Chicago expands housing supply to ease affordability pressure

Chicago policymakers have introduced measures to increase housing supply, in a move that local activists and construction industry stakeholders have hailed as key to easing affordability pressures on residents.

According to the city's 2025 annual report on homelessness, Chicago is facing its largest gap in affordable and available housing in a decade, with the annual Point-in-Time (PIT) Count estimating that 7,452 people were experiencing homelessness, either in shelters or unsheltered locations, on January 23, 2025.

Steven Vance, a social worker in Chicago, said policies that previously curbed the city's housing supply have pushed up rent costs amid demographic changes.

"Households are declining in size, and that means we need more homes, and I thought it was strange that we would artificially restrict how many homes could get built in Chicago. Right now in Chicago, we have one of the highest rent growths, compared year to year in the country, and so now is a pivotal time to allow more housing," he said.

To address the challenge, Chicago has introduced zoning and land-use reforms, including the Additional Dwelling Units (ADU) Ordinance, aimed at increasing residential density and expanding housing supply.

The ordinance effectively expands housing access across the city by allowing ADUs in attics, basements, and accessory buildings, easing the rent burden and creating more budget-friendly housing options.

"In December 2020, City Council adopted an ordinance that would legalize ADUs in five pilot areas. (With ADU,) rents will maybe not always come down, but they will not climb as quickly as they are now if we have more housing options," he said.

The construction sector in the city has welcomed the policy change, with builders jumping on the opportunity to create new structures. For many in the industry, boosting housing supply is not just about doing business, but about addressing the issue of affordability as Chicago residents themselves.

"The housing market in Chicago has been impacted by the ADU program, to me, in a really big way. It's enabled a lot more rental projects to be constructed. I want there to be more housing in Chicago. I think there is a need for that, and I think there's also a need for responsible development that maintains the character of the neighborhood. Affordable housing to me is a really important issue, and to me, the biggest denominator in affordable housing is the lack of supply. The best route to affordable housing is to have an influx of housing," said Nick Serra, a construction professional.

Chicago expands housing supply to ease affordability pressure

Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae's erroneous remarks on China's Taiwan are obviously in incitement to war, and are in violation of the country's diplomatic commitments to China, a Japanese expert said on Monday.

Kikuzaki Takeshi, Chair of the Nagaoka Peace Committee in Japan, called on the Japanese government to face up to history, halt military expansion, and work to safeguard regional stability through peaceful diplomacy.

"Takaichi's remarks are clearly provocative and amount to incitement to war. They run counter not only to the spirit of Japan's Constitution, but also to the four political documents between China and Japan signed since the conclusion of the 1972 Japan-China Joint Statement. The Taiwan question is China's internal affair, and no other country has the right to interfere. Thus, I found such remarks intolerable and must be retracted," said the expert.

He was referring to the blatant and provocative remarks on China's Taiwan region made by Takaichi on November 7, 2025, claiming that a Taiwan contingency could constitute a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, and implying that Japan might invoke the so-called "right to collective self-defense" for armed intervention across the Taiwan Strait.

Takeshi pointed out that Japan's involvement in any arms race would only distance the country from peace and stability.

"If Japan stirs up a so-called arms race, it will gradually distance itself from peace. The claim that military strength is necessary to protect peace is, in my view, purely nonsense and also unconstitutional in Japan," said Kikuzaki.

"Following her remarks, Takaichi has been pushing for revising Japan's three non-nuclear principles, while the country's defense budget has surged. The defense budget for the next fiscal year is reportedly set to exceed 9 trillion yen (56.61 billion U.S. dollars). Japan is moving toward military expansion at an alarming pace, and that deeply frightens me," he said.

Takaichi's erroneous remarks push Japan toward war, violate constitution: expert