It is a commonly held belief that administration of social welfare programs is best left to federal and state governments, especially in the area of housing. In this paper, I evaluate whether the need for affordable housing is being met by current federal programs and offer suggestions for further implementation of municipally funded affordable housing initiatives. I examined income and poverty information available through federal census data for Black Mountain and compared this information with HUD’s criteria to establish the proportion of cost-burdened families in Black Mountain. I examined changes in the federal government’s funding for HUD-administered affordable housing programs and participation of local residents in HUD-funded programs administered by the Asheville Housing Authority. I found that a significant need still exists within the municipality and that this need is not being met by existing federal programs and that no state programs have been developed to fill this need. I argue that in the absence of adequate federal and state programs to provide suitable, safe, affordable housing, the municipality has a duty to leverage its resources to meet the needs of its citizens.
