Santa Cruz is the least-affordable small city in the US.
It is also the city with the highest rate of homelessness in the nation.
60% of Santa Cruz residents are renters, with the median rent pushing past $3,000 per month.
Santa Cruz faces a full-blown housing crisis:
Its many facets—extreme rent burdens, precarious living situations, widespread displacement and homelessness—have enormous impacts on the community.
What does “home” mean in the midst of a housing crisis?
And how are local renters coping and creating a sense of belonging?
No Place Like Home is a community-initiated, student-engaged research project based at UC Santa Cruz that attempts to answer these questions.
Through surveys, audio documentaries, data visualization, and creative non-fiction, we seek to understand the experience and consequences of housing unaffordability in Santa Cruz and beyond. The site also compiles research on efforts to protect tenants and expand access to affordable housing in our region and nationally.
By sharing these voices, visions, and research, we hope to inform and inspire broader efforts to address the crisis.
THE ISSUES
THE CRISIS
THE SURVEY
POLICY TOOLS
FIND RESOURCES
ABOUT US