One of the best ways to produce affordable housing is to address the needs of a group that has too much housing. A baby boom generation generates an empty nester boom. An empty nester boom means dramatic underutilization of the housing stock. If a small percentage of homeowners were to install an accessory apartment, they would have a significant effect on the availability of housing. These apartments would typically rent at below market rates for comparable units. Another choice for making better use of housing is shared housing, in which a matching agency helps the homeowner find a compatable person to share the home in return for rent and/or services to the homeowner. Echo homes in which a separate, age-appropriate small home is temporarily installed in the side or rear yard of the home of an adult child and is used by an aging parent is another way to to make single family housing more productive. Accessory apartments, shared housing, and echo housing are collectively known as alternative living arrangements. Because of the housing needs of the elderly, aging organizations have often been the strongest advocates of these types of alternative living arrangements. Alternative housing can allow the elderly to plan ahead, before they become frail, to age in a familiar place. An educational campaign about alternative living arrangements can both help the elderly and provide housing for others. An educational campaign should cost much less than the construction of new housing units. (ABL)