The lack of accessible housing for people with disabilities is a wide-ranging and under-addressed issue. These challenges are exacerbated in the Upper Valley region, which includes municipalities in New Hampshire and Vermont, due to its uniquely rural and aging demographics, as well as its lack of government infrastructure to address the issue. The lack of accessible housing is also an under-researched issue in academics, especially how it affects rural New England states.

To address these concerns, we focus on two research questions: what is the need for accessible housing in the Upper Valley, and what strategies have other states and municipalities used to make their housing more accessible for individuals with disabilities? To answer these questions, we use three methodologies—case studies, interviews, and a survey—and develop policy recommendations for increasing the amount of accessible housing in the Upper Valley.
We demonstrate that accessible housing is an issue that affects a diverse group of people with a wide range of needs, and many Upper Valley residents lack the personal resources to address these housing accommodations without government assistance. Through our case studies, we explain how both universal design and interest-free loan programs have helped other states and municipalities address their accessible housing crises. Furthermore, we examine the applicability of these programs to the needs of Upper Valley residents. The results of our interviews provide policy experts’ perspectives and context on specific types of policy solutions.

Ultimately, we provide both long and short-term policy recommendations for Vermont and New Hampshire. These recommendations focus on universal design and interest-free loan programs and list the challenges and benefits of each policy solution. We also provide suggestions for how to design these policies to fit the unique contexts of Vermont and New Hampshire. While both programs require the use of state resources, the benefits outweigh the costs and allow more people to live safely and with dignity.