One Move, Many Wins: Green Social Housing As A Solution For Housing Insecurity And Residential Energy Inefficiency In New Haven, Ct

Abstract

This thesis explores the dual challenges of housing insecurity and residential energy inefficiency in New Haven, Connecticut, and advances green social housing as a transformative policy response. Through a qualitative research design that integrates semi-structured interviews, document analysis, and policy review, the study uncovers the structural conditions that drive unaffordable, unhealthy, and energy-inefficient housing for low- and moderate-income residents. The findings reveal that high utility costs, poor building infrastructure, and disempowering tenant–landlord dynamics are not isolated issues but manifestations of deeper systemic inequities in housing and energy governance. Green social housing emerges as a strategic intervention that aligns sustainable building practices with affordability, equity, and public health outcomes. By centering community control, ecological design, and long-term investment in underserved neighborhoods, this model addresses both the root causes and symptoms of energy and housing precarity. The study calls for an integrated policy framework that includes stronger tenant protections, equitable financing mechanisms, institutional accountability, and cross-sector collaboration. New Haven’s case offers critical insights for other cities seeking to advance environmental justice, climate resilience, and social equity through holistic approaches to the built environment. This research contributes to a growing body of scholarship that frames housing policy as a key site of climate action and public health innovation