Housing doesn't receive the kind of attention from the Worcester City Council that it deserves.

That's because it is a complicated issue without easy solutions.

For a city to prosper and grow, there needs to be an adequate supply of housing that residents can afford, either through home ownership or rental housing.

The question is: What is that right balance?

The city, meanwhile, has to do its part to support home ownership by providing the necessary services to help protect those investments. If it fails to keep neighborhoods safe and clean, no one will want to invest in them.

Mayor Joseph M. Petty has made housing one of the top priorities of his agenda for his new term. In his inaugural address Tuesday night, he spoke at length about housing, more so than he did at his three previous inaugural addresses.

With average rents in the city approaching the average cost of owning a home, the mayor said now is the time to rebuild some of Worcester's neighborhoods through home ownership.

"As a city we need to have a conversation about housing," Mr. Petty said. "We know this because of our seniors who are looking to downsize. We know this because of the growing number of young professionals who want to live, work and play in our city.

"This is not just about affordable housing, but about appropriate workforce housing," he added. "This is about giving our citizens the tools to build equity, stabilize families and get some skin in the game. By moving families to home ownership, we can free up units in the rental market for those who need them most."

While many are glad to see that housing has caught the mayor’s attention, some are a bit skeptical, especially those who have been saying for some time that sound housing policies and strategies start with improved neighborhoods.

It’s an argument they have made since 2000, but some feel the city has fallen short in its response.

"Why would anyone in their right mind want to invest in our three-decker neighborhoods from a ‘homeowner’ position when the lack of services and interest to protect home ownership is never there?" Paul Collyer, a property owner in the Chandler and Piedmont neighborhoods and who has done several three-decker renovation projects in Worcester, wrote in an email last week. "It’s there only for our single-family neighborhoods."

Home ownership has been in somewhat of a decline in Worcester the past several years. In 2009, just under 50 percent of the housing units in Worcester were owner-occupied, while slightly more than 50 percent were renter-occupied.

In 2013, the number of owner-occupied households in Worcester dropped to 46.6 percent, and in 2015 only 43 percent (29,499) of Worcester’s 68,576 households were owner-occupied while 57 percent (39,077) were renter-occupied, according to U.S. Census figures.

There are two other problems compounding Worcester’s housing needs – the age of its housing stock and the vacancy rate.

According to the "2017 Worcester Almanac" compiled by the Worcester Regional Research Bureau, 48 percent of the city’s housing stock was built before 1940, while 24 percent was built between 1940 and 1969.

That means nearly three-quarters of the housing stock is almost 50 years old or older, and owners will have to invest in those homes just to maintain them.

Then there is the number of housing units that have been left vacant. Based on the 2010 U.S. Census, nearly 11 percent of the total number of housing units in the city were vacant, with most being three-deckers that people did not want to rent for a variety of reasons.

In 2015, the vacancy rate dropped to 9.4 percent, but it still consisted of 7,148 units out of a overall total of 75,724 housing units in the city, according to the research bureau’s 2017 Worcester Almanac.

And there are housing costs. According to the research bureau, roughly 54 percent of renters in 2015 spent 30 percent or more of their household income on housing, while the same was the case for roughly 39 percent of homeowners.

Also, about 14 percent of Worcester’s housing stock is classified as "affordable" for low-income individuals and families. That is above the 10 percent threshold set by the state, but some have said they would like to see the city increase its amount of affordable housing to as much as 20 percent of the housing stock over time.

Mr. Petty believes that Worcester’s three-deckers, which comprise almost a quarter of the housing units in the city, could be a key solution to its housing needs, both now and going into the future.

The mayor has called for a comprehensive plan to address deterioration in three-decker neighborhoods. He said three-deckers are the most problematic properties in terms of public safety, fire safety, public health and code violations.

"Our downtown core is coming to life, but our triple-decker neighborhoods have not seen a corresponding increase in investment," Mr. Petty said. "While the resale market for these properties is strong, there is no comprehensive program in place to encourage owner-occupancy, beautification, nor requirements around energy efficiency."

The mayor said the goal of his plan is to build safer, more walkable and livable neighborhoods, with a focus on the creation of "workforce housing."

"This will require a whole-of-government approach and the weight of our community and private sector partners to create these tools," he said. "I am confident that we can bring our strengths to bear and imagine smarter, cleaner and more vibrant neighborhoods."

Meanwhile, the skeptics who feel their calls for improved neighborhoods have fallen on deaf ears before are taking a wait-and-see approach to what the mayor has to say.

Housing is not a sexy issue, but it’s one that certainly needs to be addressed, especially given Worcester’s population growth since 2000.

Last week, the mayor suggested Worcester’s population could be close to 200,000 by 2020 – it was estimated at 184,045 last year – marking the first time since the early 1950s that it could reach that plateau.

And if Worcester’s population is going to grow like that, people are going to need a place to live.

"Make no mistake, we are a growing city," he continued. "The question is where we are growing and how we are growing."

Contact Nick Kotsopoulos at nicholas.kotsopoulos@telegram.com. Follow him on Twitter @NCKotsopoulos