If you've called Charlotte home since the years that surrounded the turn of the 21st century, you'll remember when affordable housing wasn't at the crisis level it is today. Those days are long gone now.

A Philadelphia program trains residents how to buy, renovate and sell old homes. It allocates loans and provides expert guidance for the owners' first few projects. It's a model that could be replicated in Charlotte to help with affordable housing.

Asheville may have a model that other North Carolina localities can follow to get around a state restriction many routinely cite as the reason city officials can’t adopt more rules to support affordable housing.

Those working to solve Charlotte’s housing shortage know each additional affordable unit is critical as the population and needs grow. One possible solution is to combine developer-owned land (and interests) with nonprofit-owned land.

As Charlotte looks for ways to address its affordable housing crisis, officials may want to emulate Austin, Texas, where the community is battling gentrification and rising rents.