Navigating the Housing Crisis in Rhode Island: Information Challenges Facing Rhode Islanders
Across online platforms such as Reddit, Facebook and Nextdoor, Rhode Islanders are discussing their most pressing housing questions and concerns. People’s inquiries and conversations reveal information gaps and inequities that can weaken Rhode Island’s housing crisis response efforts.
In this comprehensive report (available in English and Spanish), you can find key insights from an in-depth investigation of such housing information needs and gaps in Rhode Island. It was produced by a team of 14 Brown undergraduate, graduate and PhD students who worked with researchers at Brown University’s Information Futures Lab during the 2023-24 academic year. Students identified trends and patterns in the questions posed by residents in online spaces, and assessed the information and content provided by local government agencies, newsrooms and community organizations on the topics of concern for residents. Students also interviewed community leaders working to address the housing crisis.
Key findings include:
Rhode Island’s housing market is creating new information needs and challenges, especially for people navigating housing insecurity.
- How to avoid a bad landlord? In a “landlord’s market” with low available housing stock and a rise in evictions, it becomes harder for renters to hold landlords accountable when the housing conditions do not hold up to quality standards. In online conversations, Rhode Islanders discuss how to navigate landlords who skip maintenance, don’t address health concerns such as mold or lead paint, or are overcharging on fees.
- How to keep up with rising prices? Housing has become so expensive that next to low-income families, more people and families who make median income are impacted and are seeking information about what housing services may be available for them and what they may qualify for – some asking for help as they learn they make too much to qualify for support but too little to afford stable housing.
Critical Information may be available, but it is often not accessible.
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- How to handle the legalease? From apartment leases to housing voucher programs, the language in housing information is often riddled with jargon and can be largely incomprehensible to most people. The official Rhode Island “Landlord-Tenant Handbook” for example requires at least an 11th grade reading level, when 20 percent of adults in the state operate at about a second grade reading level. Online posts reveal people’s frustration with these dynamics, and their search for support in their online communities.
- Do you have this in my language? The assessment revealed that housing information is largely restricted to English with some translation to Spanish, leaving behind speakers of other languages in the State.
- What if I don’t have internet access? Rhode Island housing information is shared predominantly online and in some instances, applications for assistance programs only allow applications to be submitted online.
- Such information barriers and inequities disproportionately impact low-wage and marginalized communities.