How good does it have to be? An affordable housing project can be resisted by the community every step of the way, or welcomed. It can be a problem that gets progressively worse, or an asset for its neighborhood for decades. It can be a constant source of discomfort and resentment for everyone who lives in and around it. Or it can provide the people who live there with everything we all expect from our home: comfort, security, an atmosphere to thrive and do our best in.
More than anything else, the difference is design.
Good design provides benefits at all stages of the development process. It is easy to see how a well designed, well built project that fits into its neighborhood will be good for its occupants, its community and its development team. If the end product is good, everyone wins.