How are the Valleyâs largest cities addressing the housing shortage? In 2020 the Phoenix City Council unanimously approved its housing plan with the goal of creating or preserving 50,000 housing units by 2030. and last updated 2021-03-05 23:31:29-05 In 2020 the Phoenix City Council unanimously approved its housing plan with the goal of creating or preserving 50,000 housing units by 2030. The decision came after a housing needs assessment showed the City has a shortage of 163,067 housing units. Of those 99,581 units need subsidies for lower-income residents, and 63,486 are needed for residents who can afford market rate. At the time of assessment, the city had a total of 555,013 households.