The City of Richmond is hoping a trust fund will help encourage more affordable housing. The City Council has set aside a quarter-million dollars to aid individuals and make loans and grants to developers.

It's a nice idea, but even a fund several times as large would not likely make much of a dent in the problem. First, housing prices are affected by variables far beyond the council's control -- from the price of lumber to mortgage interest rates to demand.

Second, affordable housing (or work force housing, as it is sometimes called) isn't in ferociously short supply in the city. There are many houses well within the reach of most earners. A trip to Manchester or Chamberlayne Farms, for instance, will turn up plenty of houses in the $100-000-to-$200,000 range.

The city's real problem is finding people who want those houses. That's because of its perennial deadly duo: crime and education. Those who live outside the city sometimes think every neighborhood is as dangerous as the ones that make the headlines. And even couples who are willing to put up with a certain amount of menace likely will move when their children reach school age.

If the city had low crime and great schools, then people would flock to its numerous neighborhoods. That demand would drive up prices, and even small townhomes would carry shock-inducing stickers. Richmond should be so lucky.