Big Tech's Emerging Roles in Local Housing Delivery: Two Case Studies of Corporate Affordable Housing Initiatives in United States Tech Hubs

Abstract

This thesis consists of two case studies examining the development and implementation of Microsoft and Amazon’s recent corporate affordable housing initiatives. Between 2018 and 2021, in the wake of mounting public concerns about gentrification in the regions where Big Tech companies are headquartered and facing the possibility of new local corporate taxes to fund affordable housing, Big Tech companies announced funding for new affordable housing initiatives. The case studies analyze two of these initiatives’ theories of change, partnership strategies and decision-making processes. Research relies on primary and secondary source materials and semi-structured interviews with individuals involved in the initiatives. The analysis seeks to distill the implications of these new initiatives for partnership models for affordable housing development and concludes with lessons for future corporate affordable housing funding partnerships. This thesis makes the broader argument that as voluntary corporate philanthropy emerges as a substitute for regulatory approaches to redistributing the benefits of regional economic growth, the public should remain vigilant and vocal in these companies’ decision-making processes.