017, October 30). Interview with Paul Brewbaker for Econ Final Project

[Personal interview]

Paul Brewbaker identifies as a primary source as hes a credible economist and retired

UH Professor. Brewbaker gave us significant insight into the economic perspective of affordable

housing, while also educating us on how to research a college-level research paper. He provided
us the data with our tables and graphs as well as resources like his public testimony. His opinion

was blatantly noted, and completely complied with all aspects of our project.

Secondary Sources

(2017, Sep 9). Truly affordable homes needed. Honolulu Star-Advertiser (HI). Retrieved from

http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/166CFCB6AC68BE70?p=AWNB

This source explains the population of Hawaiis residents that are affected by the affordable

housing shortage. It goes on to describe some reasons why affordable housing is such an issue in

Hawaii in the first place and what some companies, organizations, and state officials are doing to

attack the problem. This source helps with my project because it brings new perspectives and

reasoning for the issue. Some of these reasons are greedy developers, rising housing prices and

continous building of luxury housing are some. It provides insight to the population that is

affected by this issue and brainstorms some resolutions that are do-able in Hawaii to address the

problem.

Bussewitz, C. (2015, March 17). House panel passes bill to increase affordable housing.

Retrieved October 02, 2017, from

http://www.staradvertiser.com/2015/03/17/hawaii-news/house-panel-passes-bill-to-increa

se-affordable-housing/

This resource discussed bills that were passed that helped to address both the homelessness and

affordable housing issue in Hawaii. According to the article, the government is providing the

House Committee with money in order to build these houses in order to meet the high demand. It

also explained the population in Hawaii affected by the affordable housing problems which is

very important in we can determining a solution that better supports them. It also addressed

homelessness which is a major cause of the limited affordable housing as well. It also explained
how the government is willing to donate money to these organizations to build housing for these

people but that this money is not being put to use effectively since the problem is still relatable

till today. This helped us with our topic because it provided evidence of the governments

attempt to attack the affordable housing problem and the population in which it affects. It

showed us that although the government has made the effort to put affordable housing at the

forefront of their priorities, it still has not been settled and thus, still a very prevalent struggle for

Hawaiis residents. This article only furthered our understanding that real estate prices are only

increasing due to the shortage of housing in Hawaii. It highlighted the programs and laws that

are in place but made us take into account why affordable housing still remains a conflict in

society when there are sufficient laws that support the building of more homes. Therefore, the

articled guided us in creating a solution that would attack this issue all together, considering laws

are already in place that addressed this problem but that it is not taken in regards.

Gomes, A. (2017, Mar 12). Mayor's affordable housing plan is a stretch. Honolulu

Star-Advertiser (HI). Retrieved from

http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/16315602C3F99BD0?p=AWNB

This secondary source refers to the solutions that the city is trying to find in order to open up

more affordable housing units. Some resolutions were to make city property available, to create

more incentives for private sectors to overtake affordable housing projects, and the Mayors

resolution is to require a certain amount of housing to be produced by developers. With this plan

implemented, the mayor would hope to increase the amount of affordable homes by 5-20%. This

helps me understand my project because it talks about the issues the City is facing when creating

affordable housing. Understanding the frustration on both sides leads to a better option of

compromise.
Hawaii. (2017). In Encyclopdia Britannica. Retrieved from
http://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/Hawaii/111279
This source is about Hawaiis history, origins, and background. Included in this source is the

reasoning behind the shortage of housing in Hawaii for many years. It explained how it all

started after WWII and Hawaiis statehood when investors came to Hawaii to utilize it as a

tourist attraction raising living prices and lowering wages. This helped with understanding our

topic and project because as part of the project we had to determine the origin of affordable

housing in Hawaii. Through this article we were able to determine that the origin was after

WWII and statehood. It helped to prove that Hawaii has dealt with this issue since it became a

state, yet still has not found a solution to the problem till this day.

Hollier, Dennis. "The High Cost of Affordable Housing." Hawaii Business Magazine. Hawaii

Business, Oct. 2010. Web.

