RWU Research Explores New Approaches to Housing Affordability in Rhode Island

BRISTOL, R.I. – As Rhode Island continues to face a shortage of affordable housing, Ryan Ludwig believes the conversation needs to begin long before a family buys or rents a home.

Instead of asking only how housing can become more affordable, Ludwig sees an opportunity to rethink affordability through the way homes are designed, built and owned. For Ludwig, an associate professor of Architecture at Roger Williams University, that idea became the foundation of a collaboration with HousingWorks RI.

Published by HousingWorks RI, the Scholar Series brief Beyond Housing Subsidies: Enhancing Affordability through Design, Construction Technologies, and Land Tenure explores how emerging construction technologies, housing design and community-oriented land ownership could work together to create more lasting affordability.

The project began after Annette Bourne, research and policy director for HousingWorks RI at Roger Williams University, attended one of Ludwig's architecture studio reviews.

"She had long wanted to write about how emerging construction and fabrication technologies could make housing more affordable," Ludwig said. "After participating in my studio final review, which embraced prefabrication, manufactured housing and an alternative model of cooperative land tenure known as resident-owned communities, she asked me if I would be interested in writing a Scholar Series paper on this topic."

That conversation evolved into a collaborative research effort involving Ludwig, Bourne, research analyst Toby Arment and intern Kylee Hong, both of HousingWorks RI. Ludwig contributed his expertise in prefabrication and alternative land tenure models. Arment examined mass timber products and the policies governing their use in Rhode Island and across the region, while Hong researched emerging construction methods and materials. 

For Ludwig, the collaboration was driven by a shared belief that expanding affordability requires looking beyond traditional housing subsidies alone.

"These subsidies create savings, some of which are passed on to homebuyers and renters, but unless units are made permanently affordable, these savings are limited because units eventually move to market rate," Ludwig said.

Rather than focusing solely on reducing housing costs after homes are built, the brief examines ways to lower costs throughout the design and construction process. It explores approaches such as prefabrication, modular housing, manufactured housing and mass timber construction alongside community-oriented land ownership models, including community land trusts and resident-owned communities, that are designed to preserve affordability over time rather than allowing homes to return to market prices.

For Ludwig, those ideas are most effective when they work together. Lower construction costs can make housing more affordable upfront, while alternative land ownership models help ensure those savings remain available for future homeowners instead of being lost as property values rise.

That approach is especially relevant in Rhode Island, where housing shortages and rising land costs continue to limit access to affordable housing.

Ludwig said the state consistently ranks among the lowest in new housing construction permits while also having the highest land cost per acre in the country. More than one-quarter of Rhode Islanders are considered cost-burdened, spending more than 30% of their gross income on housing.

"The need for more affordable housing in the state is great," Ludwig said. "Reducing construction costs and time, alongside curbing the seemingly exponential increase in land costs, is fundamental to increasing the amount of affordable and available housing for those Rhode Islanders most in need."

Beyond examining new approaches to affordability, the brief outlines policy recommendations intended to support innovative construction methods and expand opportunities for community-oriented land ownership throughout the state.

Ludwig hopes the publication serves as a resource for policymakers while encouraging broader conversations about how Rhode Island approaches housing affordability.

"The idea has been that this brief could be used to educate policymakers about housing design and construction innovations, alongside alternative community-oriented models of land tenure," Ludwig said. "While implementing any of the policy recommendations would be a helpful step forward, linking them together would provide the most robust and long-term approach to addressing the need for affordable housing in the state."