In the city of Tucson, AZ, the cost of living is rising while income totals are lagging, as opposed to rising proportionately. According to one estimate, hundreds of thousands of residents of Tucson are having trouble keeping up with the rising costs of housing in the area. And the city of Tucson is aware of the issue- and plans to do something about it.

Ernesto Portillo of the City of Tucson Department of Housing and Community Development believes that approximately 75,000 different families in the Tucson area need a quick solution to the problem, with an even greater number of families spending over 30% of their annual income on housing.

One place the city may look for a solution is the American Rescue Plan Act. The city of Tucson has been allotted about $33.8 million to use for housing over the next four years, and much of that is expected to go toward building more affordable housing solutions.

To further ensure that the city works with its constituents and opens the floor to a flood of ideas, the city has given local businesses and non-profits the opportunity to pitch its own potential solutions to the housing problem. The city is expected to announce next week which businesses' and non-profits' ideas will be utilized.