This source described the struggle that developers go through in order to build affordable

housing for Hawaiis citizens. It highlighted the complicated and constantly changing money,

politics, regulations and ethics that are included in the process. Additionally, Hollier explained

what affordable housing really is, and who it affected by it. It introduced alternative strategies for

affordable housing, as well as the problems developers face from the governments regulations.

This article helped us understand why they are not much resources of affordable housing in

Hawaii and why it is still a major conflict in society. Many people are unaware of the long,

difficult path that goes into development of such revenues but arrogantly demand them anyways.

By looking to one source of the affordable housing conflict in Hawaii, we were able to determine

a compromise easier. It also stated that those affected by the lack of affordable housing in

Hawaii are not only those in poverty or public housing but much of the middle class as well. In

addition, it mentioned that developers must weigh and fit together all these loose pieces before
completing an affordable housing development. Overall, it allowed for us to better understand

the causes for the housing shortage in Hawaii and the delayed production of more due to the

long, gruesome planning process.

Kalani, Nanea. Agency Criticized for Plan to Lease Rental Projects. Star Advertiser, 13 Sept.

2017, pp. 110.

This is a secondary source referring to the 6 rentals which are being sold by the State to a private

agency in order for the units to get renovated. David Ige makes the statement that they

apparently wouldnt be giving up the portfolio, and the private agency would only be making

renovations. Other perspectives show, however, that the state isnt taking into account those

below the 60 percent rent capita and are only finding homes for those within the 80-100 percent

capita. This aids my understanding of the States perspective in affordable housing.

Murar, Katie. Hawaii Affordable Housing Developers, Lenders Take a Stand against Proposed

Workforce Housing Changes. Bizjournals.com, American City Business Journals, 1

Mar.

2017,

www.bizjournals.com/pacific/news/2017/03/01/hawaii-affordable-housing-developers-le

nders-take.html.

This source talks about the issues developers are having with the new Kakaako Reserved

Housing Rule, and how its decreasing the eligibility of affordable housing homeowners. One

compromise theyre trying to create is for the city to incentivize the production of more units

within one complex, thus enticing developers to make more homes for people to live in.

However, there are still issues as many of the people affected by the amendment would no longer

be able to secure a down-payment on the homes since theyre now deemed invalid. Those who
were previously working toward getting a home would now have to look elsewhere, and so it

goes that this new restrictive act may not support the low-income people of Hawaii after all.

This aids my project because it educates me on why people arent able to get affordable housing

and I can come up with a better compromise for them. Now that I know the percent acceptance

went from 140% to 120% below income, I can research more on how many people actually fall

between the 140% and the 120%, and how theyre being affected.

Nakaso, Dan. Homeless Census Needs More Volunteers. Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 9 Jan.

2017, www.staradvertiser.com/2017/01/09/hawaii-news/homeless-census-needs-more-

volunteers/.

This secondary source refers to

Y.K. Pang, G. (2017, Sep 13). Proposed Ala Moana-area condo would include affordable units.

Honolulu Star-Advertiser (HI). Retrieved from

http://infoweb.newsbank.com/resources/doc/nb/news/166E4E1C68526EF8?p=AWNB

This source is about ProsPac Holdings Group, a private bank in China, that is planning to build a

condo in the Ala Moana-area that will include 78 affordable housing units. The condo will also

include both commercial and affordable housing units. These affordable housing units will

support the lower 80 percent of Oahus area median income. This helped our project/topic

because it showed us that international companies and business are willing to invest in affordable

housing for Hawaiis residents. Since there is a limited amount of affordable housing resources

in Hawaii, this is a big step in the right direction for the Hawaiis government. It also addressed

homelessness. It explained that there will be less people on the streets and more people in

houses, especially since this new building development will be located near the rail in which

people can be easily transported from place to place efficiently. However, the issue still remains
how affordable housing and market-priced units can blend. Although ProsPac has a good idea in

mind, this is the only thing that stops them from moving forward as well as many other business

and is issue that needs to be addressed. It expressed that although efforts are being made to

determine solutions for this conflict and some developers are taking action, the lack of affordable

housing in Hawaii is still a major conflict and proves our thesis that something more must be

done to figure out how to end it.