One solution may be the construction, and preservation, of small multi-unit housing. In the City of Chicago, the majority of such housing is in the form of two- to four-unit dwellings, or flats. In Chicago, the waves of immigrants to the city helped to shape and define its housing stock. From the 1830s through 1871, single-family homes, made primarily of wood, dominated the civic housing stock. After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, dwellings made primarily of wood were outlawed by municipal ordinance, but many builders ignored the ban, and continued to use wood as their primary building material. In 1874, a smaller civic fire occurred, which destroyed approximately 800 structures over 60 acres. These disasters, as well as the widespread use of brick, stone, marble and limestone - and especially, for its fireproof properties, terra cotta - fueled the Chicago building boom in the late 19th century. As before the Great Fire, most construction of new dwellings was of single-family homes. The use of these more durable building materials, held together with mortar, allowed builders to make ever taller structures which fueled the City’s skyscraper boom. By the early 20th century, builders of residential properties applied these techniques to home construction. Architects could draft templates of proposed dwellings which would fit on a standard Chicago 25 feet by 125 feet lot. Now immigrants, and their descendants, could buy a two-, three-, or four-flat, which allowed them to inhabit one of the flats, while the other dwelling units were rented out. They could also allow relatives live in one of the other units, if necessary. These dwellings helped their owners build equity and wealth, and promoted a moderate level of density that strengthened community bonds. The majority of these structures were in place by 1917. Two- to four-flats comprise approximately 25% of the City’s housing stock. to the postwar housing shortage, cheap gasoline, greatly improved access to residential mortgage loans, and the promotion of the single-family dwelling as an ideal, the multifamily dwelling type has fallen out of favor since the end of World War II. This is evidenced by changes to the Chicago zoning ordinance in 1944, 1957, and 2004, which involved addressed mandatory minimum setbacks, parking space requirements, and changes to the floor area ratio (a zoning tool that dictates building density, by comparing a building’s total floor area to the size of the lot on which it is situated). This all despite the fact that multiunit dwelling promotes intergenerational living, and the housing cost savings occasioned thereby; that it enables families living together to address caretaking issues; and that it promotes “green” living when situated near bus or rail lines. Per The American Community Survey, approximately half of all renter households spend more than 30% of their income on housing. The Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing program, a program of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which aids state and local governments for facilitates affordable housing. Specifically, the program focuses on communities that work to remove affordable housing barriers such as arcane zoning ordinances and other inefficiencies. With respect to the City of Chicago, things may be changing. The Connected Communities Ordinance http://www/chicago/city/en/sites/equitable-transit-oriented-development/home/connected-communities-ordinance.html, was passed by the Chicago City Council in July 2022 – with the support of all 27 alderman who were newly-elected to the Council. If you are selling or buying real estate, let us bring our knowledge of the closing process to help make your transaction proceed as smoothly as possible. Contact Georgia Beatty at  312-500-8064  , or at Georgia.Beatty@gmail.com .