The Peterborough Community Task Force on Housing met several times through the fall, and recently began discussing national demographic and housing trends in relation to their vision for the community.
The purpose of the group, which currently boasts 28 members, is to create a community-wide process for gaining input on housing wants, needs, and values. The Task Force was formed in an effort to engage community members passionate about local housing issues, and will ultimately shape the writing of a new housing chapter that will guide Peterborough’s zoning ordinances.
At the group’s meeting on Dec. 5, Selectwoman Karen Hatcher said the group discussed “Housing for a Changing America,” a report on national housing trends developed by the AARP and the National Building Museum.
The report, which features data relevant to 2017, illustrates how changes in national demographics and lifestyles are redefining housing demand. For example, in 1950, 43 percent of households were comprised of a “nuclear family,” defined as two parents and their minor children. Today, nuclear families comprise only 20 percent of U.S. households. At the same time, more than 80 percent of the country’s housing stock is made with two, three, or four bedrooms, and designed with a nuclear family in mind.
Hatcher described the report as an “eye opener” that checked many member’s assumptions of the nation’s demographic trends. “Those of us who have raised our kids already… [thought] that, naturally, the people coming up behind us will also be families. That’s not the case,” she said. The task force discussed the elements of the report that were personally relatable, shocking, or surprising. Hatcher said she believes such discussions will help task force members to engage the community more effectively.
“When you talk about housing, it’s very personal,” she said. “If we can understand our own point of view, it helps us to be able to listen better.”
She said that the group is moving into more information on housing trends specific to New Hampshire and local municipalities, including the recommendations from Governor Sununu’s task force on affordable housing that were released at the end of October. The group will delve into trends specific to Peterborough at their next meeting on Jan. 25, which will be coordinated by civic engagement initiative New Hampshire Listens and nonprofit Plan NH. Hatcher said the meeting is open to the public.