In response to ‘the column “A perfect storm in housing” (Recorder, Jan 8), Jim Geisman is right that we’re facing a housing crisis affecting everyone. The tax relief programs he highlights — exemptions, mutual aid funds — are important. They help real people at the margins. But they’re band-aids, not solutions. If we stop there, we’re not weathering the storm; we’re just bailing water.

Many seniors in large, older homes would gladly downsize if they had somewhere to go. But in Greenfield and surrounding towns, that “somewhere” largely doesn’t exist. We’ve failed to build the smaller, accessible, community-connected housing that would let people age in their communities rather than in houses that no longer fit their needs.

The result? Seniors stay in homes they can’t maintain, while younger families who could use that space are locked out. The housing stock stagnates. Everyone loses.

There’s another cost we don’t talk about enough: isolation. The loneliness epidemic is a public health crisis, and our housing patterns make it worse. Seniors alone in too-big houses. Young families stretched thin with no village around them.

The solution isn’t just more housing — it’s better housing. Cluster developments offer one approach — as unique as the problem is serious: smaller, compact homes designed for a mix of ages and life stages. Denmark and the Netherlands have built hundreds of these communities over the past 50 years, and research consistently shows residents report less loneliness and stronger social connections than the general population. Seniors can downsize without leaving their community. Young singles and couples — also squeezed by this market — can afford a place of their own without waiting for a starter home that never comes. And everyone benefits from living in genuine community rather than isolation.

The housing crisis is here now. We can’t wait for developers to discover opportunity or for the market to self-correct. Towns must lead — welcoming and initiating these projects through zoning reform, partnerships, and political will.

Tax relief helps individuals. Housing done right helps communities.

Adin Maynard

Williamsburg