The CSPA Q&A: Xiaomin Cai

Xiaomin Cai serves as senior Community Planning and Development representative to Pennsylvania in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, where she is a key stakeholder in determining how government agencies are responding to a demand for affordable housing that continues to outstrip supply. 

Ahead of Cai’s keynote speech at City & State’s Affordable Housing in Pennsylvania Summit on July 30, she spoke with us about what is being done to combat the housing crisis, the biggest challenges to creating affordable housing – and what could be coming up next.

What is the role that your office plays in tackling affordable housing, and what progress have you made?

HUD’s mission – and CPD’s mission, specifically – is to provide affordable housing for all with sustainable communities and also without discrimination. HUD definitely has a very, very vital role. If you look at our funding streams, just about every single program that we fund has a housing component, and that’s our mission, helping low- and moderate-income folks – it’s about people, helping people.

We have a really strong presence serving the homeless population in Pennsylvania, Philadelphia in particular. Last year, I actually visited three projects that were not just a product of HUD’s funding – it’s the partnership that really brought out the revitalization of the community, housing and economic development. And I think that’s the ultimate goal: for people to be able to live harmoniously and have a good quality of life.

What would you say are the biggest obstacles to solving this crisis?

Well, since the pandemic, everybody has seen a rise in costs. Some of our projects actually got derailed because of the cost. Of course, there are some underlying causes for the lack of affordable housing supply. But I say the challenges also represent opportunities. That’s where the government’s involved, subsidizing some of the housing developments, offsetting the cost. 

Economic development, or lack thereof, especially in rural areas – that’s a particular challenge I see in my career. In an urban area, you have more job opportunities where people can get to work and can earn a decent income. In a rural area, there’s a smaller community, a lack of access to capital, to utilities. 

What would you like to see more of in terms of improving housing?

To engage people in the dialogue. Definitely more of the partnership approach – communication, networking, to figure out the best strategies and work together. And private funding has the most flexibility, so you can cover other costs, that’s my thinking. But over the course of my career, I’ve seen that there’s no panacea, no one solution for all issues.

What are you looking to bring to – and get out of – the summit? 

HUD’s most important mission is to provide decent, affordable housing to all. I want to make sure I communicate with everyone and let them know, “Hey, our office is down the street.” I have a wonderful group of staff members who work very hard to serve the needs of our grantees. We are a strong partner, and we work hard with our clientele, such as local and state governments and nonprofits. 

I see the summit itself trying to attract different stakeholders: the private sector, public sector, state and federal. I come in at the federal level, and I will highlight a lot of what we provide, including the Housing Trust Fund, which the state is one recipient of. The goal is to bring different walks of people together to really know what’s out there with the funding.

City & State’s Affordable Housing in Pennsylvania Summit takes place July 30 at the Doubletree Philadelphia Center City. For more information, including tickets, click here.